Eric Jayne

This activity has students using base-ten blocks to construct towers. The idea is to build the tallest tower using the least amount of blocks. The blocks are given a dollar value, and students must figure out the cost per height of their towers. This is a timed problem-solving activity. I put students in pairs and record each group's results on the board. It's fun to see the different ways students attempt to build their towers. I will record the tallest and most cost effective tower and l

I made this activity to serve as a fun way for students to apply what they learned in the probability unit. Students rotate through 6 hands-on stations where they calculate mathematical probabilities, complete experiments, and then calculate the resulting experimental probabilities. The stations use basic materials that should be found within your classroom or school, like dice, coins, spinners, etc. The activity requires a knowledge of mathematical probability and experimental probability fo

I made this problem-solving assignment based on an actual phone call that a customer had with his cell phone provider. The customer and the company disagree about his bill. The company quoted him .002 cents per kilobyte, but they charged him as if his rate was .002 dollars per kilobyte. The phone company contends there is no difference between .002 dollars and .002 cents, while the customer is trying to get them to understand that they are. The actual phone call can easily be found on the web

One of the areas that students seem to struggle with the most is problem-solving. This download contains my basic plan to approaching problem-solving. It's a plan that has produced solid results for me. Included in the download are the following: a definition of problem-solving from the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics that I use as a poster in my room; an explanation of using a 4-step approach to problem-solving (I send this to parents); a student planner that my students use eve