TeachRock

Motivational Activity:

1. Play Clip 1, Beatlemania. Ask students:
   • Have you ever heard of The Beatles? Who were they?
   • Based on the clip you saw, how might you describe The Beatles? Turn to a partner and think of five words you could use to describe The Beatles.
   • How do you think that the Beatles became so popular? What would they have had to do to get so many fans? Remember: the Beatles became popular in the 1960s, before the internet.

Procedure:

1. Tell students that today they will be thinking like mathematicians to understand how hard The Beatles worked as a band to achieve their popularity.
2. Pass out Handout 1 – Introducing Vocabulary to students, and ask them to work with a partner to answer the vocabulary questions.
3. Play Clip 2, The Residencies in Hamburg and the Arrival of Ringo Starr. Then show Image 1, “Twist and Shout” Map. Ask students:
   • What two cities are mentioned in this video? Can you find them on the map?
   • What country is Liverpool in? What country is Hamburg in?
   • According to the video, why did The Beatles decide to go to Hamburg? How might they have felt about going to Hamburg?
   • Were the Beatles already popular in Liverpool when they left?
   • According to the clip, what was life like for the Beatles in Hamburg? What did they do most of the time?
   • How might have performing in a new city helped The Beatles become better musicians?
4. Ask students to think about something that they have had to really work to become successful at, and share their responses with two partners (if students need prompting, give them examples of mastering academic skills such as reading or memorizing basic math facts, mastering a sports skill, or learning to play an instrument or become a better artist).
5. Show Image 2, Malcolm Gladwell Quote on The Beatles’ Early Years. Read the quote aloud or ask a student volunteer to read the quote. Ask students:
   • Do you think that we can come up with some math problems using this type of information on the Beatles’ early years?
6. Distribute Handout 3 – Beatles Math. Demonstrate the first problem on the handout for students, sharing your thinking and calculations.
7. Split students into two groups, and have each group move to opposite sides of the classroom. Assign each group either the second or third word problems on Handout 2. Have students work in pairs, then share their work with other group members. Students groups should come to consensus on the correct answer (and you will want to check their work.)
8. Ask student pairs to share their Word Problems with a student pair from the other side of the room. When students have shared their problems and answers, ask them to illustrate their thinking and problem solving for either problem #2 or #3. Students can then share their illustrated math problems with a partner.
9. Tell students that anyone who wants to be good at doing something usually has to work really hard for a long time to achieve success. Tell students that they are about to learn more about how hard the Beatles worked to be successful. Play Clip 3, The Beatles Early Years video clip. Ask students:
   • In the clip, Paul McCartney says that playing in Hamburg was “a real slog.” What might he mean by this phrase?
   • In the clip, John Lennon says that in the early days The Beatles had to “hold the audience” in the clubs where they were playing. What do you think “hold the audience” means? How might a band succeed at “holding an audience”?
10. Play Clip 4, The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. Ask students:
    • The Ed Sullivan Show was the first time The Beatles performed in America. How might have their work in Hamburg prepared them for their performance on American television?
11. Distribute Handout 2 – Timeline of the Beatles’ Early Years, and read the timeline together.
12. Model the idea of creating some math problems using Handout 2. Ask students to look at the entry #9: “August 17 – November 28 1960 – The Beatles perform six to seven sets per show for 98 consecutive nights in Hamburg, Germany.” Ask students:
    • With this information, can you find out about how many sets The Beatles played during those 98 nights in Hamburg? (If needed, explain that a set is a collection of songs performed back-to-back.)
    • Does this problem require addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division?
13. Demonstrate the answer to the problem: 6 x 98 and 7 x 98, for a range of 588-686 sets.
14. Tell students that now it is time for them to create their own word problems using the information on the Timeline. Let them know that they will be sharing these problems with their classmates later. Students may have the choice of working alone or in pairs to create three to five word problems. If students have time, they can create illustrations to go with each of their word problems. Students may choose to create word problems using calendars to calculate passage of time in days, weeks, or months.
15. Once students have finished creating their word problems, ask them to share their problems with another student or team in the classroom. Students can take turns solving each other’s word problems.
16. As time allows, students may illustrate their word problems to visually demonstrate the problem, calculations, and solution. Use this Handout 4 – Illustrated Math Page for student problems and illustrations.

Summary Activity:

1. Tell students that they are ready to learn more about The Beatles music and to create some interesting math problems. Share the Dueling Data Interactive Infographic and give students time to explore this information.
2. Using Handout 5 – Illustrated Word Problem, instruct students to create an Illustrated Word Problem using information about the Beatles. Students may use the information in the Interactive Infographic, the timeline, in other resources in this lesson, or online. Remind students to make their illustrated word problems fun and colorful!

Extension Activities:

1. Give students three minutes to write as many facts as they can about the Beatles. Afterwards students may share their facts and then add things that they heard from their peers to their own lists.
2. Watch TeachRock Founder Steven Van Zandt talk about The Beatles here.
3. Learn more about the Beatles at this Kiddle.
4. For more infographics regarding The Beatles, direct students to this feature in The Guardian.

Handout 1 – Introducing Vocabulary Handout 2 – Timeline of The Beatles’ Early Years Handout 3 – Beatles Math Handout 4 – Illustrated Math Page Handout 5 – Illustrated Word Problem