Yummy Math - V"fun"n Diagrams

In my Advanced Mathematical Decision Making class, my seniors are a challenge to keep engaged.  During a unit of probability, we discussed Venn diagrams and how they are used for probability.  I could tell that they were getting tired of drawing boring circles for each situation.  Finally, I decided enough is enough.  We are going to make V"FUN"N-diagrams.

The task was to create a situation that would use a Venn diagram to represent and come up with a creative way of symbolizing it (no boring circles on paper).  Because they are high-schoolers and because they could, most of the groups did food representations.  They also had to determine 5 probabilities using their Venn diagram situation.  The groups all presented their situations, then we enjoyed!  It turned into a pseudo "food-day", but I felt that it was needed halfway through the semester.  It increased morale, and it really got them involved in the math.  Small price to pay for creativity and awesome math.
Here are some examples of what they came up with...

People who like yellow Powerade, blue Powerade, and both.  The mix was surprisingly refreshing!

People who like sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and both.  As you can see, they did some extra decorating...



This situation was not perfect (cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, and both).  Technically, this could not happen unless the pepperoni side had ONLY pepperoni (which it didn't).  I understood what they were trying to say, and it also caused a very interesting discussion.  I'm including it because it looks awesome.  It was also very delicious.

This may look like a regular pie, but trust me, it is not.  Half of the pie was pineapple and the other half was apple.  The middle was a mix of the two.  Homemade from a student's kitchen.  (The student actually had his mom make it..I can't complain)



Brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and both.  The brownie/cookie was the hit of the day.  Very creative!

 I actually don't remember the situation for this one, but I liked how they used an every day object to represent their situation.  They also included numbers and labels on their diagram.  The visual was very powerful to those who still struggled with the idea.

These are just some snippets of what the students came up with.  There were many others that were very creative and well thought-out.  I was a proud teacher.

Happy diagramming!

Carnival Game for Probability

I currently teach Advanced Mathematical Decision Making (whatever the heck that is...), and it requires a lot of creativity to keep these seniors engaged.  If you teach this class, you know...

One project that a fellow teacher introduced me to is a Carnival Project.  Basically, the students come up with their own carnival game, make it, then perform analyses on it.  It started a lot of very good conversations about probability (conditional, independent, so on and so forth...).

Here is the description of the project. You can download a copy for free on this website.


Carnival Game Project


 I also made rubrics for each of the three sections.  I will have to post this later since I don't have them at the moment.  Stay tuned! 
**Update 1/15**
Here are the rubrics for the project.  Each of the three sections had a different rubric.
Proposal Rubric
Working Model Rubric
Report Rubric

Here are some of the amazing things that the students came up with.  We had two days where the teams "presented" their games and everyone played them.  If you can, invite other classes and teachers to come and enjoy the games as well.  The students love to eat, and almost all of them brought candy prizes without prompting.  Let's just say, I consumed too many calories those days!  Too fun!

Galton Board (very interesting)

Happy teaching probability!