football

Sports Teams & Math

Stacey Ferguson

Introduction:

How many of you like sports? How many of you would like to see how your favorite NFL football team is doing? Today we are going to look up NFL sports teams on the web and analyze their statistics.

Evaluation:

Students will be grade according to the accuracy of their calculations.

Prior Knowledge:

The students will need to know how to use a mouse to locate and click on things on the screen. They will need to know how to type in the web sites used to find information. The students will need to know how to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and be able to compute the averages of the sports teams. The students will also need to know the concepts of a mean(average), median, mode and range.

Grade Level: 3rd- 5th grade

Task:

Students will collect sports data from their two favorite NFL teams. They will write down the wins, losses and scores of their two teams and will average the teams’ scores. They will also compare the two teams they chose and determine how much it would cost for the class to attend a game.

Materials:

computer with Internet access
Worksheet #1 - html or pdf
Worksheet #2 - html or pdf
Worksheet #3 - html or pdf
pencil

Resources:

ESPN Network- http://espn.go.com/
Official Site of the National Football League- http://www.nfl.com/
Yahooligans Kid Site- http://www.yahooligans.com/
Direct sports football site fromYahooligans- http://www.yahooligans.com/Sports_and_Recreation/Football__American_/National_Football_League__NFL_/Teams/

Process:

Have the students log onto one of the Internet web sites listed above.
Have the students click on “NFL” and “teams” and then click on their favorite NFL team.
Have the students locate the most recent scores of their selected team.
Have the students complete part 1 of the worksheet.
Have the students choose another NFL team and repeat step 3.
Have the students complete part 2 of the worksheet.
Have the students complete parts 3 and 4 of the worksheet.

Learning Advice:

Teachers will need to have already logged onto the Internet. Teachers should make sure the students have prior knowledge to complete these tasks.

Extensions:

Have the students graph their results on the computer or on paper and compare their graph with those of their classmates. A good graphing software program to use would be “The Graph Club” by Tom Snyder.

Conclusion:

Upon completion of this activity, the students will have learned how analyze two sets of data, average numbers and compute costs. They will also have had more experience in navigating and locating information on the Internet.

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California Math Academic Standards:

Grade 3:
Number Sense
2.0 Students calculate and solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division:
2.1 Find the sum or difference of two whole numbers between 0 and 10,000.
2.4 Solve simple problems involving multiplication of multidigit numbers by one-digit numbers (3,671 x 3 = __).
2.5 Solve division problems in which a multidigit number is evenly divided by a one-digit number (135/5 = __).
2.7 Determine the unit cost when given the total cost and number of units.
2.8 Solve problems that require two or more of the skills mentioned above.

Mathematical Reasoning
2.0 Students use strategies, skills, and concepts in finding solutions:

2.3 Use a variety of methods, such as words, numbers, symbols, charts, graphs, tables, diagrams, and models, to explain mathematical reasoning.

Grade 4:
Number Sense
2.0 Students extend their use and understanding of whole numbers to the addition and subtraction of simple decimals:

2.1 Estimate and compute the sum or difference of whole numbers and positive decimals to two places.

3.0 Students solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers and understand the relationships among the operations:

3.3 Solve problems involving multiplication of multidigit numbers by two-digit numbers.
3.4 Solve problems involving division of multidigit numbers by one-digit numbers.

Statistics, Data Analysis, & Probability
1.0 Students organize, represent, and interpret numerical and categorical data and clearly communicate their findings:

1.2 Identify the mode(s) for sets of categorical data and the mode(s), median, and any apparent outliers for numerical data sets.

Mathematical Reasoning
2.0 Students use strategies, skills and concepts in finding solutions:

2.3 use a variety of methods, such as words, numbers, symbols, charts, tables, diagrams and models to explain mathematical reasoning.

Grade 5:
Number Sense
2.0 Students perform calculations and solve problems involving addition, subtraction, and simple multiplication and division of fractions and decimals:

2.1 add, subtract, multiply, and divide with decimals; add with negative integers; and verify the reasonableness of the results.

Statistics, Data Analysis, & Probability
1.0 Students display, analyze, compare, and interpret different data sets, including data sets of different sizes:

1.1 know the concepts of mean, median, and mode; compute and compare them in simple examples and notice that they may differ.

Mathematical Reasoning
2.0 Students use strategies, skills and concepts in finding solutions:

2.3 use a variety of methods, such as words, numbers, symbols, charts, graphs, tables, diagrams, and models to explain mathematical reasoning.