In this math mini spark you will learn a little about the history of crayon colors, answer some crayon math story problems, and learn more about how crayons are made.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #113: Crayon Math

2. Go to this website and study the graph showing how the the colors of crayons have changed over time. Record 5 observations.

3. Read this paragraph from Bedtime math.  Record the data on your recording page.

We just love this map of Crayola crayon colors over the years. In 1903, there were just 8 crayon colors, but by 1935 it had doubled to 16 colors. The chart creator, Stephen von Worley, uses years with an exact multiple of the original 8 colors, so the stripes line up nicely. 1949 has 48 colors, 6 times as many 8, while 2010 shows about 15 times 8, or 120 colors. Today, Crayola® Crayons are made in 148 unique colors, but don’t stop counting there! Some colors are offered in special effects, further expanding our color selection with specialty crayons like glitter, pearl, confetti, metallic, bold & bright, and more!

4. Answer these questions in your notebook.

a. If a machine makes blue-violet crayons the 1st day, lime green the next day, mac ‘n cheese the next, and then blue-violet again to repeat the pattern, what color does it make on the 20th day?

b. When does it make the 7th batch of blue-violet?

c. The Crayola factory in Easton, PA has a sign on the counter that says how many crayons the factory has made. If the sign said 146,037,500,000 crayons,  what is that number in scientific notation? Ask for help with this if needed.

Scroll to the end of this post to check your work.

5. Watch this video about crayons.  Choose 2 questions to answer on your recording page. Use two sentences for each answer.

1. Describe the process of how the wax mixture is transformed into crayons.
2. Mention some of the unique crayon colors that were listed in the video.
3. How does the video describe the distribution of Crayola crayons to the public?

6. Share your mini spark with your teacher or the EY coordinator in your building.

Lesson adapted from Bedtime Math

Check out the Crayon Project  at the EY website.

a. Lime green, since it’s the 2nd crayon in the new set of 3 starting on 19.

b. On the 19th day, since it will have just finished 6 full batches of the 3 colors.

c. 146,037,500,000 crayons in scientific notation is  1.460375 X 10 ^11

If you have read the book Counting on Frank by Rod Clement then you are aware already of how a vivid imagination can bring to life a wide array of mathematics related to estimation, number, space, measurement, and chance and data ideas. In this math mini spark you will explore the story and work through some challenge problems.

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #112: Fermi math warm up

2. Listen to this story. On your recording page make a list of the 5 examples that are presented in the story. Which of the facts presented in the story do you think would be the hardest to prove. Why?

3.  Look over these questions. For each one, make a list  of the information you would need to find out if you were to figure out the answer.

How many sheets of paper could be stacked from the floor to the ceiling?

How many bricks are on the exterior of a school building?

How many kernels of popcorn would it take to fill your classroom?

4.  Write 5 of your own challenge questions that require estimation to solve.

5. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher or EY coordinator.

The type of math you learned about in this mini spark is called Fermi math. Check out the FERMI math badges at the EY website.

Practice finding perimeter and area in this math mini spark.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #111: Spaghetti and Meatball Math
2. Listen to the story, Spaghetti and Meatballs for All! When you are done listening, answer this question on your recording page. What was Mrs. Comfort worried about? Why?  After you record your answer, scroll to the bottom of this post to check your work. 

3. At the beginning of the story Mrs. Comfort knew she had 32 people coming to the family reunion. Although Mrs. Comfort didn’t use mathematical terms to describe her plan, it’s possible to use area and perimeter to talk about her solution.

If you think about the top of each square table as having the area of 1 square unit, then the perimeter of each individual table is 4 units or one 1 unit of length for each side.

All of the guests did not arrive at the same time. List the number of guests seated at one time, then add to the total number of guests as more arrive. Next, figure out the table arrangement for each total number of guests using perimeter and area in units.

Print this table or make your own for this task.

4. Ask your teacher to check your work. Reminder: The key can be found in the math mini spark folder.

5. Share your project with your teacher or the EY coordinator in your building.

Mrs. Comfort was worried that there would not be enough room for everyone to sit. There wasn’t going to be enough room, because when you push tables together you lose chairs. She knew that the number of people who can sit at a table changes when the tables are pushed together or rearranged.

Happy 2025!

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #108: Happy 2025

2. Watch THIS VIDEO and write down at least 3 of the math problems given in the video that equal 2025.

3. Complete THIS WORKSHEET in your notebook putting a checkmark next to the ones that are incorrect and a star next to the ones that are correct.  In your notebook, record the incorrect answers and see if you can write the correct answer.

4. Have your teacher check your work. Remind your teacher that the key can be found in the math mini spark folder

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

Patterns are EVERYWHERE!

Spark your math thinking!

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

2. 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.

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

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

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

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.

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