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What We Do Adds Up ActivityWhat We Do Adds Up Activity
Publisher
PBS
Resource Details
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Grade
4th - 7th
Subjects
Math
4 more...
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Activities & Projects
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Activity

What We Do Adds Up

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With so many tons of trash going into landfills each year, your environmentalists can calculate how much the average person is tossing away. This activity has a series of questions not only requiring math, but a conscious thought of how much trash we throw away every day, week, and year. A great activity for Earth Day to connect math to real life and our environment.  

92 Views 97 Downloads

Concepts

earth day, math applications, real-world applications

Additional Tags

earth day, real life math, earth day math, math

Pros

  • US Census Bureau link provided to research populations
  • Questions start with small amounts of trash and move to yearly amounts
  • Answer key provided

Cons

  • No specific standard addressed

See similar resources:

Lesson Plan

The Division Algorithm—Converting Decimal Division into Whole Number Division Using Mental Math

EngageNY
Make math much simpler with mental math methods. The 16th installment in a series of 21 looks at ways scholars can apply mental math to convert division problems into easier problems with the same quotient. Multiplying or dividing both...
6th Math
CCSS: Designed
Printables

Unit 1 Math Vocabulary Cards (Grade 4)

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Use a set of 12 math vocabulary cards intended for fourth grade mathematicians. The topics of the cards include mostly place value concepts. Each sheet contains two cards; one with the word printed in bold text, and the other with...
4th Math
Lesson Plan

The Trash We Pass

Curated OER
Where does our garbage go? What is the difference between a recyclable and non-recyclable item? Pose these important, but often overlooked, questions to your class and invite them to consider the lasting and damaging effects of the...
6th - 8th Math
Lesson Plan

Use Google Maps to Teach Math

Curated OER
Capture the engagement of young mathematicians with this upper-elementary math lesson plan on measuring time and distance. Using Google Maps, students first measure and compare the distance and time it takes to travel between...
3rd - 6th Math
CCSS: Adaptable
App

YodelOh™ Math Mountain

Little 10 Robot
Save the yodeler from falling off the top of the mountain using basic math skills. Have endless fun while developing fluency with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
1st - 6th Math
CCSS: Adaptable
App

Squeebles Maths Bingo

Key Stage Fun
The math monster has scared away all the ice cream parlor's customers and taken the ice cream ingredients. Only an accomplished math bingo player can save this ice cream business. 
1st - 4th Math
CCSS: Adaptable
Instructional Video

The Lowdown — The Math of Trash: Percents and Proportions

PBS
Don't toss the lesson in the trash. Scholars watch an informative, up-to-date video that discusses how percents and proportions help clarify data about trash, recycling, and climate change. They consider their own trash output and create...
2 mins 6th Math
CCSS: Designed
Instructional Video

Where Did Earth's Water Come From?

TED-Ed
It's commonly known that over 70 percent of of the earth's surface is covered by water, but exactly where did it all come from? Join this short video as it travels back to the beginning of the universe in search of the origins...
4 mins 6th - 12th Science
CCSS: Adaptable
Printables

Earth Day Math

Elementary AMC
Take some time this Earth Day to nourish the growth of your young mathematicians with this series of task cards. Whether it's the four basic operations, place value, money, or elapsed time, these conservation-themed problems...
3rd - 5th Math
CCSS: Adaptable
Lesson Plan

Green Stuff: Designing an Earth-Friendly Room

Curated OER
In this activity students explore earth-friendly materials that can be used in home environments. They learn about the relationship between the environment and design, and use a variety of problem-solving strategies. They work in...
7th - 8th Math
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