8th Grade Task: T-shirt Task

8th Grade Task: T-shirt Task

Standards & Objectives

Essential and guiding questions: 

Questions:

  • Did you use the first name, the last name, or both the first and last names when you wrote your response to Ms. Shaw? Does it make a difference what you chose to use?
  • What ratios were given to you? How did you use the ratios to solve the problem? Did you have to use information besides the ratios to solve the problem?
  • Who was right—Andrea or Lexus? Why? (Note: Students should note that neither was completely right because the underlying assumptions each one makes do not support the overall argument.)

Activity/Task Variations

Blooms taxonomy level: 
Understanding
Differentiation suggestions: 

If students can’t get started. . .

  • If you bought your shirt from Company A, what name would you have on
  • the back? How much would your shirt cost?
  • What would be the cost of your shirt from Company B?
  • Is it always true that Company A will be cheaper (or more expensive, depending on the answers to the previous two questions) than Company B? Why or why not?
Extension suggestions: 

If students finish early. . .

  • How would you estimate the total cost of all of the shirts for this class?
  • What assumptions would you need to make about the shirts?
  • Do you think that if someone else estimated the total cost of all of the shirts, they would have a different answer than you? Why would their answer be different?