Gold Seal Lesson:
On The Campaign Trail

Copernicus Education Gateway

 

Subject:

Mathematics

Grade:

 

 

5-8

 

 

ICLE Standards:

 

 

Mathematics as Problem Solving - Acquire confidence in using mathematics meaningfully.

 

 

Performance Task:

 

 

After researching the responsibilities of the governor of your state, you have decided to become a member of a prospective governor's campaign team. Your job will be to work with the team to familiarize the people of your state with your candidate and to help with all aspects of his/her campaign. In order to have a successful campaign, your candidate will need to travel throughout the state informing the voters of his/her platform.

Your candidate will appear in a variety of cities in your state over a four-week period.

Your task is to develop a budget for the campaign of the prospective governor. The budget must include expenses for travel, including room and lodging, and costs for advertising. The candidate has received $20,000 in campaign donations, and your team must develop a budget which does not exceed this amount.

Your team will assist the candidate with selecting cities to visit and decide upon the most cost-effective mode of transportation. The standard budget costs which all candidates must use are outlined below. Show all computations and support your budget with written explanations. The State Election Review Board must have a copy of all information prior to the state primary. You have two weeks to develop the budget.

 

 

Knowledge / Skills:

 

 

Gather information from a variety of sources, including electronic sources, and summarize, analyze, and evaluate its use for a report.  (ela3)

Perform operations with signed (positive and negative) numbers, including decimals, ratios, percents, and fractions.  (m1)

Use the technique of dimensional analysis to convert units of measure (e.g., convert km/hr to m/min).  (m33)

 

 

Rubric:

 

 

4 Points  =  The student completes all aspects of the task. His/her work is organized and neatly presented. He/she demonstrates the ability to accurately read maps and schedules. All computations are accurate. The student is able to locate and use resources necessary to complete the task. He/she properly uses given information to complete the budget and demonstrates that he/she can use estimation skills when necessary. The budget uses most, but does not exceed, the $20,000 constraint.

 

 

3 Points  = The student requires some coaching to complete all aspects of the task. He/she demonstrates some organizational skills, but the final product is not as neat and well-organized as it should be. He/she has some difficulty in accurately reading maps and schedules. There are some minor computation errors. The student does not always know where to find resources to get information that was not given in the problem. The budget goes slightly over the $20,000 constraint or falls short of it by a significant amount.

 

 

2 Points =  The student is unable to complete all aspects of the task. His/her final product lacks good organization and is not very neatly presented. The student has much difficulty in reading maps and schedules. Several computation errors occur in his/her work. The student has much difficulty in locating and using resources necessary to complete the task. The budget is significantly over or under the $20,000 constraint.

 

 

1 Point  =  The student is unable to complete many aspects of the task. He/she is unable to compile any meaningful budget. His/her work is poorly organized and very sloppy. The student is unable to use maps and schedules as necessary to complete the task. Many computational errors occur in his/her work.

 

 

Keywords:

 

 

STATISTICS
MEASUREMENT
PROBLEM SOLVING
COMPUTATION
RESEARCH
MATH IN DAILY LIFE

 

 

Grades:

 

 

Kg [] - 1 [] - 2 [] - 3 [] - 4 [] - 5 [X] - 6 [X] - 7 [X] - 8 [X] - 9 [] - 10 [] - 11 [] - 12 []

 

 

ICLE Application:

 

 

D

 

 

 

 

 

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