The Barbie Bungee

Man! My life has been a blur the last 2 week! A few things before I start:

1. I’m unaccustomed to writing math-centered posts (which you’ve noticed if you read anything prior to the Mullet Ratio). Though I’m still pretty green, I’m thrilled to be involved in the “mathblogosphere”, for which, there must be a better name.
2. The Barbie Bungee lesson was planned in way less time than the Mullet Lesson, which was in the works for weeks. I was saving pictures, constructing the worksheets, planning my own mullet since April, and it still makes me a little embarrassed to know that people are downloading it. I would have changed this color, updated that picture, or tweaked this font. And the Barbie Bungee lesson was largely planned the morning of.

   Polished and perfect, it’s not.

3. In the last week, I got a few thousand hits on the Mullet Lesson, a few dozen tweets about it from people I’ve never met, and it’s been taught in Orange County, the Netherlands, and maybe some places in between. Plus, I got tagged to teach an iPad class with digital textbooks next year and I finished BTSA. Now I’m writing this post, finally.

   Again, polished and perfect, it’s not.

So, like a proctologist about to scope, I ask that you keep #2 in mind. Remember that teaching and learning are both about improvement over time, and this lesson will likely improve.

Prologue

Saturday, for the TEAMS grant at UC-Riverside, a couple teachers talked about Barbie Bungee and I figured I could call the ante and raise the stakes. I sketched some schematics for a bungee platform and began testing prototypes a few days before the Bungee lesson (Thursday/Friday). I finished up building 9 more of them last night.

It’s not too hard. It’s exactly how it looks. Those angles are 45 degrees and each one hooked onto the chain-link fence outside my class so students could raise and lower the platform to various heights.

Students’ only homework this week was for their group to bring in a doll. I advised them on size, weight, and clothing (one student gel-painted a bikini because she couldn’t find Barbie’s shirt), and stored them in class, tagged by period.

Late last night, I wondered in a panic, “Do I have enough content to fill the 90 minutes for two days?”

I turned to my teaching advisor, Google. It turns out I’m nowhere near the first teacher (as I found out via Twitter) to try a Barbie Bungee lesson.

…and many of them more epic than my plan.

NCTM’s Illuminations had some good questions for students.
The Math Lab obviously planned their blog post, with pictures and stuff.
Mr. Pederson filmed his class doing the bungee off the bleachers.
Fawn Nguyen has been doing it for years, and even planned hers for the same day as me! Talk about being born under the same geeky star! I hope someday my Barbie Bungee lesson will be as involved and pointed as hers. You nailed it, Fawn! Fabulous work.

Seriously, teachers. If you’re interested in this lesson, go to her page first. I guarantee it’s worth your time.

Day 1

After the warm-up, announcements, and whatever, I show these two videos:

Purists will note that the second video (a Russian Missile silo) isn’t technically bungee jumping; they’re using what rock climbers call static rope, which doesn’t stretch. Meaning that they fall about 15-20 meters and are yanked at the bottom. Russians have a different meaning for fun, I suppose.

This is the front row at a KISS concert in Moscow.

But back to Barbies.

I started a discussion first (low-entry point, everybody’s involved).

What do you think the world’s first bungee jumpers thought about?
What makes a bungee jump exciting?
What are the dangers in a bungee jump?

I framed our plan for the day, passed out the pink papers (attached below) and set them to work.

This part was pretty easy. They began building bungee cords, threading their platforms and heading outside to bunge. The GATE (Honors) students finished fairly quickly, some even wanting to go higher (which I saved for day 2).

Memorable quotes:

“What if they don’t hit the ground on the first try?”
“It’s okay to smash their face a little bit, right?”

And my favorite:
“Can I tape her dress down? She’s flashing the goodies with every jump.”

Day 2:

Students were notified that Barbie was to jump 203 centimeters today.

Before we go further, here’s what yesterday’s pink worksheet looked like (Attachment below):

Mathematicians, you’ll note that this is a good time to talk about greatest integer functions (because you can’t have a 6.3 rubber bands), but I glossed over that for this year.

Students, predictably, added the 60 cm to the 140 cm “then added a little more” to plan for the 203 cm jump. Okay, fine.

Then we took them outside to video as the Barbies jumped 203 cm.

Some classes were very successful, pushing the limits of how close they could get. (and getting frustrated when their doll’s skull cracked the ground).

Not all jumps were successful.

Then, back inside to answer questions on the back and make calculations for the roof jump.

The janitor had agreed earlier to climb up to the roof and toss the dolls off, two at a time. Of course, I had to build a separate launching platform for the Pavilion roof.

I must really love my job, because I hate drilling pilot holes.

We also taped two yardsticks to the wall, so we could play back the footage and see who “won”. For the more cautious classes, it wasn’t really necessary. Here are all the jumps put together.

Stuff I changed on the fly:

• Bundle the rubber bands in 20s, then make sure to get all 20 back. (Way easier than counting each group.)
• Show that the 60 cm jump is the distance down from the ledge, not up to the fence.
• For heavy dolls, double up the bungee
• Go very slowly to show the class a slipknot for Barbie’s legs.

All told, it was an excellent activity, but not yet a great lesson. Check out Fawn’s post on this. It’s awesome. Mine can get close, but for now it’s just a good year-end activity.

Coming soon: Toothpaste 3-Act

~Mr. V

Barbie Bungee Doc

Mullets: The Only Lesson They’ll Remember

I admit, I would love for my 8th graders to remember a sweet lesson about Systems of Equations (when we used math to convince my wife to buy skis rather than rent them) or something more mathematical than what we did yesterday. But this will probably be the one they tell their parents about.

Mulletude: Just How Mullety Is It?

I was browsing Mr. Piccini’s blog a few weeks ago and came across a simple question: “Who has the more Mullety mullet?”

We’re done with state testing, so why not explore it? Here’s how it went down.

Prologue:

I gave myself a mullet. It was totally worth it; every student came into class with a smile, already curious. It also felt good to say, “Good morning! We’re studying Mullets today.”

A student, certain I was lying, exclaimed to her friend:

“Omigod! Look at the Agenda! It’s all about Mullets!”

Part 1: Warm-up

To get them thinking, I started with this mullet question (#1). No numbers, no right answer, just taking a risk and interacting with a foreign subject.

One student said, “No solution. They’re both terrible.” I loved it.

Part 2: What is a Mullet?

I previously discussed the lesson plan with my teammates, and discovered that some of them didn’t know what a mullet was. After the usual start-up business, I went to this slide.

I threw these two beauties on the board and asked, “Which is more Mullety?”

The best part is that students immediately began using the terms I introduced.

Kelsey: The hillbilly has a little too much Party in the back, even though his Business is the same as the cute guy.
Susy: I think the cute guy has the better mullet because it’s more even.
John: Yeah, his Business and Party are more  proportional.

“Hold on to that word for later.” I said to John.

Part 3

I then started introducing different mullets, asking which is more Mullety. I knew I’d baited the hook when a student said, “Can we rank their mulletude?”

Yes! Yes, student! Yes, you can! High five!

Part 4: The Mullet Ratio

Students already recognized the vocab from before, so this transition was very smooth. And (here’s the best part) they all jumped on the math with no groaning. Students lunged for their calculators like bagels at a hunger strike.

As a sample, I guided the class as we calculated my mullet ratio on the board (See above; it’s 4.73).

“Show me a thumbs up if you got 4.73… okay, good. You’re ready to go.”

Then I took a seat, moved through the slides with a clicker, called on students (using my random cards), and let them discuss.

The above slide (Lionel Richie vs. me in 1989) led to a great discussion on the differences between mullet, afro, and Jerry Curl.

With calculators, they weren’t afraid of large numbers, and they realized that the ratios were still comparable, even when the units were nanometers and miles. After a few slides, we got into a groove, and I could start asking key questions:

“Mark, you calculate the hockey player, Dariana, you get Uncle Jesse”
“Does that answer make sense?”
“Why do you think his ratio is so much higher?”

I also wanted to emphasize that the measurement doesn’t matter; it’s a ratio between two things. This slide and the one above it really drove that home. The Mullet Family caused a fit of giggles in every period, but who cares? It was fun for me.

Highlights:
“This is the best homework we’ve ever had.”
“Where did you find all of these?”

Part 5: On Your Own

Then I passed out pipe cleaners and rulers, along with copies of this worksheet.

Students fit the pipe cleaner along the hair, then straightened it onto their rulers to find the measurement of the Party. The Business was usually pretty straight.

Ryan: Jeanine’s is more like a ponytail, is that okay?
Bree: How do I know where the Party ends and the Business begins?
Jose: My uncle has a haircut just like Miguel.

Highlight: For Big Daddy, one Honors student used 0.0001 cm for the Business, and got a mullet ratio of 2.5 million. This led to a great discussion of why that happened. What made the ratio so big?

(Also, I managed to make it the whole day without saying “the length of Big Daddy’s Business”, because I didn’t want any parents hearing that taken out of context. If I were still teaching seniors, I’m sure they’d have noticed the comedic appeal well before I did.)

Part 6: Your Own Mullet Ratio

Students who finished were directed to find their own ratio, which led to another great mathematical revelation for some of them:

Sara: I don’t even have a mullet!
Vaudrey: No, but you do have a Mullet Ratio. So find it. And find the Mullet Ratio of four other people, too.

Students worked for a few minutes, finished up their worksheets, and found each others’ ratios. Now here’s my favorite part of the day:

The Discussion

Oh, and some of them calculated the Mullet Ratio of photos on my Wall of Fame. Joe Jonas isn’t really in my 3rd period.

I quickly recorded all the student ratios into Excel and ranked them, then put it on the board and we had a discussion.

“What does it mean to have a Mullet Ratio of 1.0?”
“What does it mean to have a Mullet Ratio of less than 1.0?”
“Why can’t you have a negative Mullet Ratio?”
Student: “If my hair is longer, how come Karla has a higher ratio than me?”
“What’s the Mullet Ratio for Mr. Krasniak (the bald science teacher)?”

That was my favorite question; the initial yells of “One” and “Zero” turned into “No, wait… undefined!”

 How I Know It Worked

Look at the Excel chart. Students in other periods got Mullet Ratios in the 20s and 30s, even 40s.

…meaning they falsified their data for a higher mullet ratio, and they knew what they were doing.

Teachers, download the materials here:
The Mullet Ratio - PowerPoint
Mullet Ratio Worksheet
Mullet Ratio Worksheet – Famous Mullets (still a work in progress)

…and let me know if you try it. I’d love to see how this could be improved.

UPDATE 14 May 2012:

Wow. Thank you all for the gushing, I’m humbled.
Thanks to dozens of Twittizens (that’s a real word, right?) who linked this page, to Dan Meyer for his review and kudos, and to Peter Price for his ‘Atta boy.

I got an excellent extension from Mr. Bombastic:

I would like to see some additional questions on this day or the next that do not involve measuring and calculating the ratio (just estimation and mental math). For example, sketch a person with a mullet ratio about half that of Barry; or sketch three different looking people with about the same ratio; or a person whose hair is half as long as Barry with a ratio three times as large; or sketch a person that has a mullet ratio of…

Also, from Dan Henrickson:

9. Tom has a Mullet Ratio of 6.2. His party in the back is 19 inches. Find the length of his business in the front.
10. Joe has a mullet ratio of 1.7. Find two possibilities for his hair lengths.
11. Write an equation that models all possibilities for Joe’s business and party. (define the variables used)
12. Graph all possibilities for Joe’s business and party:

Wicked. I’m definitely working those into a warm-up this week, though I’ll probably use the names of students in the class.

I’ll be writing about the Barbie Bungee lesson this week, once some paperwork is done. Until then, go read Fawn Nguyen’s lesson on the same thing.

Christmas Boxes

When I was a kid, I loved the Friday after Thanksgiving.

My dad would trundle all five of us kids out to the garage to carry in boxes of Christmas decorations and we’d set to work draping the house in greens and reds.

Huddled over a cardboard box, I’d blow the dust off, then lift the flaps and gaze into a mess of ornaments wrapped in newspaper.

That smell… to this day, when we take out the ornaments, I’m reminded of lush green Douglas Fir trees and Johnny Mathis.

 

Today was the first day back from two weeks of Spring Break.

That’s right, 16 days.

Twenty-three thousand glorious minutes of restful mornings, cleaning projects, and video games.

Today, when I returned to my class, the smell took me back. The class had sat, unoccupied for 4.4% of a year, and in that time, had reverted back to the same smell that it had when I walked in on August 5th, 2011.

On August 5th, I pulled up to my new job, excited with the prospect of a new school, new colleagues, new students, and a new culture. I unloaded the cardboard boxes from my car with the same excitement as when my family decorated our house in the wheat fields of Eastern Washington fifteen years ago.

Even though the students dreaded returning to school today, I started the day with the enthusiasm of Christmas boxes.

Getting Pinked, riffed, or “having probationary status terminated”

“Did you hear? Mr. Avery got RIFfed!”

“Yeah, I got pinked again this year.”

“Mr. Vaudrey? Hi, we got the list… and you’re on it.”

Non-teachers, you have no doubt heard one of the above terms used around this time of year. Here’s what they mean for teachers:

Beware the Ides of March

Every year by March 15^th, the California Education Code (“Ed Code” for short) states that teachers must be notified if their contract isn’t renewed for the next school year.

This could be for several reasons:

1. The teacher is brand new to teaching and it’s just not a good fit. This way, he or she can get a new job, a fresh start, without saying “I got fired”.
2. The state has no money, so schools have to make the same services available to kids, but with less staff, so it’s a Reduction In Force (“RIF” for short)
3. The district has no money…
4. The school has no money…
5. The city has no money…
6. The teacher is new to the school and this is a good way to see if they will work out: Fire them after a year, then if you want them back, you re-hire.

In our district, we have over 300 positions being cut.

That’s a lot. It’s about one in five.

"Anybody with levitation skills gets pinked. It's a new district policy."

Here’s why teachers make a big fuss about it:

Suppose you work at the GAP.

"Hi, I'm Devon. Can I get you a pooka-shell necklace?"

You were brand new to the retail business and hired on a “Probationary” basis. You work very hard and sell a lot of modestly priced polo shirts.

Then March 15^th comes, you are told that you might be fired, for no reason, in June. Do you keep working hard until then?

"These pencils aren't going to perch themselves."

…cuz it’s really tempting to take your time stocking the capri pants after that. What’s the point? You’re out of a job in a few months.

Some of your co-workers start using up their sick days and some outright quit.

.

Still unclear?

Suppose you play football.

Your season ends and you are told your contract is over. It’s pretty common, but you can’t help feeling that you’d be kept if you’d made more tackles or touchdowns.

You quite enjoyed playing for your team, the Colts, but they may not have the money to hire you back.

Do you snoop around other teams for a job? If you find one, you’ll just be starting out there at the bottom of the ladder, ready to have the same thing happen next year.

Do you wait it out and see what happens? They all like you on the Colts, but what if the season starts and they can’t afford to keep you? You then have no team to play for. Is that better than playing for the Redskins?

My first year teaching was a disaster. It was so bad, that I got pinkedin late January. They didn’t even wait until March to let me know that I was done.

I stuck it out, though. I worked just as hard all the way to mid-June, harder perhaps—knowing that I had nothing to lose and I could try new things.

At least this year, I made it all the way to Pi Day.

Also, if you work at a charter school, as I previously did, they are exempt from the March 15th rule, as I wrote previously in anger.

**Credit to Laura, from whom I stole the bold formatting idea.

My 10,000 Days Old Party

You know what’s a goofy number? 365.
It’s not even an accurate way to measure the movement of the Earth.

Birthdays happen ALL the time. If you’re in a room right now with more than 23 people in it, chances are better than 50% that two people have the same birthday.

If you have 40 people, the chances are 90%.

It’s not special anymore. Readers whose ages are a non-important number know this to be true. I turn 28 this year. Who cares?

10,000 however, now that’s an important number. One worth celebrating.

Thursday, March 8th, 2012 was my 10,000th day on the planet, so my wife and I had a party about it.

Also, my students had a test to take on Friday, which left me with three 90-minute periods to make posters for the party.

I’m not gonna lie, it was a lot of fun to make these.

The party was well-attended, with everyone making their own day-tags. Even the dog got a tag (207) and our pregnant friend (-113).

 

Credit where credit is due, it was Andy that first got me thinking about this a few years ago.

…and my family supplied the soundtrack.

Also, to calculate how many days old you are, click here.

…and I better see your number in the comment section.