Inequalities & Privilege

Learning Intentions
Warm-up for:
Mathematics Gr 9 Patterns & Relations:
Explain and illustrate strategies to solve single variable linear inequalities with rational coefficients within a problem-solving context.
Personal Reflection on:
Social Studies General Outcome 9.2 Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how economic decision making in Canada and the United States impacts quality of life, citizenship and identity.
Click here for a copy of the activity worksheet
Click here to view a pdf of student examples

In February of 2018 students prototyped an activity spontaneously titled Chuck your Privilege where they threw coloured paper from various class rows into a waste paper basket and then a larger recycle bin (to increase opportunity for all in round 2).  They then followed that up with some worksheet activities that related social and algebraic inequalities.

The Raw Data from the Paper Throwing. Each student threw 5 sheets a round for 2 rounds.  Each row had 6 randomly seated students with green paper in the front and yellow paper in the back.  Good discussions about both the actual classroom situation and the metaphorical idea of privilege occurred. It was observed that the second row improved significantly when there was greater opportunity. There were varied suggestions for why the back row did consistently better than the second last row - "You work harder when you feel last.  It forced us to innovate". 

Check Your Privilege Inequality Activity Example. This is basically the first time the students had worked with an inequality symbol in grade nine.  It is intended to reinforce that it is a symbol that defines a unequal relationship between situations.

Opportunity Number Lines Example.  This helped visually explore the social ideas while asking students to use non-graduated numberlines to estimate relationships - work that will be done in a more specific way in later math classes.