December 2013
Fun with Proportions
In math we’re finishing up a chapter on ratios, proportions, percents, and a bit of probability. Yes, that was a lot to put in one chapter. 🙂
Anyway, since I was teaching in a classroom with students (versus cyber) I thought I’d try something I had done during my first teaching position. A fun way to introduce or practice ratios is to use recipes of some kind. The cheaper way (rather than making cookies with terrible proportions) is to use powdered drink mix.
So I split my class into 2 groups and they took water and iced tea mix and had 5 tries to determine the best ratio of water to mix.
They had to measure the amount of water and mix.
They taste-tested with spoons, so as not to pass the germs around.
Don’t forget to record what you did and what you think about how that ratio tasted!
We had some REALLY strong iced tea (as you can see on the left) and some more weak iced tea.
It was a fun way to start off the chapter. We’ve continued having fun using Nips (sort of like M&Ms) with probability too. It’s made for a slightly lighter chapter leading up to Christmas break. I hope you enjoyed the pictures!
Fish Spa
This is the second time I’ve gone to the fish spa, although I didn’t take pictures the first time. Basically the little fish eat the dead skin off your feet. It tickles at first, but then you get used to it. It’s different, but it’s a lot of fun!
FYI- If you notice the red spot on my left foot that is a scab from kicking some coral while swimming a few weeks ago. That is not a fish spa injury. 🙂
You can hear the relaxing music they were playing in the spa if you listen to the audio in this clip. However, you don’t lose anything by just watching the fish swim around.
