Hopping on the Number Line

In this lesson, students generate sums using the number line model. This model highlights the measurement aspect of addition and is a distinctly different representation of the operation from the model presented in the previous lesson. The order (commutative) property is also introduced. At the end of the lesson, students are encouraged to predict sums and to answer puzzles involving addition.

What's the Beat?

In this activity, students use the average adult's number of heartbeats per minute to predict how many times the heart would beat during various lengths of time. The students also draw conclusions on the basis of information about the human heart rate and that of other animals.

A Brownie Bake

Students determine the amount of each ingredient needed to make brownies, and then they figure out how to divide the brownies evenly among their classmates. This lesson helps students reinforce their measurement skills in a practical situation.

Get the Picture—Get the Story

In the following lesson, students act as reporters at the Super Bowl. Students study four pictures of things that they would typically find at a football game: players, a scoreboard, a crowd, and a concession stand. Students are asked to create problem situations that correspond to their interpretation of each of the pictures.

Super Bowl Scores

This activity focuses on analyzing the scores for football games.  Students study combinations of numbers to produce possible scores for football games.

Super Bowl Scavenger Hunt

In many homes, the Super Bowl is an event of some significance. This activity is designed to have students examine some enjoyable (and, sometimes, obscure) questions using mathematics during the game. The questions on the activity sheet require that the students make observations about the game.

Post-Office Numbers

A post office is a good example of a real-world environment in which numbers of different types can be found. Whole numbers and fractions are introduced. Numbers that occur in a greater variety of measurement situations can also be introduced. At this level, students should be encouraged to elaborate on the way numbers are used.

Sports Numbers

Students are familiar with sports and sporting events. Whole numbers and fractions are used to represent the size of groups or collections and measurements involving lengths, weights, and times in many sporting and game situations. This knowledge can be used to give the students another picture of numbers.

Collecting The Rays

In this lesson, students explore how variations in solar collectors affect the energy absorbed. They make rectangular prisms that have the same volume but different linear dimensions. Students investigate relationships among the linear dimensions, the area, and the volume of rectangular prisms.