Monday, March 1, 2010

Get real "Do Nows" to kick start your math class

"Do Now" classroom openers are all the rage these days (i.e. Everday Math). Why not reach out of the box and do one that's timely for the day you do them? Today is the day (3/1/10) after the Olympics closed and by the latest count the USA, Germany and Canada were the biggest winners.

What if we wanted to give a gold medal to the country that "won" the Olympics how would you decide? One way might be to assign 3 points for each gold medal won, 2 for the silver and 1 for the bronze. (This is similar to how they determine standings in the National Hockey League.) Who would be the winner? Would Canada's 14 gold medals compensate for their lower total of medals than the USA? (See a Google Spreadsheet with the results.) Feel free to edit it! Help me turn this "do now" into an activity worth exploring.

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