The 12 Days of Christmas.

Its the Christmas season again.  I often see news pieces about how much these gifts would cost now.  Honestly, I'm not sure where I'd find some of the gifts because one does not find partridges in Alaska unless its at the zoo.

We do have cows for milking but no calling birds.  I've always wondered how they determined the cost of the gifts.  Do they count one of each day or do they count it so you give 12 patridges in 12 pear trees, with eleven groups of two turtle doves, etc.

Fortunately, there are several lessons on the internet to help students learn to calculate the cost.  I did see a quote for somewhere between $35,000 and $250,000 determined by the unit or by the group. 

Cpalms has a nice one designed for upper elementary children complete with items and prices.  Although it is a worksheet, it has lots of pictures and requires students to add a sales tax at the end.  Another site provides individual costs so students have a starting point.

Many math teachers still prefer giving out worksheets which is fine but this would be a great exercise to use technology with.  Imagine having the students create a movie or documentary?  Perhaps they could create a interactive book?  What about a collage for each day?  The possibilities are endless.

I can see taking the worksheet from the Cpalms activity and using the information in a news report video so each day, the newscaster discusses the ongoing cost of the gift.  I could see some of my more musically inclined students creating a music video or those who are not great artists might create a book.

This is a good group project because it would allow students with different talents to collaborate to create a final project.  The rules for creating the project should be gone through in advance with the rubric set up so everyone is graded for their contributions. 

When I was in school, we had group projects but only the people who were concerned about grades actually did the work.  Everyone got the same grade regardless of their contribution.  That is why its important to set the rubric so everyone is graded on their contribution and on the final project.  I've heard of teachers giving two grades for any project.  One for the individual contribution to the project, while the other is for the completed project.

i know many folks discourage the use of worksheets with digital devices but I see them as a starting point such as with the 12 days of Christmas.  The sheets provide prices for the projects.  Its always good to keep in mind what the worksheet is for.

Note, there are a couple Canadian versions, an Australian version, and a Hawaiian version which might work better in certain areas such as Alaska because we can find the moose, caribou, and dog sleds way easier here. 

One more thing.  The 12 days of Christmas actually runs from December 25th to January 6th but since school is seldom in session then, most teachers count the 12 days prior as being associated with the song.

I hope you enjoyed this.  Let me know what you think.