Math Project: Box Office Totals As a teenager, I loved monitoring the weekend's box office results. This kind of data is exciting, oozing with built in conflict. It sets up questions that require math to answer.
Math and Novelty: What if we didn’t have 10 numerals? Looking for some ways to challenge your advanced mathematicians? If you'd like to keep them on the same topic as the rest of your class, consider increasing the complexity of your current unit. If they're in need of more advanced curriculum to keep their creativity flowing, try to bring in novel ways of looking at math.
Mathematical Curiosities Sometimes you encounter that math student who is simply interested in numbers. Here are some famous (and not so famous) sets of numbers that have curious properties.
Depth and Complexity: Ethics… In Math!? The Ethics prompt of depth and complexity fits so easily into the humanities… but what about ethics in math?!
The Collatz Conjecture A "conjecture" is an idea that is believed to be true, but has not yet been proven. They are authentic unanswered questions for students to explore. The Collatz Conjecture uses two simple rules to get from any number to 1. It seems to work for all numbers...
What if you lived in Vegas but worked in San Francisco? Is it possible to save money by commuting to San Francisco from Las Vegas?
Exploring Circumference With Famous Circles Remembering the formulae for area and circumference of a circle is often a challenge for students due to their surface similarities as well as the additional confusion of radius and diameter. I like to tackle them one at a time and give students a chance to explore the origin of each formula. Let's look at circumference today by utilizing some famous circles from around the world... and beyond!
Fizz Buzz – A Divisibility Game Here's a quick to learn but difficult to master math game. Start with some basic divisibility rules, but then feel free to extend it to any math topic.
Conflict and Quadrilaterals Rather than merely asking "what patterns are there in these quadrilaterals" we'll set up an exploration of conflict and quadrilaterals.
