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/

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The tragedy of the Gulf Coast Oil Spill is an excellent teaching opportunity! Aside from the obvious science lessons, the oil spill also lends itself to learning mathematics.

1. Begin the class by having a discussion about the students' current knowledge of the oil spill.

2. Then watch news clips and continue to discussion:

- I would suggest finding a video clip from the local news where your students are located to give them a "connection".


3. Once students have a true idea of the oil spill, use the following links give students an idea of the size of the oil spill and an insight into its impact:

There are also several Apps on the oil spill 
4. Then jump into the mathematics behind the oil spill.

  • Estimation - for 3rd - 8th students to get an idea of the size
  • Perimeter, area, and volume - for 3rd - Geometry students to find the perimeter, area, and volume of the oil spill
  • Graphs - for 3rd - Algebra 2 students to read, understand, and interpret graphs

  • Coordinate plane, ploting points, Latitude and Longitude - for 6th - Geometry students to track the location of the oil spill

  • Finances, Money, Stock Market - for 5th - Financial Math students to determine the cost of the oil spill

  • Linear, Quadratic, Exponential, etc Regression - for Algebra 1 - Pre-Calculus students to predict where the oil spill will be next

  • Exponential and log functions (population growth) - for Algebra 2 - Pre-Calculus students to predict how the oil spill will impact the population growth/decline



    What other mathematical concepts could you address?



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