Teaching mathematics using popular culture : strategies for common core instruction from film and television

Mathematics teachers often struggle to motivate their students. One way to cultivate and maintain student interest is for teachers to incorporate popular media into their methodology. Organized on the subject strands of the Common Core, this book explores math concepts featured in contemporary films and television shows and offers numerous examples high school math teachers can use to design lessons using pop culture references. Outlines for lessons are provided along with background stories and historical references. Cover 1 Acknowledgments 6 Language and Content Advisory 7 Table of Contents 8 Solutions Explained 9 Preface 10 Introduction: The Theory of Visual Media in the Mathematics Classroom 14 One: Common Core State Standards Initiative 20 Two: Number and Quantity 24 Three: Algebra 63 Four: Functions 85 Five: Modeling 112 Six: Geometry 134 Seven: Statistics and Probability 167 Eight: Outside the Classroom 198 Appendix A: The Euclidean Algorithm 204 Appendix B: Selected Solutions 205 Appendix C: Game Theory 219 Chapter Notes 228 Bibliography 234 Index 240 Mathematics teachers often struggle to motivate their students. One way to cultivate and maintain student interest is for teachers to incorporate popular media into their methodology. This book explores maths concepts featured in contemporary films and television shows and offers numerous examples high school maths teachers can use to design lessons using pop culture references.