A couple of years ago, the town I came of age in experienced dramatic flooding. I couldn't do much to make the water recede or fix all the damage. I could help the kids process how math could apply to the situation. So, I created a rather simple math lesson grounded in the flooding context.
The lesson was gold back in Michigan. But now I've moved--I'm teaching in Boulder, Colorado. Would it still work with students who had not experienced our flood? I didn't change a thing about the lesson. It's still about Grand Rapids, MI.
Turns out, it's still gold.
Why? I think it's less about the lesson and more about 'story'.
Turns out, it's still gold.
Why? I think it's less about the lesson and more about 'story'.
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Students walk in with pictures of the flood showing on the projector. On Sunday, April 21st, 2013, the river crested at 21.85 feet. Flood stage for the river is 18 feet. The Grand River is normally just 3.5 ft deep.
In class, we take precious time to make this about people. We talk about how the displaced people must have felt. We see if anyone in class has been involved in a flood and wants to share a couple sentences about their experience. We talk about how people are anxious to get back in their homes and start the cleanup process. Of course, this can't happen until the river is below flood stage. You don't want to start pumping water out of your basement if the water is still a foot above your front door.
In seat pairs, the students' job is to tell these scared people when they will likely be able to return to their homes.
In seat pairs, the students' job is to tell these scared people when they will likely be able to return to their homes.
For those of you not familiar with the geography of western Michigan, Lowell is a suburb of Grand Rapids. The above headline gives us the information we need to make a prediction.
Because this is a historical event, we don't have to guess at what happened. There are actual records. The Grand River crested on Sunday April 21st at 10pm and then started to recede. It fell below flood stage about 4 days later around 5pm on Thursday afternoon.
Students are able to predict this result within an hour and a half!
The last minute or so of class we talk about the power of math to make predictions. Using math, almost every time we can see a pattern in data we can make a prediction with a decent level of accuracy. That's absolutely brilliant!
Students are able to predict this result within an hour and a half!
The last minute or so of class we talk about the power of math to make predictions. Using math, almost every time we can see a pattern in data we can make a prediction with a decent level of accuracy. That's absolutely brilliant!
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