Recently, Dan asked me to do something similar:
- It lends itself to an immediate conversation without begging the kids for math. You can't come to a reasonable solution without recruiting some math to support it.
- There are inherent conversions that are being done to come to a common comparison. On first glance, the obvious choice is... I really don't know, and my students didn't either. We would like to say that gold is always better, but that's a WHOLE LOTTA SILVER!!!
- The prompt can be scaled. The next two bullets hit on this.
- For a middle school class, we find the current conversion, compare, and be done with it. Sure, start an argument about the price and hypothesize about the future, but you don't neeeeeeed to get deep into the graphs
- For a high school class (or more advanced middle schoolers), the current price is only the beginning of the discussion. There is plenty of trend data available for both gold and silver, leading students into a strong conversation about futures, stocks, trends, stats, and much more. Putting all bias aside is easier when you're looking at a lot of data to support either side.
- This requires math to have a decent conversation. All I'm doing is asking which one they'd rather have, not demanding the math, but the students in the class will start to force the issue with peer pressure. Matt stands up and says "I like gold chains, so I'm going with the gold". Ryanne says that she would rather have the silver because (insert something incredibly mathematical and brilliant here), leaving Matt to wither back into his seat and do some research.
- It changes! Based on the prices of gold and silver, the justification for students' answers will change from week to week. When we did it, the prices changed from period to period, making it a genuinely fun experience that I didn't know the answer to! Yep, I didn't have the answer to my own prompt and I was completely happy with it. In fact, the kids stopped expecting it.
- They sought the tools and math necessary to justify their reasoning. I didn't hand anything to them, put anything on the board, or tell them to bust out their calculators. It was just the prompt. And it was glorious.
- It's shallow. The only math that the prompt is requiring students to do is to take percents of acres and compare them. The depth of math required to put together a solid argument isn't there compared to most of the other prompts that are on the site. Still, for a teacher wanting something quick, this is a viable option.
- It lacks relevance. Sure, I've already mentioned it in a contextual standpoint, but it also lacks relevance in a percentage standpoint. When else are you going to find the percent of mortality of an item/object/scenario? This doesn't lend itself to further conversations very well. It can happen, but not as naturally as I'd like.
- It's hard to start an argument. I like arguments. A lot. It's hard for me to advocate for one side or the other and justify it in a way that makes kids contemplate their stance. Maybe it's just me, and I'm open to being convinced, but I think that 50 acres is clearly a better choice.
And the here's Maria, a teacher who completely finds value in my least favorite because of its relevance to her students. I'll take that!
Thank you to everyone who uses WYRMath, talks about it, promotes it, and gives me ideas and encouragement to continue working on this little side project.
As always, if anyone has an idea for a WYRMath post, please let me know via twitter or leave a comment here!
Happy "Favorite Child Syndrome" Fishing