Creating a Generation of Mathematicians

In the wake of the tragedy in Japan, this is a perfect "teaching moment" to help students gain an awareness of the total disaster.  I gave my students two assignments.  The first one was "Japan's Tragedy: By the Numbers" a worksheet which is attached at the bottom of this post. 

Then I let them choose one of the following assignments to complete:   


**An "evidence of learning" can be defined as a report/essay, a PPT, a booklet, a poster, a virtual poster, a flip chart, a 3D model, etc.  You can create it by hand or on the computer.  The point is to demonstrate that you have learned the concept(s).***

*As with all of these assignments, you need to do research in addition to the links I have provided.*

·         Complete this assignment:  http://www.usatoday.com/educate/mathtoday/reg_activities/earthquake.pdf

·         Create a collage of pictures (or videos) (at least 20) on “Japan’s Tragedy by the Numbers”.  For each picture, you must include a statistic.  The statistic can accompany the picture or can be located on a separate page.

·         http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8383218/Japan-earthquake-disaster-by-numbers.html

·         http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110312/us_ac/8041978_japans_tsunami_by_the_numbers

·         Create an evidence of learning about one of the following headlines:

§  U.S. stocks decline amid concern about Japanese economy after earthquake

·         http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-13/u-s-stock-futures-fall-on-concern-about-quake-s-damage-to-japan-economy.html

·         Create an evidence of learning about one of the following general topics:

o    The math of earthquakes

·         http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/beyond/articles/earthquakes/earthquakes.html

·         http://go.hrw.com/resources/go_sc/hst/HSTMW431.PDF

·         http://pballew.blogspot.com/2010/02/math-and-predicting-earthquakes.html

·         http://www.colorado.edu/math/earthmath/1s.pdf

·         http://www.besd61.k12.il.us/webquests/7th%20Grade/Earthquakes/studentpage.htm

·         http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/beyond/articles/earthquakes/richter.html

o    The math of tsunamis

·         http://mathworld.wolfram.com/news/2005-01-14/tsunamis/

·         http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/MathematicsOfTsunamis/

·         http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060220232641.htm

·         http://www.terradaily.com/reports/New_math_formula_might_predict_tsunamis_999.html

·         http://www.brainpop.com/science/theearthsystem/tsunami/preview.weml

·         http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/04/01/New_math_formula_might_predict_tsunamis/UPI-54311238623305/