We have tons (well, 16) of activities to bring to your class in this last week before the holiday break. Movies, science, art, cooking, economics, weather and the logic of calendars. Enjoy!
Before the holidays (16 activities)
Tag: 8.F
The Algebra of Magic Squares
Students examine Magic Squares for how they could help with math computation practice and having fun.
Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones
This week Hurricane Fiona caused major damage to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean, This is the season for increased cyclonic activity around the globe. How are hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones related? There is a measurement called the Accumulated…
Macy’s Star Rewards Points
Wow! Check out this deal at Macy’s. For $25 I can join Macy’s Star Rewards program. I get 10% back in rewards for every dollar I spend. Its pretty cool that Macy’s gives part of that $25 to charity. Should you do…
Happy Friday the 13th!
Don’t worry, 13 is a Happy number! Students learn a new function and test whether a number is Happy or Sad. The activity: Friday-the-13th.pdf CCSS: 5.OA, 6.EE, 8.F, MP1, MP7, MP8
Olympic Schedule
The Winter Olympics begins this week in Beijing.
Wikipedia had this schedule of events. We think that there is a lot of information missing and apparent in this graphic. What can you tell and what would you like to know?
Activities for the Holiday break
Students work with the geodesic icosahedron of the Time’s Square Ball by slicing an icosahedron. How are properties valued according to their distance from GO in the game of Monopoly? Games with dice; puzzles; probabilities; and more.
Federal debt and deficit – What are they?
What’s the big deal with our national debt? Do we actually borrow money to cover our debt? If we do, imagine the interest charges? Help your students (and their families) understand the meaning and repercussions of too much debt. The…
Viral Growth – Talk like a Pirate Day
Sunday, September 19th is talk like a pirate day.
Bring some humor and marketing understanding into your class with this activity about a silly holiday that has had viral growth.
The new R-naught number
Now we’re plagued with the Delta variant of the coronavirus. What was the original virus’ R-naught number and what has it become?
Monopoly and summer games
In the board game, Monopoly, does a property’s distance from GO correlate to its rent when you land on it? Using Brian’s spread sheet (list of properties, distance from GO, rent and rent with properties), students create scatter plots. They…
Tree for Springtime
Here in the Northeast, flowers are blooming and trees are leafing out. We thought the creation of a tree that grows before your eyes might be akin to what is going on all around us. What do you see that…
Does an NFL player’s draft order mean a lot for the player?
Students interpret the graph relating draft pick number and contract value. They consider how much being selected earlier or later, either by a few picks or rounds effects a player’s earnings and if players should really be concerned with where in the order they are selected.
At least the days are getting longer
What’s your guess? How fast are the number of daylight hours changing each day? Are the changes dramatic or subtle? Students make guesses; compute how long, on average, the change in daylight hours should be; and finally understand the variability in our year of daylight hours.
Expensive Super Bowl ads
What will a 30-second Super Bowl ad cost this year? Next year? In the future? How would you describe this rise in cost?