MTV MATH

All middle school students enjoy listening to music in some way or another, if teachers can connect student interests into their lessons, such as music, the students are more likely to be engaged and excited to learn math. One example of this is by incorporating the Top 40 hit music into a 6th grade statistic lesson.

Students would be given a table with the top fifteen Top 40 music hits including the song title, the artists, and the length of the song. Students will need to organize the data and then use the data to find the mean, median, and mode of the data set. If desired teachers can also use this data to find five number summaries as well as the interquartile range and possible outliers. This falls under the 6th grade Common Core State Standard of CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.c. This activity is engaging for 6th grade students because it pertains to their interests and teaches math in an exciting way while connecting to teen culture.

If wanted, this activity can be connected to other subject areas such as any music classes. Connections can be made between music history as well as music and today’s media. Students in music class can also study different musical genres and learn about radio editing.