Flipping with Oreos

Last Friday the ASPIRE 5 students began an investigation into whether Double Stuf Oreos truly had "double the stuf."  This activity was created by Dan Anderson, a high school math teacher in New York.  Using the data provided by Anderson's students, my students completed a table by calculating the amount of "stuf" in Original, Double, and Mega Stuf Oreo Cookies.  The table required my students to multiply and divide decimals to arrive at their solutions.  So what was the big deal?  We had not covered either topic in class.  The activity was simply a formative assessment in disguise.  The students were interested in the driving question, and were immersed in real-world data.  In the meantime, I was able to see how much they already knew about multiplying and dividing decimals.  Some of the students were already proficient with their skills, some wanted me to teach them as they were completing the investigation, and others were allowed to consult their calculator's opinion if they could not do it on their own.  My observations, questioning, and data allowed me to prepare appropriate lessons for this week.  We did not have to spend as much time on multiplying decimals as I had originally planned.  On the other hand, I know that we will need to spend more time working on our division skills.  I also know which students can move on to another investigation while other students master their multiplication and division skills.

As for the Oreo lesson itself, part 2 required the students to collect their own Oreo data to see if it matched Anderson's results.  Then the fun began.  After sharing their opinions about whether Oreo should be able to call their cookies "Double Stuf" (there was not double the creme filling in a Double Stuf Oreo), the students chose an activity from a choiceboard to extend their thinking.  One of our students surveyed the class, and presented their findings in a graph.  Some expressed their Oreo outrage with boycott signs or carefully worded consumer letters to the Nabisco company.  A few chose to write an "official response" from Nabisco, while others wrote a "judge's opinion" as if the case had gone to court.  What started as a flipped math lesson ended up as a business ethics forum, with most of the students resembling a consumer rights advocacy group.  And of course, everyone received an Oreo at the end of class, even if they had no milk to dunk it in.