Unit 9, Lesson 4
If Our Class Were the World (Optional)
Accelerated 6
Preparation
Lesson Narrative
This lesson is optional. In this lesson, students explore what their class would be like if its ratios were equivalent to that of the world population. In the process, students reason abstractly and quantitatively with percentages that are not whole numbers, using knowledge gained in a previous unit (MP2). Moreover, the ratios will be “close” to being equivalent because the exact world population is not known, and all populations need to be whole numbers, which requires students to attend to precision (MP6). The activities in this lesson could take more than one day, depending on how much time is available and how far the class takes it. Earlier activities are needed for later ones in this lesson.
This lesson can be used anytime after Unit 2 is completed.
- Generate (orally and in writing) mathematical questions about the world’s population, e.g., “How many people . . . ?”
- Interpret and approximate characteristics of the world's population using percentages and equivalent ratios.
- Present (using words and other representations) a comparison that uses the number of students in the class to represent the proportion of the world’s population with a particular characteristic.
Let’s use math to better understand our world.
Required Materials
Activity 1
Required Preparation
Internet-enabled devices are necessary only if students will conduct research to find quantities that they need to know. As an alternative, you can supply the information when they ask for it.
Tools for creating a visual display are needed only if you would like students to present their work in an organized way and have the option of conducting a Gallery Walk.