Giffen math teacher Tiffany Moore outfitted her classroom like a crime scene and forensic lab Thursday, and her team of student “secret agents” used their math skills to help solve a crime.
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Every time Moore finishes a math unit, she designs an elaborate themed project to celebrate her students’ hard work. In Thursday’s culmination of the unit on fractions, Moore created a scenario where her students were National Security Agency secret agents tasked with solving the case of who stole missing Chromebooks containing secret government information.
With the theme of “Mission Impossible” playing in the background, students worked in three teams to solve dozens of problems involving adding and subtracting fractions. The answers linked to letters that formed a message with clues about the culprit. Moore, outfitted in a blazer and mirrored sunglasses, kept her agents on task. She handed out new sharpened pencils as needed.
At one point, Moore received a call from the White House (it was her husband), checking on the progress of the agents.
The teams of agents joined together to reach consensus on the culprit, and members of the winning team each received 40 tickets for the school store.
