Lesson: Getting in the Game

Tell students they are about to read an article about the new action movie Free Guy. Ask students: What is a stunt performer? (a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career) Would you be interested in this type of career? Why or why not? (Answers will vary.) Choose a few student volunteers to share their responses with the class.

Have students read the article individually. Then tell them that the first two paragraphs have a different main idea than the remainder of the article. Have students reread the article in pairs. Ask the pairs to summarize the first two paragraphs in 1 to 2 sentences and the remainder of the article in 3 to 4 sentences. Then choose volunteers to share their summaries with the class and discuss how the sections are different.

To solve the problems in this article, students will need to use the following skills: 1) writing and solving algebraic equations to represent a word problem, 2) writing, simplifying, and scaling up ratios, 3) finding mean, 4) rounding, 5) converting ratios to percents. If students need review on any of these topics, provide a few quick examples or practice problems to complete as a class.

Distribute calculators to students or allow them to use an online digital calculator. Split the class into pairs and have them solve the “Your Turn” question with their partners. After all pairs have finished their questions, have students partner with a new classmate. These new pairs can compare their answers and correct work based on the feedback and discussions. Remind students to use positive social discourse when challenging others’ answers or ideas. Then choose volunteers to share how they solved each question, ensuring that different solution strategies are presented.

Since each “Your Turn” question requires a different skill, some students may need support in determining what the questions are asking. To scaffold the word problems for students, help them analyze the text by giving them strategies for marking up each word problem. Encourage students to circle words they don’t recognize, underline important details or words, and highlight the final question. You can also display the chart and example from the “Annotating Word Problems” skills sheet for students to use as a guide when reading and solving each problem.

Chris O’Hara also worked with the movie’s special effects teams to create thrilling action sequences with the actors. Read about visual effects designer Dan DeLeeuw in Scholastic MATH’s article “Super Special Effects.” Learn how DeLeeuw and his team used computer science to make the impossible possible for the Avengers: Endgame movie.

Have students choose their favorite movie and research facts about it like running time, budget, revenue earned, and more. Then have students create 5 mixed-skills questions about the movie and solve each question.