Activity: A modern '12 Days of Christmas'
December 11, 2000
Web posted at: 2:24 PM EST (1924 GMT)
Ask your students to read the CNNfyi.com article "On the 13th day I got the bill ..." Discuss how the calculations are determined by PNC Financial Services Group. Then assign students the following math problem:
You want to show your own true love the extent of your devotion by putting a new spin on an old tradition. Nobody wants a partridge in a pear tree these days. What does your beloved want? Choose gifts for each of the 12 days of Christmas after the fashion of the Christmas carol (giving one gift on the first day, two on the second along with one more of the first, etc., to the 12th day). Find the price of each gift and add/multiply out the cost per day and the total price for all 12 days. Show your work.
Extra credit: Explain how you arrived at your gift choices and how you determined their prices.
Accommodation: Students can research the origins of "The 12 Days of Christmas" and explain the historical significance to the class.
RELATED SITES:
Underground catechism
'The 12 Days of Christmas'
Origin of 'The 12 Days of Christmas'
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