(Old) Jenius!

How does what we see affect what we feel?

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(Old) Jenius!

How does what we see affect what we feel?

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A newer, better version of this lesson is available! Explore all updated lessons here, or read more about the updates in Our Community.

2023-2024 Versions

In the fall of 2024, Citizen Math released updated versions of every lesson in our library, plus a few new ones! We know you may have already prepped an earlier version or planned a repeat of last year, so we're continuing to make these earlier versions available through Thursday December 5, 2024.

You can find the new lessons through the regular search, and we hope you love them as much as we do. You can read more about these updates in Our Community.

Click here for the updated version of this lesson!

Thousands of years ago, Confucius introduced the concept of jen. According to him, a person of jen “brings the good things of others to completion and does not bring the bad things of others to completion.” In other words, jen represents our ability to make the world a better place…but also a worse one.

In this lesson students explore the concept of the jen ratio — the ratio of positive to negative observations in our daily lives — and use it to discuss how what we see influences the way we experience the world.

REAL WORLD TAKEAWAYS

  • What we see – the ratio of positive to negative moments – affects our well-being.
  • We can improve our own “jen ratios” – the ratio of positive to negative moments – by engaging in positive activities and consuming positive media. By being observably kind, we can improve the jen ratio of others.
  • The older someone is, the more experiences they’ve had, the more positive moments it takes to affect their lifetime jen ratio.

MATH OBJECTIVES

  • Use ratio language to describe the relationship between two quantities.
  • Compare ratios.
  • Find equivalent ratios.
  • Identify ways to improve the jen ratio of oneself and others.

Great anytime, including at the beginning of a unit before students have any formal introduction to the topic.
Grade 6
Ratios & Unit Rates
Grade 6
Ratios & Unit Rates
Content Standards
Mathematical Practices

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