“Rainy Day Activities”
A lesson excerpted from
Camp Fraction: Solving Exciting Word Problems Using Fractions
by Heidi Lang & Lisa Allanillustrated by Mike Eustis
Copyright ©2005 Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan
9
RAINY
DAY
ACTIVITIES
©2005 by Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan / Illustrations ©2005 by Mike Eustis
Campfraction 2/18/05 4:20 PM Page 9
From Camp Fraction by Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan © 2005, Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan Sample reproduced with the permission of Prufrock Press Inc. (http://www.prufrock.com)
Name:___________________________Date:__________ Camp Fraction
Dear Mom and Dad,
Did you know the Etch-a-Sketch was developed in the late 1950s by a Frenchmannamed Arthur Granjean? He called it L’ecran Magique (the magic screen). Thereverse side of the screen is coated with aluminum powder.
XXX OOODaisy
1. The width of a typical Etch-a-Sketch is 93⁄4 inches. If you laid 12 Etch-a-Sketches side by side, how wide would they be?
2. The world’s largest Etch-a-Sketch was made by Steve Jacobs of California.He built a large red frame and then laid out 144 standard Etch-a-Sketchesinside it. If he had only used 1⁄12 of the Etch-a-Sketches, how many wouldhe have needed?
3. There is a pocket sized Etch-a-Sketch that is 41⁄4 inches wide and 33⁄4 inchestall. A travel Etch-a-Sketch is 6 1⁄4 inches wide and 51⁄4 inches tall.
a. How much wider is the travel version than the pocket version?
b. How much taller?
4. Etch-a-Sketch is sold in 7⁄20 of the countries in the world today. If there are200 countries in existence, how many of them sell Etch-a-Sketches?
12 ©2005 by Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan / Illustrations ©2005 by Mike Eustis
Campfraction 2/18/05 4:21 PM Page 12
From Camp Fraction by Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan © 2005, Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan Sample reproduced with the permission of Prufrock Press Inc. (http://www.prufrock.com)
Name:___________________________Date:__________ Camp Fraction
Dear Mom,
Guess what I know now? Ole Kirk Christiansen was a carpenter in Denmark who made toys,mostly out of wood. He started a toy company in 1932 called LEGO. The name came fromtwo Danish words that mean “play well.” Ole’s son started working in the family toybusiness and in 1958 invented the plastic interlocking blocks we know as LEGOs!
Write soon!
Your favorite daughter,Ashley
1. There is a prize called the “LEGO Prize” that is awarded each year forexceptional efforts on behalf of children. The award is worth $119,638.18.It would be great to win just 1⁄2 of that prize money! How much would thatbe?
2. Eight robots in the LEGO warehouse can move 660 crates of LEGOs in onehour. If 16 robots were put to work for 21⁄4 hours, how many crates ofLEGOs would be moved?
3. On average, each person on the planet Earth has 52 LEGO bricks. Anaverage family in the state of Texas is 37⁄25 people. How many LEGOs doesa Texan family likely have?
4. In 1992, the world’s largest LEGO castle was built on Swedish TV. It took40,000 bricks! How many bricks would it take to make a castle 61⁄4 timesas large?
13©2005 by Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan / Illustrations ©2005 by Mike Eustis
Name:___________________________Date:__________ Camp FractionName:___________________________Date:__________ Camp Fraction
Campfraction 2/18/05 4:21 PM Page 13
From Camp Fraction by Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan © 2005, Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan Sample reproduced with the permission of Prufrock Press Inc. (http://www.prufrock.com)
Name:___________________________Date:__________ Camp Fraction
Dear Daddy,
I learned something new today. There is a really popular game called Tiddlywinks! Isn’tthat a great name? After Joseph Assheton Fincher applied for a trademark for his“Tiddledy Winks” in 1889, the game became really popular in the 1890s.
It is played in 2 teams of 2. Each player gets 6 little round chips called “winks” andtries to get them into a pot in the middle of a playing mat using something called asquidger. The points are called “tiddlies”!
How cool is that?
See you soon! I’ve got to go find a squidger!
Hugs, Chleo
1. The farthest a wink was ever shot was 913⁄25 meters by Ben Stares in 1995.If Ben could flip a wink that distance 5 times in a row, how far would thewink travel in all?
2. Edward Wynn set the record for the fastest Tiddlywinks mile. He flippeda wink a mile in just 52 minutes and 10 seconds. What would 3⁄5 of thattime be?
3. The farthest distance ever traveled by a Tiddlywink was 21⁄5 miles. Theplayer was put in a “tiddly wagon” and his co-workers moved him alongwhile he winked over and over again! It is 616 miles from Amarillo, Texas,to Houston, Texas. How many times would the player need to set hisrecord in order to travel that distance?
4. The highest a Tiddlywink was ever shot was 115⁄12 feet. The Eiffel Toweris 1,051 feet high.
a. If you could flip a wink 93 times as high as the record height for aTiddlywink, would it be taller or shorter than the Eiffel Tower?
b. By how much?
14 ©2005 by Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan / Illustrations ©2005 by Mike Eustis
Campfraction 2/18/05 4:21 PM Page 14
From Camp Fraction by Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan © 2005, Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan Sample reproduced with the permission of Prufrock Press Inc. (http://www.prufrock.com)
Name:___________________________Date:__________ Camp Fraction
Dear Mom and Dad,
I learned lots today! Did you know Silly Putty was invented all because of World War II?It’s true! In 1944, the United States had its rubber supplies cut off, but they still neededrubber for truck tires, boots, and other stuff for the war. So the government askedcompanies to make fake rubber. One guy, James Wright, mixed up some stuff in a tube. Itwas really gooey, so he threw it on the ground. Boy, was he surprised when it bounced!Cool, huh?
XXX OOO,NikkiP.S. Send Silly Putty!
1. More than 300,000,000 eggs of Silly Putty have been sold since 1950!That’s about 4,500 tons!
a. If there are 2,000 pounds in a ton, how many pounds of Silly Putty havebeen sold since 1950?
b. If Binney and Smith produced only 3⁄4 of that amount, how many poundsof Silly Putty would have been made?
2. Binney and Smith produce about 600 pounds of Silly Putty each day. Oneday the factory foreman would only allow the machines to operate for 3⁄4 ofa typical day. How many pounds of Silly Putty would be produced in thatamount of time?
3. One Silly Putty egg weighs 47⁄100 of an ounce.
a. If your mom bought you 500 Silly Putty eggs, how many ounces wouldthey weigh in all?
b. Remember, an ounce is 1⁄16 of a pound. How many pounds would you havewith those 500 Silly Putty eggs?
4. The following recipe will make enough fake Silly Putty for four people.Rewrite the recipe for one person! Then, try making your own Silly Puttyat home (be sure to ask an adult to help you with this!):
4 oz. white school glue1 pt. distilled water1 tsp. borax powder
15©2005 by Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan / Illustrations ©2005 by Mike Eustis
Name:___________________________Date:__________ Camp FractionName:___________________________Date:__________ Camp Fraction
Campfraction 2/18/05 4:21 PM Page 15
From Camp Fraction by Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan © 2005, Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan Sample reproduced with the permission of Prufrock Press Inc. (http://www.prufrock.com)
