Activity Detail
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The First Twelve Days of School
 


Activity Overview

Students learn to organize data, look for patterns, and solve problems. They will count the number of "coins" in a variation of The Twelve Days of Christmas song. They will also generalize the patterns through symbolic expressions.

Before the Activity

  • See the attached PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity
  • Print the transparency sheet and pages 4 - 5 from the attached Student PDF file for your class

    		•

    		During the Activity

    		Distribute the page to the class.

    Follow the activity procedures:
  • Act out the first three days of the poem
  • Count the coins received each day
  • Organize the data by listing in a table the day, number of coins received on the day, and the total number of coins
  • Predict the number of coins received on other days
  • Complete the table with data for 12 days
  • Use an algebraic expression to generalize the pattern
  • Extend the pattern and find the number of coins received after a set number of days
  • Observe that the sum of the first n whole numbers is n (n + 1)/2

    		After the Activity

    		Students complete the activity sheet and answer questions.
  • Review student results
  • As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
  • Re-teach concepts as necessary

    		Other Downloads




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    Subject Area:
    Math : Middle Grades Math : Algebraic Thinking
    Math : Algebra I : Sequences and Series
    Math : Algebra II : Quadratic Functions
    Math : PreAlgebra : Nonlinear Functions

    Author:
    Texas Instruments

    Level:
    5-8

    Activity Time:
    60 Minutes

    Device:
    TI-30Xa, TI-30X IIB, TI-30X IIS, TI-34 II Explorer Plus™

    Apps:
     

    Software:
     

    Accessories:
     

    Other:
    This is Activity 1 from the EXPLORATIONS Book:
    Investigating Mathematics with Calculators in the Middle Grades: Activities for the TI-30Xa SE and TI-34

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