6-8
In 1999 the world population passed the 6 billion mark. In this lesson, students predict when it will reach 7 billion. Students discuss the reliability of their predictions, compare them to past trends, and discuss social factors that can affect population growth.
3-5
When students play the Factor Trail game, they have to identify the
factors of a number to earn points. Built into this game is cooperative
learning — students check one another's work before points are awarded.
The score sheet used for this game provides a built-in assessment tool
that teachers can use to check their students' understanding.
3-5, 6-8
The
Stomachion is an ancient tangram-type puzzle. Believed by
some to have been created by Archimedes, it consists of 14 pieces cut
from a square. The pieces can be rearranged to form other interesting
shapes. In this lesson, students learn about the history of the
Stomachion, use the pieces to create other figures, learn about symmetry and transformations, and investigate the areas of the pieces.
6-8, 9-12
In this lesson, students experience an application of proportion that scientists actually use to solve real-life problems. Students learn how to estimate the size of a total population by taking samples and using proportions. The ratio of “tagged” items to the number of items in a sample is the same as the ratio of tagged items to the total population.
6-8, 9-12
By using sampling from a large collection of beans, students get a
sense of equivalent fractions, which leads to a better understanding of
proportions. Equivalent fractions are used to develop an understanding
of proportions.
This lesson can be adapted for lower-skilled students by using a
more common fraction, such as 2/3. It can be adapted for upper grades
or higher-skilled students by using ratios that are less instinctual,
such as 12/42 (which reduces to 2/7).
Scaffold the level of difficulty in this lesson by going from a simple
ratio such as 2/3 to more complicated ratios such as 2/7 or 5/9.
9-12
This lesson plan for grades 9‑12 is adapted from an article in the January 2000 edition of Mathematics Teacher.
The following activities allow students to explore alternative voting
methods. Students discover what advantages and disadvantages each
method offers and also see that each fails, in some way, to satisfy
some desirable properties.
9-12
In this grades 9–12 activity, students write and solve a system of
linear equations in a real-world setting. Students should be familiar
with finding linear equations from 2 points or from the slope and
y-intercept.
Graphing calculators are not necessary for this activity, but could be
used to extend the ideas found on the second activity sheet. Parts of
this lesson plan were adapted from the October 1991 edition of
Mathematics Teacher.
9-12
To determine the function of best fit for a set of data, students
should recognize which category of function bests fit the data and know
how to use technology to obtain a function. This lesson teaches these
skills and prepares students for the subsequent lesson(s), in which
they will collect their own data.
9-12
There is a leap to be made from understanding postulates and theorems in geometry to writing proofs using them. This lesson offers an intermediate step, in which students put together the statements and reasons to build a formal proof.
6-8, 9-12
This lesson offers students a method for finding the slope of a line from its graph. The skills from this lesson can be applied as a tool to real-world examples of rate of change and slope.
