NOTE: This activity should be done in a spacious indoor area: a hallway,
cafeteria, or gym are ideal. Teaching this activity out-of-doors can be
problematic, as the green pom-poms are light and likely to be blown about in
the wind.
This lesson is based on the Mark Twain short story, The Celebrated Jumping
Frog of Calaveras County. Students will simulate a jumping-frog contest and
determine in centimeters both the total distance and official distance “jumped”.
If there is time, discuss the plot of the story written by Mark Twain. The story
can be found on the website http://www.visitcalaveras.org/htdocs/welcome/
frogstory.html.
Begin the activity by marking a long start line on the floor using the masking
tape. (You may need to have two separate areas to accommodate all the
frogs, such as three groups jumping in the hall and three groups jumping in the
classroom.)
Place students in groups of four. Each student in the group will have a job:
jumper, marker, measurer, and recorder. Roles will rotate with each new
jumper.
Give each group a green pom-pom, paper clip, measuring tape, a strip of
masking tape and a Frog Jumping Record sheet. Review how to read the
measuring tape in centimeters.
Show students how to make a catapult by bending the center loop of the paper
clip up to a 45° angle. Then allow the students a few minutes to figure out how
to use the paper clip as a catapult for their pom-pom “frogs”.
Have the jumpers line their frogs on the start line and simultaneously do a first
jump; the markers then mark with masking tape the spot where the frog lands.
With all the jumpers starting from their first marked spot, have them do a second
jump with markers again marking the spot in which the frog landed. Repeat
again for their third and final jump.
Now have all the measurers come out (they may need the marker to assist
them) and measure the distance in centimeters from the starting line to the first
jump: the recorder is to write that measurement down. Repeat the same
measurement procedure for the second and third jumps. After all the jumps are
recorded, the recorder is to total the numbers for the total distance jumped.
Continued on next page.
© 2015 Zeno, All Rights Reserved
- Green pom-poms
-Masking tape
-Measuring tape
-Paper clips
-Frog Jumping
Record sheet
Then the marker and recorder can measure their official distance, which is a
straight line from the starting line to the last jump and record that distance.
Remind students of the axiom: the shortest distance between two points is a
straight line.
Have the students switch positions so that there is a new jumper, marker,
measurer and recorder, and repeat the whole activity once again.
Once all the students in the group have jumped their frogs, have them fill out the
remainder of the sheet. You may need to explain to the students how to figure
out mean and the range.
You can also have the students convert the centimeters into meters where it is
applicable.
Review the data with all the students and see if they can figure out whose frog
jumped the furthest and the least.
first jump
second jump
third jump
official distance
© 2015 Zeno, All Rights Reserved
Frog Jumping Record
first jump
third jump
second jump
Official distance
1. Record the distance the frog jumped in centimeters.
NAME
FIRST JUMP
SECOND
JUMP
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
THIRD JUMP
cm
TOTAL
DISTANCE
OFFICIAL
DISTANCE
OF ALL THREE
JUMPS
STRAIGHT LINE
DISTANCE
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
cm
2. Write the following data from least to greatest length.
Total Distance
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
Official Distance
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
MEAN
3. Fill in the chart
RANGE
TOTAL DISTANCE
OFFICIAL DISTANCE
© 2015 Zeno, All Rights Reserved