Playing Games

Using the story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calveras County" by Mark Twain, students simulate a jumping-frog contest and determine the distances "jumped." The students record the distance of individual jumps in centimeters and determine the total distance jumped (the sum of the three separate jumps) and the official distance (the straight-line distance from the starting line to the end of the frog's third jump). The students compare the range and median of the total distances with those of the official distances of the group.

Read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog" to the students.

Distribute a cotton ball to each student. This cotton ball will be each student's "frog." Distribute the The Celebrated Jumping Frog activity sheet to each student.

Jumping Frog Activity Sheet

Demonstrate how to place the frog on a large paper clip that has been slightly spread apart, and make it "jump." By placing the frog on the smaller end and pushing down on the elevated large end, the player can usually make the frog hop over her or his finger. Also demonstrate how to record the distances in centimeters on the activity sheet.

Allow the students to practice jumping their frog a few times. Then, divide the students into small groups and show them how to set up a track with a starting line and a course for the official distance.

Guide the students as they work in small groups to simulate the frog jump and record the data on their chart. The "Total Distance" is the sum of the three jumps, but the "Official Distance" is the straight-line distance from the starting line to the position of the last jump.

Discuss the variations from the median of the group for each player and compare the medians and ranges for the total distance with those for the official distance.