Our Earth All of the lessons in this module require students to use their computational, analytical, and graphing skills to better understand our Earth. They will study recycling and the amount of trash they may save by beginning to recycle now. Your students will also track a hurricane, one of the Earth's most powerful and deadly forces. An interesting lesson will have students calculate their weights on other planets, the moon, and the sun. The real-world examples using math skills to gain insight into these areas should encourage your students to see the relevance of mathematical knowledge in daily life.

Math Lesson Plans

Math

LESSON PLAN

Recycling

OBJECTIVES

• Collect requested data

• Use collected data to answer given questions

• Create a pictograph

• Interpret information from a pictograph

MATERIALS

Computer with Internet access

INTRODUCTION

Explain the elements of a pictograph. Show your students how a pictograph uses illustrations as a scale. Reinforce the three Rs: reduce, recycle, and reuse.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY

1 Have students go to the Paper Recycling site and read the information to answer the questions on the Recycling Activity Sheet. This explains the relevance of recycling. Students will calculate the hours in a year, and use that answer to find the number of aluminum cans they would need to recycle in order to power a TV for a year.

Recycling

URL: http://aspire.cs.uah.edu/~jonesj/natalie1.html

2 Now that your students have some idea of why recycling is important to everyone, introduce them to a way that some children are helping with this problem. Go to the Earth Day Groceries Project and read a brief explanation of the program. Find the map of schools that have participated. Have your students click on your state or, if it is not a good choice, name another state. Using the statistics provided, have the class create pictographs illustrating the schools and the bags their students have decorated. A simple drawing of a paper bag may be used in the scale, and they will need to choose an appropriate amount for each bag to represent. When your students have finished, have them answer the rest of the questions on the activity sheet. The following is an example of how the pictographs may look:

Earth Day Groceries!

URL: http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/earthday.html

ASSESSMENT

Assessment in this activity will best be achieved by observing the students as they work on their activity sheets. Their success in finding an appropriate scale for their pictographs is one key element to evaluate. Another is their ability to find the hours in a year and use that information in calculating the number of aluminum cans that would need to be recycled.

Name ______________________________ Period__________________

Complete the following questions with information from this site:

Recycling

URL: http://aspire.cs.uah.edu/~jonesj/natalie1.html

1. If you recycle, you will reduce the garbage you produce in your lifetime by how much?

2. How much of the trash generated is paper?

3. When you recycle one aluminum can, how much energy is saved?

4. How many cans would you need to recycle to power a continuously running TV for a year?

5. How much garbage is recycled in the United States? In countries where recycling is mandatory, how much trash is recycled? What is the difference?

6. Create a pictograph, like the one below, representing one state's participation in the Earth Day Groceries Project using information from the following location:

Earth Day Groceries!

URL: http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/earthday.html

7. In your state, what school had the greatest participation

8. What school had the least participation?

Math

LESSON PLAN

Hurricane!

OBJECTIVES

• Track the location of a hurricane on a computerized map

• Plot a set of points on graph paper

MATERIALS

Computer with Internet access

Graph paper/pencils

INTRODUCTION

Review the directions north, south, east, and west. Illustrate longitude and latitude with a map. Point out the Equator and Prime Meridian. Discuss graphing using the x-axis and y-axis.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY

1 Go to the Miami Museum of Science Web site to learn how hurricanes are tracked. Have your students plot the points requested on the interactive maps and track Agnes and the other hurricanes listed.

Miami Museum of Science-Tracking Instructions

URL: http://bird.miamisci.org/hurricane/instructions.html

2 Next, tell students to go to the site below to answer the questions on the Hurricane! Activity Sheet regarding the 1996 hurricane season and specific hurricanes. The questions will require the students to interpret the map data given.

Hurricane/Tropical Data

URL: http://wxp.atms.purdue.edu/hurricane/index.html

3 Have your students plot the imaginary hurricane information from the activity sheet on graph paper. You will need to assign the longitude and latitude numbers for your students according to the type of graph paper you use.

ASSESSMENT

Observation is the main form of evaluation in this lesson. Watch as your students track the hurricanes online. Their graphs reflect their understanding of the graphing concept and ability to plot points given.

Name ______________________________ Period __________________

Hurricane!

Go to the following site and plot the points requested to track a hurricane. When you have finished with one hurricane, choose another from the buttons below the map on the screen.

Miami Museum of Science-Tracking Instructions

URL: http://bird.miamisci.org/hurricane/instructions.html

Find this site and answer the questions below. You will need to scroll down the page to locate the hurricane maps. Click on a map to see a larger version.

Hurricane/Tropical Data

URL: http://wxp.atms.purdue.edu/hurricane/index.html

Hurricane Fran

1. Where is the first recorded location of Fran shown?

2. Using the image of the hurricane, give the coordinates of its eye.

Hurricane Hortense

3. What was Hurricane Hortense's most westerly point?

4. How many degrees of latitude separate the recorded northern and southern most points of

this hurricane?

Track the course of an imaginary hurricane, Larry, by plotting the points on graph paper.

5. Using the map of 1996 Tropical Storm Tracks, determine three states that might be affected

by Hurricane Larry

Math

LESSON PLAN

How Much Do You Weigh?

OBJECTIVES

• Exercise multiplication skills

• Interpret results of calculations

MATERIALS

Computer with Internet access

Scale

INTRODUCTION

Explain gravity as a force exerted by one body on another. Weight is a measure of this force. Therefore, a person's weight will change from one planet to another.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY

1 Have all of your students weigh themselves on the scale and record their results on a chart simular to the one on the next page. Describe this as "Earth weight." Go to the following site and use the chart given to show your students how to calculate their weights on other planets. Have them find their correct weight on each planet by multiplying their Earth weight and the number given on the chart.

Activity: Weight

URL: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/SPACEGRANT/class_acts/Weight.html

2 Using their results as a guide, ask your students to answer the following questions as you present them. There is room for discussion, and more than one answer may be possible.

• If you had to carry a bus, on what planet would you prefer to be?

• If you were a worm, what planet would you not want to visit?

• Where would you weigh the closest to your weight on Earth?

• Where would a self-conscious bride not want to be married?

• Is the space shuttle heavier or lighter on the moon?

ASSESSMENT

This lesson requires observational assessment through discussion and answering of oral questions.

"New" Weight Chart