Valentine's Day Infographic?

This generation likes to party…or use an excuse to celebrate life.  And, why not?  Anticipating Valentine’s Day, here is an idea to capitalize on a holiday and fold in your library curriculum.  Use this fun activity to teach: Keyword searching; digging for data; speaking with evidence, how to support an idea with “data” or “evidence”; real-life applications of math; writing in the first person; writing to persuade; researching to build an argument; and more. 

Here are sample over-arching Essential Questions to frame the project.  Please note that these EQ’s are wide enough to cover many topics:

EQ:  How does your passion use data or math? 

EQ:  How do we use math in real-life applications?

EQ:  How can we use data to strengthen an argument?
EQ:  How can we represent data visually? 

The expectation for mathematical application should scaffold by grade level, but this Inquiry-based assignment lends students the freedom of choice and voice to delve deeply and go in many directions.  

Suggestions to strengthen the assignment:

1. Enlist the help of a math teacher to be a covert collaborator—giving students helpful hints, brainstorming mathematical connections and more. 
2. Get a local business to offer a prize

 

 

http://www.mlssoccer.com/soccer-almanac/news/article/2011/08/26/soccer-almanac-attendance-rise

Remember:  These infographics are now so prolific on the Internet that you'd better insure their assignment wasn't copied and pasted like this soccer one above!