A couple of years ago I stopped into a McDonald's restaurant to grab a quick snack. At the counter there was a sign advertising two apple pies for 99 cents. It sounded like a good deal until I looked up at the big menu board and noticed that the price for one apple pie was only 49 cents. I wish I had taken a picture of the two signs. When I shared this story on Twitter, Danny Nicholson replied with a link to his Bad Maths Flickr group.
The Bad Maths Flickr group contains lots of examples of bad math stopped in stores and other public places.
Lesson Plan #1: Panhandle Circle-square: Geometry and Real-world Applications
Using “Panhandle Circle-square” project at http://tomrchambers.com/circle_square.html and other locations via Google Earth to study Geometry and make mathematical calculations as they relate to real world applications such as the farmers in the Texas Panhandle using square plots of land and circular irrigation of their crops to make a living. Their geometrical calculations are precise to be efficient with their livelihood
Lesson Plan #2: Geometric Concepts
In this lesson, students define geometry terms and then take photos of geometric figures that illustrate examples of their use in the real world.