How many ways?
How many different ways can you cut a sandwich into fourths? Try it with real or paper sandwiches.
Special Day
Think of a special day you are looking forward to. How many days until that special day? How many weeks?
Are there any patterns you notice or shortcuts you can find for calculating how many days/weeks until your special day?
Are there any patterns you notice or shortcuts you can find for calculating how many days/weeks until your special day?
Fun with Flights
Taking a flight this summer? Find the math in your trip! Some examples:
*inspired by "Take Flight with Mathematics" in the May 2013 issue of Teaching Children Mathematics
* If we know the price of a single ticket, how can we figure out how much it will cost for our whole family? (e.g. each ticket costs $246, and there are 4 people. There are many different strategies: draw a Base-10 block model to figure out the total, do repeated column addition, multiply, find four groups of $250 and subtract 16 to compensate, etc.
* Look at the flight's seating plan. How many seats are there? Try to look for arrays or groups -- use repeated addition, skip count, multiply, etc. How much revenue will this create?
*The average cruising altitude for most commercial jetliners is 35,000 ft. If you were lined up over and over again (head to toe), how many of you would we need to stack to reach that height? Explain your reasoning. It may be helpful to break it down into smaller chunks (e.g. how many of you will reach 10 ft, 100 ft, 1,000 ft, etc.) One mile is 5,280. About how many miles must you run for the distance to equal the cruising altitude of a jet?
*inspired by "Take Flight with Mathematics" in the May 2013 issue of Teaching Children Mathematics
* If we know the price of a single ticket, how can we figure out how much it will cost for our whole family? (e.g. each ticket costs $246, and there are 4 people. There are many different strategies: draw a Base-10 block model to figure out the total, do repeated column addition, multiply, find four groups of $250 and subtract 16 to compensate, etc.
* Look at the flight's seating plan. How many seats are there? Try to look for arrays or groups -- use repeated addition, skip count, multiply, etc. How much revenue will this create?
*The average cruising altitude for most commercial jetliners is 35,000 ft. If you were lined up over and over again (head to toe), how many of you would we need to stack to reach that height? Explain your reasoning. It may be helpful to break it down into smaller chunks (e.g. how many of you will reach 10 ft, 100 ft, 1,000 ft, etc.) One mile is 5,280. About how many miles must you run for the distance to equal the cruising altitude of a jet?
How much sugar?
Predict how much sugar is in different brand of cereals, or another household item, and then compare nutritional labels.
Before beginning, cover the sugar measurement on the Nutrition Facts labels with sticky notes. Set the boxes in random order on the table.
Then, reorder the boxes to match the predicted sugar content, from least to greatest. Remove the sticky notes and check the labels. Was your family surprised by which cereals have the most sugar? Do advertisers want you to know how much sugar their cereals contain? Why or why not?
from Mixing in Math
Before beginning, cover the sugar measurement on the Nutrition Facts labels with sticky notes. Set the boxes in random order on the table.
Then, reorder the boxes to match the predicted sugar content, from least to greatest. Remove the sticky notes and check the labels. Was your family surprised by which cereals have the most sugar? Do advertisers want you to know how much sugar their cereals contain? Why or why not?
from Mixing in Math
License Plate Challenge
Learn more about math games -- like license plate mental math, or estimating local landmarks -- in this article from the journal Teaching Children Mathematics. The activities will "sharpen math skills and explore fun ways to apply them."
Biglan, Barbara, Martha E. Hildebrandt, and Lisa Budd. "Let's Take a Road Trip." Teaching Children Mathematics: May 2013, 548-53.
Biglan, Barbara, Martha E. Hildebrandt, and Lisa Budd. "Let's Take a Road Trip." Teaching Children Mathematics: May 2013, 548-53.
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