Prepare a ballot box out of a shoe box and instruct students to write the name of the person they want to be the next classroom president on a piece of paper. When all students have cast their votes, open the shoe box and count the votes for each candidate. Afterwards, write a series of fractions on the board, featuring the number of votes each candidate got as the numerator and the total number of voters as the denominator. Instruct students to multiply the numerator by 100 and divide it by the denominator, to come up with the percentage of votes each candidate earned.
Write down a number of statistics regarding franchises of a particular sport's top league, such as the win-loss record of NBA franchises, the number of touchdowns of all NFL teams and of each team individually or the number of yellow cards of each MLS club compared to combined number. Make sure you have at least five sets of statistics and that at least one team corresponds to each student in your class. Allow students to calculate the percentages deriving from these statistics at home and bring you the results the following day.
Ask students to tell you the type of pet they have at home or the type of pet they would like to own. Record the answers on the board and write fractions comparing each answer with the total number of students who took part in the survey. Ask students to calculate the percentages, as they did on the elections project. Afterwards, explain that you can visualize percentages by creating a pie chart. One percentage point corresponds to 3.6 degrees, as 100 percent equals to a 360 degrees angle -- the whole of the pie. Instruct each student to use her compass and protractor to create an accurate visualization of your survey's results.
Ask students to work together and compile a comprehensive report on the composition of the class and the characteristics of its students. For example, students must find out the percentage of male and female students in the classroom, the percentage of students above or below a certain weight and height or the percentage of students from specific ethic backgrounds. Allow students one week to complete the project and give them the freedom to choose the categories of their study which, however, must be no less than seven.