Put your students in the role of World War II code breakers who must track down German U-boats in the Atlantic. Separate the students into small groups and ask them to use basic algebra to solve coded messages from Washington to find the map coordinates of the boats. Students are rewarded with a new code with each boat that is discovered. A more advanced version of this math game incorporates Google Earth, and special map files containing boat locations and codes may be downloaded from the website Real World Math.
Place students in pairs to examine access to water supplies in various countries using Google Earth. The Google Earth software allows students to look at the elevation profile of land, which they can use to figure out the best path to fresh water. Plot out several paths to water and ask students to analyze the changes in elevation to determine the quickest route. Google Earth allows students to view line graphs showing the changes in elevation and distance for each path. A downloadable Google Earth file for this lesson may be found at Real World Math.
Divide students into groups to create menus for the school cafeteria. Tell students how many people will need to be fed. Give them a budget and ask them to review grocery store ads in the newspaper to select food for the menu. Then ask them to figure out how much to charge for each meal to ensure a profit.
Mark Twain's tale, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," can be used as a jumping-off point for a simple geometry lesson. Have your students create their own jumping contest, with each student making three jumps from a line and recording the distance in feet. Ask students to use the numbers to figure out their average distance over the three jumps. Then ask students to work together to figure out the average distance for the whole class. Have your students read Twain's story to include an English component to the lesson.