Lessons
Lessons in Units
CCSS Units
Ad Vantage
How much of what we see is advertising? Students decompose irregular shapes to find how much of their visual field is occupied by advertising in real life and online.
Fall of Javert
Could Inspector Javert have survived the fall? Students use quadratic models to determine how high the bridge was in Les Misérables, and explore the maximum height from which someone can safely jump.
Downside Up
Is there an upside to negative feelings? Students use integers to compare good and bad days and use absolute value to explore what happens when we reinterpret negative moments in a more positive light.
Common Cents
How much is money worth? Students apply operations on rational and decimal numbers to calculate how much the U.S. Mint spends on different coins, and discuss whether we really need all these coins.
Pizza Pi (HS)
Which size pizza should you order? Students apply the area of a circle formula to write linear and quadratic formulas that measure how much of a pizza is actually pizza, and how much is crust.
Out of Left Field
In which Major League Baseball stadium is it hardest to hit a home run? Students find the roots and maxima of quadratic functions to model the trajectory of a potential home-run ball.
On Your Mark
Do taller sprinters have an unfair advantage? Students use proportions to find out what would happen if Olympic races were organized by height.
Three Shots
In basketball, should you ever foul at the buzzer? Students use probabilities to determine when the defense should foul...and when they should not.
Ballot Boxing
How do the rules of an election affect who wins? Students calculate (as a percent) how much of the electoral and popular vote different presidential candidates have received, and add with integers to explore elections under possible alternative voting systems.
Domino Effect
How much does Domino's charge for pizza? Students use linear functions — slope, y-intercept, and equations — to explore how much the famous pizzas really cost.
Licensed to Ill
Who should buy health insurance? Students use percents and expected value to explore the mathematics of health insurance from a variety of perspectives.