Motherhood Math: Mothers in the Workforce

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Subjects Educational Technology Mathematics Arithmetic, Statistics Social Sciences Economics, Sociology

Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Brief Description

Students study a table showing how the number of working mothers increased between 1955 and 2004 and complete the provided work sheet.

Objectives

Students will

• study the table that shows how the number of working mothers has increased.
• use the information in the table to complete the work sheet.

Keywords

mother, work, labor, table, chart, percent, percentage, quiz, true, false

Materials Needed

• computers with Internet access or copies of the table Mothers Participating in Labor Force, 1955-2004
• Mothers in the Workforce work sheet

Lesson Plan

The number of working mothers has increased dramatically since 1955. In 1955, 18 percent of mothers with children younger than 6 years old worked outside the home; by 2000, that number had leaped to 65 percent.

Note: The work sheet for this activity is too difficult for most third and fourth graders. You might want to create your own questions for those students.

Distribute the Mothers in the Workforce work sheets. Explain to students that they will use the Mothers Participating in Labor Force, 1955-2004 table to answer the questions about the history of mothers in the workforce. You can use one of the following approaches or adapt the activity to suit your own needs:

• Post the working mothers table in a learning center. Have students complete the work sheet at that center.
• Invite students to access the table online by typing the URL -- https://www.infoplease.com/business-finance/labor-and-employment/mothers-labor-force-1955-2010 -- into the computer's browser window.
• Print a copy of the table for each student.
• Complete the activity as a class. Project an image of the table from the computer onto a large screen.

Assessment

Students will correctly answer at least eight of the ten questions on the work sheet.
Answer Key: 1. F 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T 6. F 7. T 8. F 9. T 10. T

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins

National Standards

MATHEMATICS: Number and Operations

• GRADES 3 - 5
  NM-NUM.3-5.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
  NM-NUM.3-5.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates

• GRADES 6 - 8
  NM-NUM.6-8.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
  NM-NUM.6-8.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates

• GRADES 9 - 12
  NM-NUM.9-12.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
  NM-NUM.9-12.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates

MATHEMATICS: Data Analysis and Probability

• GRADES 3 - 5
  NM-DATA.3-5.2 Select and Use Appropriate Statistical Methods to Analyze Data

• GRADES 6 - 8
  NM-DATA.6-8.2 Select and Use Appropriate Statistical Methods to Analyze Data
  NM-DATA.6-8.3 Develop and Evaluate CUT OFF

• GRADES 9 - 12
  NM-DATA.9-12.2 Select and Use Appropriate Statistical Methods to Analyze Data

MATHEMATICS: Connections

• GRADES Pre-K - 12 NM-CONN.PK-12.3 Recognize and Apply Mathematics in Contexts Outside of Mathematics

TECHNOLOGY

• GRADES K - 12
  NT.K-12.1 Basic Operations and Concepts
  NT.K-12.5 Technology Research tools

Return to the Mother's Day lesson plan page.

To see Mother's Day lessons we published last year, go to Mother's Day Magic: Today's Gift, Tomorrow's Treasure.