One exciting aspect of interning for 7 Generation Games is being able to collaborate with the members of the 7 Generation Games team. As a result of the guidance from AnnMaria, Maria, and Jessica, I have been able to work on informative, yet engaging resources for teachers and students.
My latest project has been working on a project called Broken Tooth’s Bar Graph Adventure where I have created several learning tools that will help teach students how to read a table which contains data and convert the information into a bar graph. Below is an example of the type of resources that we have been creating.
Oldest Brother and Broken Tooth need to work together in order to identify the lakes that have the most fish.
In order to maximize the tribe’s yield of fish the brothers need to create a bar graph showing their findings (bar graph shown above). Oldest Brother brings his observation of fish to Broken Tooth in order to create a bar graph for the tribe. As a result, the brothers are able to work together to maximize the yield of fish they receive. While current math may not be life or death, as in the past, it is still important to realize how understanding mathematics affected Native Americans’ survival.
This teacher resource highlights the importance of working together to attain a common goal: fishing and consuming the maximum amount of fish. Without the observation of Oldest Brother or Broken Tooth’s knowledge of bar graphs, the tribe would have had to guess which lake to travel to.
In conclusion, mathematics can SAVE your life!
While not as dramatic as the example of Broken Tooth and Oldest Brother, math, in the present, can come in handy. As a college student, I use math when budgeting for groceries, solving problems, and splitting the rent. Check out our games to see how Native Americans used math in their daily lives.
– Trent