All posts by lspady

#106: Plethora of Patterns

Math Mini Sparks

  

Patterns are EVERYWHERE!

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #106: Plethora of Patterns

2. Look at the image below.  What are 3 patterns you notice?  See if you can come up with the next row.  Does the the next row after that follow the same pattern?  What about after that?  Grab a calculator and see how far you can go! Record your answers on your recording page.

Dig a little deeper!

3. Watch the video and try to create the pattern.  If you have toothpicks, GREAT!  If not, don’t worry.  Just draw lines with your pencil to represent the toothpicks.  Take a picture of your pattern and add it to your recording page.

4. Watch the video and write down at least 3 of the patterns given on your recording page.

5. Watch the video and write down at least 5 notes/images about triangular numbers.

6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

#105: The Birthday Problem

Math Mini Sparks, Uncategorized

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #105: The Birthday Problem

2.  Watch this video. Write a summary of the birthday paradox to someone who has not heard of it before. Use at least 3 sentences.

3.  Carefully read this article from Wonderopolis.  Record three ideas from the article.

4. Watch this video from the beginning. Take notes while watching when they start to do the math around 2:00 and record the percents as well. Continue to take notes. On your recording page, explain why people are not able to answer the birthday problem very easily.

5. Advanced option-Read this lesson at Math is Fun.  Record details as you work through the lesson.

6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

 

#104: Probability

Math Mini Sparks

The concept of this math mini spark is straightforward. The probability of an event happening is the number of times you expect that event to happen out of many tries. Probabilities always fall between 0 and 1.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #104: Probability 

2. Make a chart like this on your recording page.

Event Probability→ Fraction Probability→Decimal
P (yellow)
P (green) 
P (not red)
P (green or orange)
P (blue)

3.Watch this intro video.  Pause the video @ 3:40 and record the probability of each of the events on the chart on your recording page. You can use a calculator for the decimals.

4.  Copy this chart in your notebook.

5.  Number your recording page from 1-5. Read each example and record if it is experimental or theoretical. Scroll down to the bottom of this post to check your work. Add a star if it is correct or add in the correct answer.

Probability Puzzles: Theoretical or Experimental?

  1. A fair six-sided die is rolled. What is the probability of rolling an even number? Is this theoretical or experimental probability?
  2. Sarah flipped a coin 50 times and got 28 heads. What is the probability of getting heads based on Sarah’s experiment? Is this theoretical or experimental probability?
  3. In a bag, there are 3 red marbles, 4 blue marbles, and 5 green marbles. What is the probability of picking a blue marble without looking? Is this theoretical or experimental probability?
  4. A weather station recorded that it rained on 12 out of the last 30 days. Based on this data, what is the probability that it will rain tomorrow? Is this theoretical or experimental probability?
  5. A spinner has 4 equal sections colored red, blue, yellow, and green. Jack spun it 40 times and it landed on red 8 times. What is the probability of the spinner landing on red based on Jack’s results? Is this theoretical or experimental probability?

6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

 

 

 

 

  1. A fair six-sided die is rolled. What is the probability of rolling an even number?theoretical
  2. Sarah flipped a coin 50 times and got 28 heads. What is the probability of getting heads based on Sarah’s experiment? experimental
  3. In a bag, there are 3 red marbles, 4 blue marbles, and 5 green marbles. What is the probability of picking a blue marble without looking? theoretical
  4. A weather station recorded that it rained on 12 out of the last 30 days. Based on this data, what is the probability that it will rain tomorrow? theoretical * note since “tomorrow” hasn’t happened yet it isn’t experimental.
  5. A spinner has 4 equal sections colored red, blue, yellow, and green. Jack spun it 40 times and it landed on red 8 times. What is the probability of the spinner landing on red based on Jack’s results? experimental probability

#103: Combinatorics 

Math Mini Sparks

Combinatorics is a branch of mathematics which is about counting – and we will discover many exciting examples of “things” you can count.  You can use combinatorics to calculate the “total number of possible outcomes”. 

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #103: Combinatorics

To do this mini spark you need to know a little about factorials. Steps 2 and 3 will review them for you.

2. The factorial function (symbol: !) says to multiply all whole numbers from our chosen number down to 1. Example: 4! = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24.

Complete these two problems so that they look similar to the example:

Example: 6! = 6 x 5 x 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 720

5! =

9! =

Scroll to the bottom of this post to see if you are correct. If you got it correct, add a star. Add the correct answer if needed.

3. Watch this short video that show you how to divide factorials. Don’t worry. It isn’t hard. Do the problems with the teacher on your recording page.

4. Study this teaching page.  Write the type of the formulas and the formulas on your recording page.

5.  Watch this video. Do the first two math problems with the teacher on your recording page. Try the last problem by yourself on your recording page. The answer is at the end of this post.

 

Advanced: Check out this teaching page. Each of the sections has a mini lesson, a practice problem, and a solution.  Read each lesson and try the problem on your recording page. Check your work. If you complete this, talk with your EY teacher about using this as a badge option.

Factorials

Permutations

Combinations

Combinatorics and Pascal’s Triangle

Combinatorics and Probability

6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator

 

 

 

 

5! = 5 x 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120

9! = 9 x 8 x 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 362,880

 

 

50 people are in a race. How many ways can gold, silver, and bronze be awarded?

#83: All about storytelling

Uncategorized

Storytelling has been an important part of human cultures for a very long time. For thousands of years, storytelling was the main way to pass on cultural knowledge and beliefs from one generation to the next. Stories teach and entertain, which has helped keep traditional ways of life going. Cultural ideals, medical practices, folk wisdom, historical accounts, and religious beliefs have all been shared through stories told by many people over the centuries. Storytelling is still important today, even though the ways stories has evolved. 

Spark your thinking!

  1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #83: Storytelling
  2. Watch this interview from PBS. Record at least 5 important details from the video.
  3. Read this article.  Choose 3 questions to answer with 2-3 sentences.  Remind your teacher that the answers are in the LA mini spark folder. 
  • What is the main purpose of storytelling according to the passage?
  • What is the earliest evidence of storytelling mentioned in the text?
  • Describe the different forms of oral storytelling that are discussed in the passage.
  • How did the tradition of oral storytelling originate for works like The Iliad and Aesop’s Fables?
  • What are some reasons why people are drawn to stories according to the passage?
  • What are some ways that stories can help people develop empathy for others?
  • Why does the passage suggest that storytelling has been important for human cooperation and survival?
  • What does the passage suggest about the enduring nature of storytelling throughout human history

4. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

#82: The Story Spine!

Reading Enrichment

We are all storytellers. Good storytelling involves captivating an audience through the effective use of narrative elements, such as compelling characters, vivid imagery, and an engaging plot.

Spark your thinking!

  1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #82: The Story Spine!
  2. Watch this video Pixar in a Box: Introduction to Storytelling. Pause the video to record 5-10 ideas about storytelling and what is needed to make a good story.

 

3. Watch this video about the story spine. Write the story spine prompts on your recording page.

 

4. Use a story you have just read or a story suggested by your teacher. Use the story spine template and fill it in for your story.

5. OPTIONAL: Create your own story idea using the story spine prompts.

6. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.


Check out the Pixar in a Box badge on the EY website

# 81: Origin Myths-Fire

Reading Enrichment, Uncategorized

An origin myth is a special story about imaginary people meant to answer difficult questions such as, “Where did the seasons first come from?” or “How was earth was formed?”. Myths are passed generation to generation in order to teach a lesson about a people’s customs or virtues. In each of the myths you will hear a story from a different tribal group.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page:  #81: Origin Myths-Fire

2. Read these two paragraphs. 

Native American or Indigenous peoples of North America do not share a single, unified body of mythology. Each of the many different tribal groups has developed their own stories about the creation of the world, the appearance of the first people, the place of humans in the universe, and the lives and deeds of deities and heroes.

Despite the great variety of Native American mythologies, certain common mythic themes, characters, and stories can be found in many of the cultures. Underlying all the myths is the idea that spiritual forces can be sensed through the natural world—including clouds, winds, plants, and animals. Many stories explain how the actions of gods, heroes, and ancestors gave the earth its present form.

On your recording sheet answer these two questions. What is the purpose of myths? What are some common elements in myths? 

3.  You will use a chart for the step 4.  You can create one on your recording page, print out this PDF, or make your own digital copy to add to your digital recording sheet.

4. Listen to or Read these 4 myths about how fire was created. Fill out your chart for each story. 

The First Fire – Cherokee

 

Coyote Brings Fire to the People – Shoshone

 

Fire Race- Karuk

 

How Beaver Stole Fire – Nez Percé 

How Beaver Stole Fire from the Pines

5. For the last task, decide which two origin stories that are the most similar.  On your recording page record the titles. Make a bulleted list of 5 ways the stories are the same and then list 5 ways that the stories have differences.

6. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

#60: Hidden Figures

Social Studies Enrichment, Uncategorized

“Hidden Figures” is a biographical book about four African American women who worked as mathematicians at NASA during the Space Race and played pivotal roles in the Apollo program. Their contributions were essential in advancing America’s space exploration efforts, particularly during the historic Apollo missions to the Moon

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your social studies mini spark recording page: #60: Hidden Figures

2. Record the names of the mathematicians you will learn about in this mini spark on your recording page: Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden.

3. Listen to Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race.  For each of these dates you hear in the story, pause the story and write a phrase about that date.

1943, 1945, 1951, 1953, (1950s), 1957, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1969

 

4. In 3+ sentences explain how Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. Use details from the story. Add your response to your recording page.

5. Read more about Katherine Johnson at this Wonderopolis page. Make a mini timeline on your recording sheet. Add 5 dates with information.

6. Share your social studies mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Check out the Mission to Mars badge and Space traveler badge at the EY Website.