PUMAS Site Review

I really liked the PUMAS site for its real life math connections.  One activity caught my eye because I (and I’m sure every other teacher) invariably have the same mistake made in class.  The activity is called “Dollar$ and Cent$.”  Dollar$ and Cent$ centered around real-world math mistakes such as grocery store coupons and sales ads.  The mistakes are rooted in which unit they are trying to measure.  For example, .99 ¢ is meant to be 99 cents, but the value is actually less than one penny.  Students make this same mistake when they mix their units.  [I’m sure it couldn’t be math people making this mistake when they design their ads…let’s blame it on the graphic designers or those dreaded English-type folks =)]  This is a great learning activity for students.  They think it’s great that they should be able to go into a store and pay less than a penny for a two-liter bottle of pop.  However, when I put them into the store owner’s shoes and I’m the customer, they have a bit of a different attitude.  They really change their mind when I demand change from the penny that I give them for the pop.  Overall, I think it’s a pretty neat site, though most of the activities are above my student’s heads, but they certainly wouldn’t hurt to try.  I’m often surprised with how far some kids can get when asked the right questions.  Learning through discovery is the most powerful form of learning!