In the delightfully fantastic
The Phantom Tollbooth, Milo and his watchdog, Tock, travel through Dictionopolis and Digitpolis. Milo's mission is to reunite the princesses of Dictionopolis (Rhyme) and Digitopolis (Reason) so that the world will once again have rhyme and reason. While completing his mission, Milo and his companions experience many language and mathematical concepts.
This lesson should be completed after students have had the opportunity to read The Phantom Tollbooth. Teachers may wish to read portions of the story aloud in class each day, or students may be assigned the book as independent reading.
Discuss the meaning of averaging as a "leveling" process. Ask students to identify situations where they have experienced averaging the past (grades, baseball statistics, and so on).
Distribute copies of the Can It Be? activity sheet.
Direct students to read each scenario from The Phantom Tollbooth and to write their explanations in the spaces provided. Encourage students to share their responses in a class discussion.
For the third question on the activity sheet, students will need access to newspapers or online newspaper resources. They may work individually or in pairs to complete this activity.
