Lessons
Lessons in Units
CCSS Units
Sweet Tooth
How much Halloween candy should you eat? Students interpret graphs to compare the marginal enjoyment and total enjoyment of two siblings feasting on piles of Halloween candy and figure out how much pleasure you get (or don't) from eating more and more.
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.
You're So Fined
How long does it take to pay off municipal fines? Students use linear equations and solve linear systems to examine what happens when people are unable to pay small municipal fines. They also discuss what can happen to the most financially vulnerable citizens when cities rely heavily on fines for revenue.
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.
New-Tritional Info
How long does it take to burn off food from McDonald's? Students use unit rates and proportional reasoning to determine how long they'd have to exercise to burn off different McDonald's menu items.
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.
XBOX Xponential
How have video game console speeds changed over time? Students write an exponential function based on the Atari 2600 and Moore's Law, and see whether the model was correct for subsequent video game consoles.
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.