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Math Activities

Janice Kluesner

Mrs. Janice Kluesner, Math Liaison for Vigo County Schools, sharing Everyday Math activities with the Math Methods students.

Bungee Barbie and Kamikaze Ken Algebra Activity

Bungee Barbie and Kamikaze Ken

This activity incorporates the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Algebra Standard by using graphs to analyze the nature of change in quantities in linear relationships and by exploring relationships between symbolic expression and graphs of lines, paying particular attention to the meaning of intercept and slope.

When I asked my ISU students if they had ever used algebra in the real life, all said they did not even know why they had been required to take the subject. When I explained to them that one can use algebra to predict a certain outcome, they were amazed.  I explained that they would collect data using rubber bands for the bungee cords and a Barbie or Ken doll. By using the data collected, they would construct a scatter plot and generate a line of best fit. They would then predict how many rubber bands would be needed for Barbie or Ken to safely jump from a given distance. (The students then actually jumped the dolls off the banister of the BCOE second floor to see how close their prediction came!)

Dr. Leinenbach

Bungee Barbie 1

Students are beginning data collection to make a prediction to bungee Barbie off the second floor of University Hall into the Atrium.

Bungee Barbie 2

Jump Barbie, Jump! 

Bungee Barbie 3

Multiple Barbie Testing!

Grandfather Tang’s Story

Each semester I use this book to introduce tangrams within the NCTM geometry standard. The information from the back of the book adds a multicultural and historical dimension to the lesson while the relationship between grandfather and granddaughter offers an intergenerational link. Reading the book in an interactive mode, I use my own visual representations of Grandfather Tang's animals projected onto the Smart Board. As an assignment, my students are to create their own story including art work using the tangrams. This assignment is submitted in the form of a powerpoint and then attached to the treesinjune.org website created for this particular project. By encouraging this, my students understand this process is the first step toward publishing their work.