Mathwire features a series of quilting activities which make use of the properties of patterns and shapes in their design. Quilting is a good exercise for combining math and research, as quilts tell an important story about America's past. Quilt makers who sympathized with runaway slaves often used particular shapes and patterns in their quilts to pass messages and instructions to those using the Underground Railroad. Examples of patterns and their messages are available via the "Threads of Freedom" link on the Mathwire site.
In this exercise from Pro Teacher Collection, students select the stock of a company that interests them (for example, Nintendo or Disney). They research the companies, put together a prospectus for potential investors and follow the performance of their stock through the media (newspapers, television or online) for a period of time, recording its progression on a graph. They determine how many shares they could purchase for a set dollar amount. The students learn about IPOs, stock splits, selling short, trading on margin and other aspects of dealing in the market and how they affect the investor. At the end of the tracking period, they assess their gains or losses. They can also compare their stock's performance with that of their classmates.
For this project, featured on Pro Teacher Collection, students draw their "dream" house in 2D. The drawings must include a specific number of doors and windows. Students use a ruler for all lines in the drawing and record the measurements of the lines in centimeters. Students are to calculate the area and perimeter of the doors and windows. They will then convert centimeters to millimeters, and record the results as they would appear on a typical drafting project. Students may add features, color the pictures, and even diagram the rooms of the house. For reinforcement, students can self-evaluate using a rubric to score their finished products.
A good exercise for reinforcing geometry concepts is to have students design a town using geometry as the basis. For fun and to lend unity, students develop a theme for their town, which carries over into its features (houses, businesses, roads). Students work from a list of requirements, giving the town a certain number of parallel streets, for example, or using a certain number of different geometric shapes to represent building. Students complete this activity entirely on paper, using protractors, rulers and a compass.