It's Not Always BIG- Scientific Notation and Population

While many of the lessons I blog about are part of a larger unit/Pbl, the fact of the matter is going global in my math class is more then just that.  I try hard to connect my students with others on a regular basis.  While the study of scientific notation has natural connections to their science class, I launched my class the other day with a discussion about the world population.  Using this website, the students were able to look at population, population growth and consider population density.  

The boys started by choosing 5 countries that resonated with them. While I only had time to have them share 1 of their countries in class, they were excited to have choice and they selected places based on population, places they have visited, places they dream of visiting and heritage. It was interesting to listen to how they connected.  From there, as you can see in the worksheet, they had to find the population, round it, and place it in scientific notation.  One of their wonders, "will China's population growth change now that they have no restrictions on number of children?"  (Great opportunity to talk about statistics, and good data sets based on information over time)  

The boys seemed to be able to understand the importance of using the same base number (range 1 to less than 10) when we listed the order and it was no longer a challenge to order them.  Additionally they were able to better connect that the exponent was connected to the place value.  What an "Aha" moment we had!

After the discussion the boys moved through the real life statistics on the backside of the worksheet.  The boys had big feelings as they continued to practice scientific notation, and remarked that the stats made them sad.  They connected this to their recent water walk with 1st grade and the poverty project we did earlier this year. In the end, this 1 1/2 hour lesson allowed them to gain greater appreciation for their surroundings, and consider ways they can advocate and help others.  Their words, not mine! 

 

"The real world data in this lesson really helped me master it!" -Malyk

So the lessons aren't always BIG and numbers for scientific notation aren't always BIG... but I hope the impact is.  

Eureka! Rhode Island: Hope

When I started the wor(ld) problem project at Town School for Boys I didn't really plan on how fun it would be to have the boys learn about places in the US.  But I have to admit, learning about Rhode Island (a state that I grew up 30 minutes from the border of) and through the eyes of 5th graders and in the greater context of statistics and math has been a lot of fun.  Today, during our "I wonder, I learned, and I connect with activity" we discovered this fun site that compared our two home states.  Check out their problems here:)

What else do we wonder?  

  • How much of the coast line of Rhode Island is accessible for swimming? 
  • How deep are the bays?
  • What is the weather like in Rhode Island?
  • How many islands in Rhode Island?
  • How many "Alcatraz" size Islands would fit in Rhode Island?
  • Are water sports popular? and if so which ones?
  • How many bridges in Rhode Island and which one is longest? 

And cheers to the city of East Providence for providing some great math on their website about carousels.  A great add on to what we have already learned from our partners.  Math, it's everywhere.  Join us.  We love learning about your world through math!

 

See below: Boys were excited to learn about the longest game in history, 33 innings!  AND I was excited to be reminded of all the baseball greats that played in THAT game:)