Summer Activities

Here are five summery real-world math activities: pools, beach days, hydration, and more. Good for a relaxed end-of-year lesson or a summer math session!

• Giant beach towel 
  Miami artist Misael Soto laid out a beach towel big enough to make a point about sharing. Students estimate, then work out just how big it really is. A 3-act task built around area and scale. Grades 5–8 · Geometry, estimation, area
   
• How much pee is in your pool?
  A little gross, but a lot of fun! Students calculate pool volumes, convert cubic feet to gallons, and estimate how much, ah, isn't just water. Grades 4–8· Volume, ratios
   
• How much water should you be drinking?
  As temperatures rise, hydration matters. Students build their own formulas for daily water needs, factoring in size, weather, and exercise, then figure out what they should really be drinking. Grades 6–HS · Formulas, decimals, rates
   

• All you can eat for 10 cents
  A 1938 Dairy Queen ad promised all the ice cream you could eat for a dime. Was that actually a good deal? Students dig into inflation and exponential growth to find out. Grades 5 (part 1)–HS (part 2) · Inflation, exponential growth, percent change