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Text Me Later (Updated!)

How dangerous is distracted driving?

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Text Me Later (Updated!)

How dangerous is distracted driving?

Login to add lessons to your favorites

Check it out! This lesson was just updated in September 2024, and we hope you love the new and improved version. If you've already prepped an earlier version, fear not, you can still find those here through Thursday December 5, 2024.

Text Me Later - Student Handout.pdf
Text Me Later - Teacher Guide.pdf
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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.

How dangerous is texting and driving? Traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of deaths in the United States, and distracted driving is a major reason. In the time it takes to send a text message, a car can travel hundreds of feet.

Students use proportional reasoning to determine how far a car travels in the time it takes to text. Students discuss the dangers of distracted driving and generate strategies for helping drivers and passengers stay safe.

REAL WORLD TAKEAWAYS

  • The longer the text (or time distracted) and the faster a driver is going, the more road they miss while distracted.
  • A car going 30 mph will travel more than 100 feet even in the time it takes to send a very short text.
  • Each day approximately nine people in the United States die from distracted driving; 40% of those are pedestrians or passengers not engaged in the dangerous activity themselves.

MATH OBJECTIVES

  • Use unit rates proportional reasoning to solve multi-step ratio problems
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.
Grade 7
Ratios & Proportions
Grade 7
Ratios & Proportions
Content Standards 7.RP.1 Compute unit rates associated with ratios of fractions, including ratios of lengths, areas and other quantities measured in like or different units. For example, if a person walks 1/2 mile in each 1/4 hour, compute the unit rate as the complex fraction <sup>1/2</sup>/<sub>1/4</sub> miles per hour, equivalently 2 miles per hour. 7.RP.3 Use proportional relationships to solve multistep ratio and percent problems. Examples: simple interest, tax, markups and markdowns, gratuities and commissions, fees, percent increase and decrease, percent error.
Mathematical Practices MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4 Model with mathematics.

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Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Big Foot Conspiracy (Updated!)

Should people with small feet pay less for shoes?

Grade 7
Ratios & Proportions
Great anytime, including at the beginning of a unit before students have any formal introduction to the topic.

Common Cents (Updated!)

Should the United States get rid of the penny?

Grade 7
Rational Numbers
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

To Have and to Hold (Updated!)

Is renting a storage unit a good idea?

Grade 7
Equations & Expressions
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Axle Roads (Updated!)

How do vehicles turn so smoothly?

Grade 7
Measuring Circles
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Grading Scales of Justice (Updated!)

What’s the best grading policy?

Grade 7
Percents & Proportions
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.