Tag Archives: Math

Super Bowl math for kids from MCT

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This Sunday, Feb. 3, the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers will kick off in New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII (the 47th, for those unfamiliar with Roman numerals). To get into the spirit of the game try these football math problems from Paul Epner, the author of the Herbert Hilligan books, a series that mixes math with stories. Not only will these problems help you brush up on your addition, fractions and multiplication — you’ll soon know just what those touchdowns and field goals are worth. There are questions for every math level, starting with addition and multiplication and on through geometry. And you may find the Super Bowl more exciting while calculating the many-numbered possibilities on the way to victory!

To download and print, click on the following link:  http://bit.ly/14zWyON

Newspapers in Education Resource

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Check out the new Grand Forks Herald NIE Instructional Resources link on this blog!  You’ll find over 300 instructional resources including high quality teacher guides, serial stories, student supplements, bullying/character education materials, numerous subject-specific resources, video & audio teacher training modules, and the popular NIE Instructional Calendar.  There are even IWB files (Interactive White Boards) for some of the guides!

These resources address the research and standards based curriculum focus of schools and teachers. There are curriculum materials for every subject area and grade level.  All resources may be copied for classroom use or for homework assignments.  There are a few examples shown below: 

Newspaper Mathathon

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Here’s a fun math activity called Newspaper Mathathon from KRP’s Ultimate Activity Guide.  

To download and print a copy click here.

Instructions – Use today’s newspaper to find the answer to the following:

1. Find the total number of pages in today’s newspaper.

2. Add the number of letters to the editor.

3. Multiply by the number of comic strips about women.

4. Divide by the number of local stories on the front page.

5. Subtract the number of bylines in the local news section.

6. Add yesterday’s fifth-highest temperature on the weather chart.

7. Multiply by the largest numeral found on the front page.

8. Add the number of letters in the longest headline in the sports section

9. Divide by the number of editorials on the opinion page.

10. Add the number of photos in the main news section, rounded off to the highest number.

Grand Total _________

 

January Lesson Plans

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Welcome back!  I hope everyone had a nice holiday break.  Here is a calendar with daily lesson plans using the newspaper for the month of January.  The calendar is from the NIE Institute.

To download a printable copy, click on the following link:  http://legacy.grandforksherald.com/pdfs/Jan.NIE%20lessonplans.pdf

Math with Sam: Exploring Every Day Math Problems and Answers

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Young readers will discover the real-life uses for math by following a girl through her busy day in this 15-page KRP NIE tab distributed by the NIE Institute. 

Download the 15-page guide by clicking here:

legacy.grandforksherald.com/pdfs/Math_With_Sam.pdf

Note: if you are going to print this pdf, make sure to adjust your print setting to "fit on page". The pdf is bigger than 8.5 x 11 (normal print size.)

 

May Math

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From the NIE guide, A Plan for All Seasons" distributed by the NIE Institute.

The month of May can be a busy one for anyone who is buying gifts for Mother’s Day or school graduations. May is often the month when people also start looking for Father’s Day gifts or gifts for June weddings. 

The newspaper is an important resource for many who have several gifts to purchase and very few dollars to spend.  If a reader looks through the retail (display) and the classified ads, a good bargain may be waiting for just the right customer. 

Here are some activities you can use with the newspaper on calculating savings on items in ads.

1.  Create a list of some the gifts that you or others in your family plan to buy in the month of May. 

2.  Use your newspaper to find an advertisement for something that would be appropriate for each person on your gift list.  Find the gifts that are on sale at a certain percentage off the regular price.  The regular price must also be included in the ad.  Make a chart using the following headings: 

Person              Gift             Regular Price     Percentage Off         Reduced Price

Total cost (Regular Price)                           Total cost (Reduced Price)

Total Amount Saved with Sales Price

3. When you complete your work, calculate the total amount you would spend at the regular price and at the sale price.  You may want to add in any local or state taxes.

 

 

More Math Quickie Lessons

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These NIE math activities are from the NIE Institute’s 100 Ways to Use the Newspaper.


 

1. Race through the newspaper! You have five minutes. See how many numbers from 1-25 you can find. Circle each number as you find it.
 

2. Circle the largest and smallest numbers on a page. Subtract the two numbers you have found. Add the two numbers.
 

3. Use recipes from the newspaper to practice using fractions. Double the recipe; halve the recipe and triple the recipe.
 

4. Cut words from the newspaper that relate to quantity. For example: all, none, many, few, fewer, more, less, most etc.
 

5. Write a word problem that uses an advertisement as its basis. Let a friend try to solve the equation.
 

6. Look at the movie ads. Assuming a 15-minute break between shows, determine the duration of three movies.
 

7. Choose any three-digit and any two-digit numbers from the newspaper. Do the following:
• Find the product of the two numbers
• Find the sum of the two numbers
• Find the difference between the two numbers
• Find the quotient of the two numbers to the nearest hundredth
• Now, find the sum of all the answers above
 

8. Read a page in the newspaper and underline words and phrases that refer to time such as: annual, bicentennial, 90-day warranty, next week, etc.
 

9. Refer to the entertainment ads and choose the kind of entertainment that you would enjoy most and the place you would most like to eat. Determine the total cost of your outing for one person, for two and for your family.

More Math Quickie Lessons

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Here are some more math quickie lessons from the Washington Times.

Areas and Percents: Compute the area of the advertisements on one page of the newspaper.  What percentage of the page is used for advertisements? Do this with several different pages and different section of the newspaper, then figure the average amount of space used for ads.

Conversion to Metric Measure: Find a recipe in the newspaper. Clip and mount on a paper. Convert the English measures to metric units of measure.

Millionaire Spending Spree: Imagine that a millionaire died and left $1 million to you, tax-free. However, (1) you must spend one-half the money within one week’s time; (2) you cannot spend more than half the money during the week on any one item; (3) you cannot buy more than one of any item; (4) you can’t give the money to anyone except for services rendered; (5) your total expenditure for the week must be exactly $500,000; and (6) you must locate all items you will buy in the newspaper. Present your plan for spending the money. Which items cost large amounts of money? How did you make up the difference with small items?

Price Per Square Foot: Identify classified ads in the newspaper that list both price and square footage of three houses for sale. Compute the price per square foot for each house.

Less, Equal or Greater: Identify articles in the newspaper that include numbers representing relationships of less than, equal to or greater than.

Try Using the Trick of the Nines‚ to Help Kids in Math
Is your child having trouble learning the 9 times table? Here’s a trick to help. Multiply any number by 9, and the answer will always add up to 9.

Try it. 2 times 9 equals 18, and 1 plus 8 equals 9. 8 times 9 equals 72, and 7 plus 2 equals 9.

The trick works for very large numbers, as well, like this: 8142 times 9 equals 73,278. 7 plus 3 plus 2 plus 7 plus 8 equals 27˜and 2 plus 7 equals 9.

Give your child a calculator and let her try it for herself.
— Taken from Parents Make the Difference!
 

Math Quickie Lessons

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Here are some math quickie newspaper lessons from the Washington Times.

Palindromes: Search for numbers in the newspaper that are palindromes (a number that remains the same when written backwards, such as 656). If you can’t find a palindromic number, compute the palindrome of any number by reversing the digits and adding the numbers together. For example, to find the palindrome of 369, add 963 to it. This gives 1,332, which is not a palindrome. Then add its reverse (2,331) to it, which equals 3663, a palindrome.

Computing Commissions: Determine the commission you would make if you sold a car listed in the classified section and made 13% commission. Find the car you would most like to sell and compute the commission you’d make.

Computing Car Finance Charges: Identify and cut several ads from the newspaper that offer credit terms. Determine the total amount paid for the product under the credit terms. For example, find your dream car in the classified ads. Pretend that you put $2,000 down payment and finance the balance for three years at 15%. How much will you pay the bank? What will your monthly payments be?

Interest on Savings: Put $1,000 in an imaginary savings account. Skim the bank ads in the The Washington Times to determine which savings plan would be most profitable. Compute the interest on this money at the end of one year if the interest in compounded quarterly at 7.5 %.

Budgeting for Travel: Plan a trip! Pretend that you have $2,000 to go anywhere you want. Skim the The Washington Times for advertisements on vacation areas and transportation. Make a list of your possible expenses and budget your money for the trip.

Miles Per Gallon: Use a car advertisement from the newspaper that gives the estimated miles per gallon. Determine the cost of driving from your city to another at the current price of gasoline per gallon.

Vital Statistics: Look through the obituaries in teh newspaper and find the average age of death for one day. Keep a record of your findings for a week and graph your results. On one given day: Find the median age of death, the mode age of death, the average age of death for men and the average age of death for women.

Graphing TV Entertainment: Categorize the television shows in today’s TV schedule in the newspaper into the following headlines: religious, educational, humorous, sports or informative. Calculate the fractional part of the total TV schedule occupied by each type of show. Construct a circle graph to illustrate this.

Surface Area: Calculate the surface area of the walls in your room. Determine the amount of paint you need. Shop for paint in the The Washington Times ads to get the best paint for your money. Determine the cost of painting your room. (Assume that one gallon of paint covers 400 square feet.)

Geometry — Lines and Angles: Clip pictures from the newspaper that illustrate different types of lines (parallel, perpendicular and askew). Or find pictures that illustrate different types of angles (right, acute, obtuse and straight.)

Math in the News: Select an article of interest in the newspaper concerning science, technology, business or home economics. Identify the role played by mathematics in the event described in the article.

Metric Measuring — Areas: Choose three pictures or ads from the newspaper. Using a metric rule, figure the area of each ad in square centimeters. Then convert each into square millimeters and square meters.

ACTIVITY – MATH SCAVENGER HUNT

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Here is a math scavenger hunt you can use with the newspaper. Activities are from the guide "By the Numbers: Mathematical Connections in Newspapers for Middle-Grade Students"  produced by the Newspaper Association of America Foundation.

See if you can find each of these math related items in the newspaper. Write down what you found and the page on which you found it.

1.  A fraction

2.  A money amount less than $1.00

3.  A date other than today’s

4.  A five-digit number

5.  A decimal that is not an amount of money

6.  A store giving a discount of 20 percent or more

7.  An ad larger than half of the newspaper page

8.  A temperature higher than 40 degrees

9.  A number written as a word (“one”)

10. An odd number greater than 100

11. An even number less than 100