The Popcorn Challenge

Today we did what I'm calling the Popcorn Challenge.  Students were presented with the question, "How much popcorn would fit in this classroom and how long would it take our class to eat it?"  I love the idea of this problem because there is no right or wrong answer.  Students just have to be able to support their answers with math and be able to explain them.

The students were highly engaged.  I brought in some popcorn for them to measure as a frame of reference and some to snack on.  They began by measuring the classroom.  Some used yard sticks and others went to the tape measure.  Once there was an agreed upon measurement for the length, width, and height, students were then able to explore various ways to figure out how much popcorn would fit into the room.

The students then focused on how long it would take to eat all of that popcorn.  One student referred back to the last movie he saw where he ate an entire bag of popcorn (however much that is) during half of the movie.  So he looked up the length of that movie to use as his frame of reference.  Others got out a timer as their group ate popcorn to figure how much the class could eat in a given amount of time.

My favorite part was when I happened to catch two students discussing the problem.  They were sharing their ideas and explaining their thinking.  They just kept going back and forth with their ideas.  The critical thinking was so evident.  It was also a great example of students showing perseverance and grit.  I was able to catch it on video.  The first part was actually during their break (which explains some of the background chaos).

Overall this was a great activity.  Students were highly engaged, thinking critically, and challenged to work through a fun, yet difficult problem.  I'd like to do more of my math this way. 

Post by @MrSorensen805