|
|
  |
 |
|
Resource Type: Online Activities
|
|
|
  |
|
Friday the 13th can bring with it a lot of mystery. This activity from the "Figure This!" site entices students to discover whether or not there is a Friday the 13th every year. This set of problems provides an excellent opportunity for students to be exposed to foundational concepts in algebra, as they look for and examine patterns that occur in our calendar. After students have reached a conclusion, the teacher may want to ask, “Why is there at least one Friday the 13th every year?” Other questions are provided on the site related to the correspondence of dates and days in differing years. And, students are encouraged to research the history of the superstition behind Friday the 13th.
This activity, like all "Figure This!" challenges, is colorful, easy to navigate, and most importantly, designed to promote students' problem solving ability. While the Web site is intended for middle grade students, elementary students will also enjoy exploring and working to solve the questions. The Getting Started section leads the students in the right direction for exploring this problem. Reasoning and number skills are put to the test in this challenge. There are some related questions for them to try out their knowledge, interesting background information, and other resources. The activity can also be printed out in "PDF" format that preserves the attractive layout of the page. This site is intended to encourage parents and children to work together on math problems. You might want to send this problem home, requiring joint parent-child solutions that you can discuss the following day.
First Posted: 6/30/2002
Last Submitted: 4/17/2001 3:40:05 PM
|
Homesite Description - This resource is contained in the following Web site
Figure This!
-
Figure This! is a public awareness program funded by the National Science Foundation and the U. S. Department of Education.
-
http://www.figurethis.org/index40.htm
|
