Activity Overview
I used one of Marilyn Burns' activities out of her book Math and Literature and built TI technology around it.
Students will measure the height of a paper ice cream cone with one scoop of ice cream, then two scoops, three scoops, four, five and so on. They try to find a general approach for determining height of a cone with any number of scoops.
Then using n to represent any number of scoops, students will determine the equation for the height of the cone.
Before the Activity
Obtain a copy of Shel Silverstein’s poem Eighteen Flavors and read it to your students.
During the Activity
Have the students cut out their cone and scoops.
Have them measure and record their information in lists (observe this process closely making sure that the kids are factoring in a squish factor)
Have students graph the information and determine the slope of the line and its Y-intercept with and without the calculator.
After the Activity
Student handout should be reviewed for completion and understanding of the concepts for the objective. Students should provide a write-up of the activity that explains a step-by-step approach to their thoughts.
My students, even though they are 14, tend to want to color the ice cream cones and hang them.