Maggie’s
Activity Pack
Name __________________________
Date ___________________________
Jenny’s Foolish Math, A Tour of Washington D.C.
Jenny and her friend, Olga, are in Washington D.C. Jenny is showing
Olga the important buildings in this capital city. But Jenny isn’t very good at
math. Help her get the facts right!
1.
“Look at that. It looks like a big pencil!” said Olga. They were looking at
the Washington Monument!
“This tall skinny building reminds us of our first president,” said Jenny.
“We can ride in an elevator or we can walk up 896 steps to the top.”
“Let’s ride in the elevator,” said Olga. “Look, the book says the elevator
was added in 1998.” After the fast ride of 60 seconds, the girls walked to a
small window.
“Oh, it’s so high,” said Jenny. “The book says it is 500 feet from the
ground to this window.” The girls looked out at the city. They saw the Potomac
River and Lincoln Memorial. “Wow, I think George Washington would be
surprised to see this city today.”
“There is math all around here,” said Jenny. “It took us 2 minutes to ride
to the top in that 3 year old elevator.”
Oops…how foolish! They it really took them ________________________
to ride to the top. The elevator is ______________________ years old.
I’m having a
great time in
Washington
D.C. with
Jenny!
Olga
Maggie and
Dude
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
2.
Jenny and Olga walked to the Lincoln Memorial. “Here is a statue of our
sixteenth president. I like the way he sits and looks out at us. They started to
build this monument on President Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, but in the
year 1914. The cornerstone was laid one year later. This building is big, but it
isn’t as high as the Washington Monument. It is only 80 feet high.” read Jenny.
“But, there’s no elevator here,” puffed Olga as they climbed the 87 steps.
“Look at those columns. How many are there?”
“It says here,” said Jenny, “that there are 36 columns. That’s one for
each of the states when Abraham Lincoln was president.” They looked at the
19 foot high and 19 foot wide statue. “Just think there are 24 more states
today than in President Lincoln’s time. And there are 801 more steps in the
Washington Monument than in this memorial,” she said.
Oops…how foolish! There are __________ more states today than in
President Lincoln’s time. There are ________ more steps in the
Washington Monument than in the Lincoln Memorial.
3.
Next the girls walked on the mall to the Capitol. “The mall is not a
shopping place,” said Jenny. “It is the outdoor walkway to the Capitol. This 1.9
mile area is a nice place for people to walk, jog, and have picnics. Many
festivals are held here each year.”
“Let’s walk slowly and enjoy all the sights,” said Olga. “I think we should
take 45 minutes to walk along here.”
“It is now 11:35. That means we will get to the Capitol at 12:10,” said
Jenny.
Oops…how foolish! They will get to the Capitol at __________________.
4.
“What did you think about the Capitol?” asked Jenny as they walked out.
“I liked the whispering spot in Statuary Hall. It was fun to whisper and
have you hear my words from across the room!”
“It is such a big building. Too bad we didn’t have time to see it all,” said
Jenny as she looked in her book. It says that the Capitol is 751 feet, 4 inches
in length and is 350 feet wide at its widest part. That means it is 300 feet, 4
inches taller than it is wide.”
Oops…how foolish! The Capitol is __________ feet, ________ inches
taller than it is wide.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
5.
“Now we’re off to see the Jefferson Memorial,” said Jenny. “I like it
because of the beautiful cherry trees all around.”
As they were walking, Olga turned to her, “What does your book say
about this memorial?”
Jenny read, “The statue of Thomas Jefferson is 19 feet (5.79 meters) tall,
and it weighs 10,000 pounds (4535.92 kilograms). Now that’s a big man,” she
laughed. “I am 4 and ½ feet tall. The statue is 15 ½ feet taller than I am. My
yellow lab weighs 100 pounds. The statue weighs 990 more pounds than my
dog.”
Oops…how foolish! The statue of Thomas Jefferson is ________ feet
taller than Jenny. It weighs ___________ more pounds than her yellow
lab.
6.
Finally the girls took a bus to Mount Vernon. “This is George
Washington’s farm in the Virginia countryside. Did you know that he added
many acres to Mount Vernon? It grew from 2,000 to 8,000 acres. We’re going
to see his house and something called a six-sided barn. I think it would be fun
to take the boat ride along the Potomac River, too,” said Jenny as she read
from her book.
The girls walked along the tree-lined walkways to the big mansion. Jenny
looked at her watch. It read 2:32. “Let’s go into the house first. I heard there
are 14 rooms you can tour. We can stay 2 minutes in each room. That means
we’ll be done at 3:30. We’ll start walking to the river then.”
Oops…how foolish! The girls will be finished in the mansion at
_________.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Dear Colleague,
Our “Foolish Math” activities have been an annual favorite of teachers and students.
This time we bring you a tour of Washington D.C. as many stats require children learn about
this beautiful capital city. In each problem, we have included more facts than are necessary
to “correct” Jenny. We hope you or your students will use these facts to create your own
math problems. Give students practice in reading for details by asking them to compare the
heights of the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol or ask them how many steps
they have climbed in all if they went to the top of the Washington Monument and Lincoln
Memorial. There are many problems to do – math is all around! What a great lesson. To
add to the fun, encourage students to find more fun facts like the distance between the
Capitol and Mount Vernon. They could make up problems based on their own research,
too!
Happy teaching,
Kathy
Answer Key:
1. 1 minute, 7 years old (depending on current year)
2. 14 more states and 809 more steps
3. 12:20
4. 401 feet, 4 inches
5. 14 ½ feet taller than Jenny, 9900 pounds more than her dog
6. 3:00
Goals:
Students read about a tour of Washington D.C.. They use the facts to “correct” math
problems. Primary students will solve addition and subtraction problems. Intermediate
students use multiplication, division, regrouping addition and subtraction to solve their
problems that often require multiple steps. Both levels have components of measurement
and elapsed time as part of problem solving. The activity allows students to learn more
about the historic buildings of Washington D.C. This activity is perfect for April Fools’ Day!
This activity correlates with the Number and Operations Strand and the Measurement
Strand of NCTM’s National Standards.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.