Family math that's above average: take home activities for kids and their parents - includes related article

Instructor, April, 1994 by Joyce Epstein

Everyday activities of family life are actually opportunities to develop the math skills you're teaching in the classroom. Averages, for example, work their way into the real world at home in lots of ways. Families budgeting for something special might find themselves calculating their average monthly expenses and the average amount they can save.

By sharing an interactive homework assignment such as the one featured here, you can help parents understand what their children are learning about averages and how they can reinforce this at home.

USING "I MEAN IT!"

The take-home reproducible called I Mean It! is an example of Teachers Involving Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS) interactive math homework; it provides a model you can follow to create your own math take-homes. The TIPS-MATH format asks students and families to do several things:

* Look This Over asks students to explain the skill--here, finding averages--to a family member.

* Now Try This gives students another opportunity to demonstrate their understanding.

* A Practice Section reinforces the skill with problems students solve and explain.

* In the Real World enables students and parents working together to apply the skill to everyday situations.

* Home-to-School Communication lets parents share their thoughts with you.

FOLLOW-UP FUN

Reinforce the importance of the assignment by planning a follow-up activity that lets students share and discuss their results. For example, use students' data from "In the Real World" to draw conclusions about the amount of time most people spend working or sleeping. Integrate the activity with other areas of your curriculum by investigating the amount of sleep experts recommend children get and researching other animals' sleep habits.

Name:__________________________________________________ Date:_________________

I Mean It!

Dear Parent/Guardian:

In math I am learning about averages or means. With this activity I will show you how I find a mean or average. Then we will explore how this skill is used in real life. This assignment is due:______________.

Sincerely, _____________________________________________ (student's signature)

LOOK THIS OVER

Talk with a family member about the ways you hear people use the word average, for example: earned run averages in baseball or average height for a child your age.

Now read this example with a family member: A group of children wanted to find out how many blocks they could stack before the blocks fell. They made five towers of 9, 7, 11, 8, and 15 blocks before the blocks fell each time. What's the average number of blocks they can stack before the tower tumbles?

One way to find the answer is:

* Add the data: 9+7+11+8+15=50.

* Divide by the number of items in the set: 50/5=10

Another way to find the answer is to make piles of blocks (or other objects) to show each tower. Rearrange the blocks so that each tower has as close to the same number of blocks as possible. (You'll stack an average of 10 blocks before the tower tumbles.)

NOW TRY THIS

Show a family member how you can do this example: Seven children wrote down the number of times they had watched their favorite movies: 7, 13, 23, 3, 17, 9, and 12. What's the average number of times? _____ Explain how you found the average.

PRACTICE

Try solving these problems. Explain your answers to a family member.

1. List the number of cereal pieces (or grapes, marbles, or any other item) each family member can hold in his or her hand. Find the average.

Data: __________________________________________ Average = ___________________

Is your number close to the average? Explain. ________________________________

2. Find the average shoe size for your family. Round half-sizes up.

Data: __________________________________________ Average = ___________________

Is your shoe size bigger or smaller than the average? ________________________

IN THE REAL WORLD

People use averages to report results of surveys. Poll four family members or friends. Try to include at least one family member. ASK: How many hours each day do you work (or go to school)? How may hours each day do you sleep? Use the back of this page if you need more room for calculations. Now fill in this chart:

TABULAR DATA OMITTED

Explain your results to a family member. DISCUSS: Would I find the same results if I surveyed only people my own age? @ @