Students determine how high they can jump using a light probe
and laser. After all jump heights have been obtained, students
organize and display the data. They can then determine the
minimum and maximum values, quartiles, mean, median, and mode of
the data. “Jump” is an example of an activity that would be
appropriate for most middle school students. Rather than
analyzing a list of meaningless numbers from the textbook,
students can take ownership in the activity because they are
obtaining real data points. Obtaining, organizing, displaying,
and evaluating data are key elements of Standard 6: Data
Analysis and Probability found in Indiana's Academic Standards
for mathematics. (T.H.) Newton's Law of Cooling This activity
would be appropriate as part of unit made up of direct and
indirect proportions. The rate of cooling of a warm object is
directly proportional to the temperature difference between the
object and the surrounding environment. The activity also
provides the added bonus of allowing the students