MathStuff

 Hi All, This is a super simple, but very revealing activity and so works as a good assessment. Fantastic for Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Grade 1. Try it out and see what you learn about your students. Display a small number of objects in your open hands. Here we have 4 kumquats. (Because I have a kumquat tree in my yard. Any small manipulative will do.) Put your hands behind your back. Close one hand and bring both hands back out in front of you to display 2 kumquats visible in one hand and a closed hand with the rest of them. Remind students that you started with 4 and there are still 4 all together. Ask students, what is in the closed hand. Ask how they know this. Then reveal and discuss. Try another one. Show the 4 objects again, 2 in each hand. Put your hands behind your back and redistribute with 1 object in one hand and 3 objects in the other. Bring your hands to the front and ask how many are in your closed hand. Ask how they know this.  Then reveal and discuss.   You might even r

 Hi All, What is this?  As a kid I always loved Mad Libs. That was back in the sixties. They are still around today amusing a new generation of kids who like to fill in the blanks with words like "fart" and "butt." What could be more fun!? Being a big Mad Libs fan and kind of a math guy, a few years back I started writing what I called "Math Libs." Same premise, "Give me a noun. Give me an adjective," but now I would include, "Give me a 3-digit number. Give me an odd number," and the end result was a wacky math word problem. For example, here's a simple one to try out. Chief Super Spy_____ (NAME OF GIRL )_____ had _____( TWO-DIGIT EVEN NUMBER)____ __(ADJECTIVE)____   _____(PLURAL NOUN )______. She gave ____(ONE DIGIT-NUMBER EXCEPT FOR 0 OR 1)____ to her fellow _____(ADJECTIVE)______spies. How many does she have left? My agent at the time advised me, "Yeah, nice idea, but you can't call it Math Libs. Mad Libs will sue you.

 Hi All, I enjoy probability games. I think kids do too. Dice, spinners, and cards, all of these figure importantly in many board games.  Dice Roll explores some of the probability around a pair of dice.  1. Partner students and give them a copy of the Dice Roll Record Sheet, a pair of dice, and a pencil. The link is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kxOcSpD3t90OFMKK01eht2FbZlI5CFUq/view?usp=sharing   2. Explain that we are going to investigate which numbers come up most frequently when rolling dice. Give students an opportunity to predict which sum they think will come up most often. Students should take turns rolling the dice as many times as possible for twenty minutes. As they roll they should record the sum of each roll on the record sheet using tally marks. 3. After the allotted time, have players tally the totals for each sum and write down the sum (or sums) that came up the most. 4. Have students think about why this sum came up the most and write down their thinking. 5. N

 Hi All,   "What Does Not Belong" is such a great little concept and can be applied to so many different areas of math as well as other content areas. Great little game when you are waiting, like for buses to be called or for the day to begin. Also a great game for long car or bus rides where if there are no written numbers or pictures you really have to do the mental math. Present a group of numbers. Start with maybe six. Say, 10     56     17     122     4     98 Ask the players to identify which number does not belong and have them explain why. We want players to look at the characteristics of the numbers and compare them to try to find the selection criteria or "rule" so they can determine which does not belong. For example, we have a mix of 1, 2, and 3 digit numbers, so it's not the "rule" is not the number of digits. We have five even numbers and only one odd number. That's it! 17 does not belong, because it's odd. All the rest are even.

 Hi All!   Spring is coming. It's warming up and I am spotting bugs and lizards out and about. You can capitalize on kids' interest in insects by doing this pattern activity. Helping kids look for, notice, and describe patterns is a really important foundational skill in math, particularly to help build a foundation for algebraic thinking. I like to begin by having students build physical patterns with different color and shape pattern blocks. Colored unifix or multilink cubes are great as well. Once students have had experience building physical patterns then you can move to doing some pictorial patterns. The activity below is good for this stage as it allows for a lot of differentiation and it gives them a chance to color, which kids love (and adults too judging from the sales of those adult coloring books!) 1. Give each student a copy of the Insect Parade, crayons or colored pencils, scissors, glue, and a sheet of white copy paper or colored construction paper. Here's a

Hi All, The best way to learn to count well, is by counting lots of stuff. This is a simple activity kids love and they learn a great deal by the direct, real experience. It's called "Mystery Bags." In this activity, kids learn one to one correspondence, accurate counting, the idea of tens and ones and place value, and cooperative skills. Preparation: 1. Take gallon plastic bags and fill them with the number of small items you want counted. Mark each bag with a different color dot for identification. You could also use a letter. Also in the bag include pre-cut tens frames. Each group should be given at least ten ten frames.2.  Partner students up and give each student a response sheet to record their estimates and counts on, 3. Put the 12 pre-packed bags in a box. Invite partners to come up and choose a bag to begin with. 3a. Model emptying a bag (dont' say "dumping out" or that's what you will get, with pieces scattering across the floor) and then estim