Math Monday: Dental Care (Again)

Back in February 2009, I began putting this unit together, but never got past the first day.  I am going to finally finish the unit this week.  I will not be including elementary math in today's post, but will instead include the link to the 2009 post and just post a couple of word problems for the older students.


Word Problems

- You saved all the money that the Tooth Fairy brought you since you lost your first tooth.  Your last tooth just fell out.  The Tooth Fairy will bring you $1.50 tonight, just as she has done each time you lost a previous tooth.  Most people lose a total of 20 baby teeth.  How much money will you have after the Tooth Fairy visits tonight?  Now imagine you took that money and put it in a savings account.  If the account you choose pays you 3% interest, how much money will you have at the end of the year?

- Uh oh!  You just visited the dentist for a cleaning and they found 2 cavities.  It will take about 45 minutes to have each cavity filled and they will need to be done on different days.  If it takes 15 minutes to drive each way to the dentist, how much time will you need to spend in order to get both cavities filled.

Time Travel Tuesday: Dental Care

Dental history will probably be too dry for the younger age group so instead we will talk about their personal dental history.

Baby teeth and adult teeth begin growing when a baby is still in the womb. Baby teeth begin at 6-8 weeks of development and the adult teeth begin around week 20. When a tooth begins to grow under the gums, it is called a tooth bud (good vocabulary word).  Humans have 4 types of teeth: incisors, canines, premolars, and molars.  By the age of  3 years, most babies will have all their baby teeth.  They will begin to lose their baby teeth around the age of 6, with the adult teeth replacing the baby teeth.  They will continue to get new teeth until their wisdom teeth (which are molars) come in.  Wisdom teeth typically come in around the age of 15-20 years old.

Ask your parents if they know how old you were when your first tooth came in and when you lost your first tooth.

Dental history (for the older students and those who are interested)

Write a short essay on dental history.  Talk about how dental care and the materials use in dental care have changed over time.  Here are a couple of sources to help you get started:

The Dental Center has an intermediate-level of dental history on their website with links to other dental history websites.

The American Dental Association also has a page of dental history that is much more in-depth and covers from ancient times to 20th century innovations and technology.

Sum It Up Saturday: Basketball

This is the end of my first week back to blogging here.  My plan on Saturdays is to link to the previous 5 days so that you have the entire unit easily accessible in one post.  Do you prefer it this way or would you rather I just post the entire unit at one time?  If I post entire lessons at once, it may result in more than one unit a week, but I can't promise that.  I also realize that I did not include science in this lesson plan.  I will share some ideas on that in a minute.  In future weeks, I think I will move the fun ideas to the Sum It Up post on Saturday and include science ideas on Fridays.

Basketball

Some science ideas related to basketball:

- Anatomy and Physiology: Learn about the muscles used while playing basketball.  Younger kids can focus on the parts of the body being used (heart, brain, arms, legs, back) and more advanced kids can learn the muscle names, insertion points, etc.  You can also talk about aerobic exercise and how muscle cells work.  Adapt this to whatever ability you are working with.

- Physics: This post on reference.com has some great ideas for exploring physics with basketball, especially in regards to potential and kinetic energy and the law of conservation of energy.

- Scientific Theory:  Practice dribbling the ball.  Make a prediction about what will happen if you dribble ball faster or slower or from your waist level, your knee level, or your chest level.  Try it and make notes of what happened and try a new prediction.  You can do the same thing when practicing making baskets.  Try changing the bend of your elbow before you release the ball, or try closing your eyes when you take a shot.  

Math Monday

Time Travel Tuesday

Writing Wednesday

Think Of Others Thursday

Fun Friday

Fun Friday: Basketball

(Disclaimer: Some of these links are affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase.  This is at no additional cost to you and does not affect my opinions.)

- Go watch a basketball game.  This could be a pick game at a park, a school game, a college game or a professional game.  Can't find a game to watch, play one instead.

- Play a fun variation of basketball by playing a game of H.O.R.S.E., Around the World, or Lightning.

- Gather some friends, or work on your own, and work on improving your basketball skills with these 63 basketball drills.

- Play Basketball Shootout at home, a friend's home, or a local game room.

- Play a basketball themed game such as Jukem Basketball Card Game, Decision Day - Fantasy Basketball Board Game, or The Ultimate Basketball Trivia Game.

- Print and color some basketball coloring pages (this one also has a Connect-the-Dots page), basketball player coloring pages, or NBA coloring pages.

- Sew a basketball pillow.

- Make a salt dough basketball magnet, or turn it into an ornament instead.

- Make some basketball cookie pops.

Think of Others Thursday: Basketball

Around the World

Basketball Around the World is a Facebook page that shows basketball being played around the world through pictures and videos.

Learn about the history of FIBA (International Basketball Federation, better known by it's French acronym for Fédération Internationale de Basketball).



Serving Others

Learn about some of the ways the NBA serves others.

Host a skills clinic and invite local kids.  You don't have to be the best basketball player to share what you know.  Choose your best skills and share what you can with a small group of kids.

Mentor a younger child, perhaps a sibling, as they learn the skills to play basketball.

Host a fundraiser where you raise money for an organization like the National Wheelchair Basketball Association or your local Wheelchair Basketball League.  You could raise funds by hosting a 3-on-3 tournament, hosting a basketball shoot-out where the participants find sponsors who will donate based on how many baskets they can shoot in a given time period, or you could charge for a one-day skills clinic.  Please share any of the things you might try so that others can be inspired and we can cheer you on.

Writing Wednesday: Basketball

Copywork 

"You can't win unless you learn how to lose."  -Kareem Abdul Jabbar

"Basketball is my passion, I love it.  But my family and friends mean everything to me.  That's what's important."  -LeBron James

"What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player."  -John Wooden

"Be strong in body, clean in mind, lofty in ideals." -James Naismith


Writing topics
In addition to yesterday's writing assignment, here are a few more writing assignment ideas:

- Choose a basketball player, past or present, that you admire or want to know more about.  Research them and write a report about them.

- Learn more about the "Dream Team" and write a report about who they were and what they did.

- Write a narrative about a basketball game you have watched.  Now, write the same story from the point of view of the referee or one of the players.

- Write a narrative about a basketball game you have played in.  Now, write the same story from the point of view of the referee or one of the spectators.

- Write an information piece about your favorite basketball team.


Writing Prompts

- Imagine you were tasked with keeping a group of rowdy teenage boys busy during the winter.  Your supplies are limited to what can be found in the YMCA gym.  What game might you develop?

- You just started a job selling items in the stands during basketball games.  Write about your new job, being sure to write about what you are selling and the people who make purchases from you.

- You look up and see your face on the big screen above center court.  Why are they showing you and how will you react?

- Walking by the basketball court, a basketball comes rolling up to you and stops at your feet.  You pick it up and go to toss it back to the player.  Tell about who was playing and what happens next.

- You were just hired to work for your favorite basketball team.  What is your job?  How does your first day go?

Time Travel Tuesday: Basketball

For history this week, research the history of basketball.  Find out who invented basketball, where and when it was invented, how they played the first games (what equipment did they use, what happened when they scored a basket), and why the game was invented.  For the youngest students, they can watch this video, to find the answers.  Somewhat older students can research the answers and write them in a notebook and older students can write a paragraph or a paper, depending on their ability.

The oldest students could take this assignment a step further by writing about the history of the NBA or women's basketball, along with the history of basketball.

Here are some websites to help with the research:

Cool Facts for Kids (this site also has a bunch of fun basketball facts)
LiveStrong
Kansas Heritage (includes the 13 original rules of the game, which could be used to compare/contrast with modern NBA rules)
KidzWorld

Here are some books that could be used to help (Disclaimer: these are affiliate links and I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through the site.  This does not result in an additional cost to you.)

Basketball (Watts History of Sports)
Hoopmania: The Book of Basketball History and Trivia (Sports Illustrated for Kids Books)
Basketball: A history of the game

Math Monday: Basketball

Basketball is a great topic for studying various areas of math.

Counting

- Younger students can practice counting by ones, twos, fives, tens, etc.  Dribble a basketball or bounce it back and forth with a partner, counting each time it bounces.

- Learn how to keep score in basketball.  Watch or play a game and keep track of the score.

Geometry

- Print out a diagram of a basketball court (high school court or NBA court)

• Measure the lengths of the various parts of the court.  Determine the perimeter and/or area of the court itself, half of the court, the free throw lane and for more advanced students, the center circle. (Here is a diagram to identify the different parts of the basketball court.)
• Identify the different types of lines found on a basketball court (parallel, perpendicular, horizontal, vertical) and the parts of a circle (arc, circumference, diameter, semicircle)

- When shooting a basket, take note of the angle of your elbow as you start your shot.  Try starting with your elbow at different angles and see which angle you have the most success with. 

Algebra

- Watch a game or go out and shoot some hoops.  Keep track of how many times you (or a certain player or one team) attempts to make a basket, and how many times you/they succeed and miss.  Now, determine the percentage of shots made.

Word Problems

Word problems can be made with a basketball theme for many levels.  My samples use the student as the subject, but you could easily substitute a favorite team and player.  Here are a few samples:

- Your team scored 15 points in the first quarter.  The other team scored 17 points.  How many points were scored in all?

- Your team scored 87 points in the game.  You scored 18 of the points.  How points did your teammates score?

- During your last basketball game, your team scored 4 3-point shots, 8 foul shots, and 35 baskets inside the 3-point line.  How many points did your team score in all?

- You took a total of 42 foul shots last year.  You scored with 35 of the shots.  What percentage of foul shots did you make?

There are also some online games to practice math facts with a basketball theme.

Math Facts Basketball (Basic math facts)

Hoops (multi-step word problems)

There are also several math related books about basketball.  (Disclaimer: the following are affiliate links.  This simply means I may receive a small commission if you purchase from the site.  This does not cost you anything extra.)

- Basketball: The Math of the Game (Currently available free through kindleunlimited)

- Basketball Math: Slam-Dunk Activities and Projects for Grades 4-8

- Fantasy Basketball Math: Using Stats to Score Big in Your League

- The Math of Basketball 

- Basketball: Math on the Court (Currently only available for free on kindleunlimited)