3 Interesting Winter Math Activities for Your Students

(Updated 11/19/21)

Do your students have holidays on the brain? (And maybe you, too!) Get them back into math with these winter-themed activities over the next few weeks:

• An Interesting Day in South Dakota (6th Grade) - The temperature changed throughout the day in Rapid City, South Dakota, on January 22, 1943. In this activity, students will create a graph of the temperatures, describe the pattern, and explain why this is an "interesting" day.
   
• Wrapping Presents on the Diagonal - Students conduct a hands-on learning experiment to determine the most efficient method for wrapping a gift using the least amount of wrapping paper. You can use this as an opportunity to work with surface area and the Pythagorean Theorem.
   
• Dilation: The Heart of a Grinch (Geometry) - In the animated version of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss, the Grinch has a heart "two sizes too small," as shown below. Share this photo with students and ask them the following questions:
  • According to the picture, what transformation has occurred?
  • What do you think it meant to the animators for his heart to be ‘2 sizes too small’?
  • Is this a mathematically accurate representation? Why or why not? Justify your answer.
  • Later in the story, the Grinch’s heart grows "3 sizes." Using this picture of his heart, show how big his heart would be now.
  • How does this "3 sizes as large" heart compare to a normal heart? Explain using mathematically precise vocabulary.

How do you celebrate in your classroom? Got any holiday math activities to share? Let us know on social media using the hashtag #longlivemath.