April Fools Day ideas – We have two strange mathematical riddles to decipher; a “why does this work?” task using the Ghost Whisperer; and Robert Kaplinsky’s Foil Prank. Take your choice! MP.1, MP3,4.OA, 5.G, 8.EE, 8.SP Peeps – Students estimate the number of Peeps sold…
March Madness is the big 68 team college basketball tournament that takes over our TV viewing during the weekends of March. School and office friends are filling out brackets. Engage your students in percents as they get excited about March…
Green, green river – They’re doing it again. In Chicago, the local plumbers union “dye” the Chicago River emerald green. Students learn the meaning of PPM (parts per million) and attempt to figure out how much dye is used to sufficiently…
Can you tell from its opening weekend how much the new movie, Black Panther, might earn in theaters? This activity can be used anytime and is especially timely when there is a new blockbuster movie released. We’ve left blank spaces…
Will we have a 29th of February this year? How can you tell? Students work with a flow chart to deduce what years are going to be leap years. They learn about the exact measurement of a solar year and…
On December 31st, 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens’ loss clinched the Buffalo Bills’ rise to the AFC playoffs. The Bills sent a thank-you gift of Duff’s famous chicken wings and sides to the Bengals. Seems…
The Philadelphia police are being proactive about keeping their enthusiastic Eagles fans from being reckless as they celebrate Super Bowl outcomes. So, the police departments have been frosting the city light poles with Crisco shortening to help discourage fans from…
On Wednesday, January 3rd, 2018, Earth will be as close as it gets to the Sun during its orbit. Shouldn’t that make this the warmest time of the year? In this activity students become familiar with the terms perihelion and aphelion as they calculate…
Check out our Christmas Tree. You need to buy lights for the tree. Without calculating, guess how many feet of lights you will need.What information do you need to better estimate the number of feet of lights that you need?…
As Veterans Day approaches, let your students learn about and appreciate the meaning of the day by analyzing the powerful data that we’ve supplied. Students can use our numbers to create questions for their classmates … questions that can emphasize the tremendous gift…
It’s Halloween and this is your neighborhood. How long will it take you to trick or treat at every house in your neighborhood? Possible conversation with students: How long will it take you to get from house to house? You…
The official Atlantic hurricane season started on June 1 and doesn’t end until November 30th. Now Hurricane Irma is approaching Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, and Florida. Encourage your students to join the conversation, knowledgeably, by using our activity. Students…
To see this poster larger in a new window, click on the image. Old Dominion Freight Line is offering 2 free tickets to the next 3 World Series to the person who guesses closest to “How many baseballs are in…
Back to school spending is huge and students might not appreciate what it costs to send them back to, essentially, their job of learning. In this activity students decide what equipment and supplies are necessary, estimate how much that will…
I have to go to the bathroom pretty badly. I have to admit that I have been holding it in for a while. Finally! I see a bathroom sign! Wait … it is in kilometers? How far is that? Should…