MathStuff

Hi All, And now for something very simple, but kind of fun. I've always enjoyed word finds since I was a kid. They're fun to do and even make. So are fact finds. I call mine The Great Multiplication Scramble, which kids (and me) like better than just fact find. It works the same way. Instead of words, you look for multiplication facts. They may be vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. They may be forwards or backwards. Two or more facts may even share numbers. Circle them as you find them and keep count. How many can you find? Make copies and try to find more than your partner or work together with a partner and team up to find every single one. Good luck! Here is the link for the pdf. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O3w0dYsQgh9rrunQXkxdTjYS6xvmkGPm/view?usp=sharing If you feel like taking it further, try making your own fact find. How many facts can you fit in yours? Have fun finding out.   All the best, Bob *This is from Best-Ever Activities for Grades 2-3: Mult...

Hi All, Shake it up! Egg Box Shake is noisy and fun! That's a big plus right there for most kids. Students like to create and keep their own math tools, and this is a great opportunity to do that as well. And, teachers can adapt the game to fit any level or mathematical operation. Win. Win. Win. Egg Box Shake originated as a coin identification and addition game for grades 1 – 3. I had students bring in an egg carton from home and then provided them with play money or coin stamps, ink pads, and card stock. They stamped out pictures of the coins onto card stock, front and back images, and then cut out the pictures. Students glued these pictures into the bottom of the twelve sections of the egg carton. Each player would get two beads, beans, chips, marbles, or any other small manipulative. They put these into the box and closed it. They then shook the box. When they stopped they opened it and saw where the beads had landed. Players added those two coins o...

Hi All, I figured it was time to share a simple board game. FIFTY focuses on addition of double-digit numbers. All you need is the game board and 13 markers (could be buttons, coins, paper clips, or any small manipulative. By the way, those little plastic tags that keep your bread bags closed are handy manipulatives for a game like this. Just sayin'). On the game board you see there are a mix of numbers. Play begins as the first player puts a marker down on any number and announces that number as the current total. The other player then places a marker on any uncovered number, adds that number to the previous number, and announces a new total.  Players continue alternating turns, placing markers on the game board, and announcing the new total. The object of the game is to try to get a total of 50 exactly on your turn. When you do, you get 3 points. If not that, then get a total over 50. For that, you get 1 point. It sounds simple, but in addition to addition (ha,ha),...

Hi All, A very common question among upper elementary and middle school parents, and students, and even many teachers, is "What are stem and leaf plots?" Is it math? Is it botany? Is it gardening? Followed quickly by, "And why do we need to know what they are anyway?" I can't remember being taught stem and leaf plots in school either, but as I've come to work with them, I wonder why not, because they can be a very useful and revealing tool with certain kinds of data. Plus they're easy to do. For example, let's say you are growing bean plants. You planted 10 plants and you recorded their heights on a chart: 1. 18" 2. 20" 3. 18" 4. 17" 5. 16" 6. 18" 7. 80'' 8. 18" 9. 18" 10. 17" Your friend hears about the bean plants and says, "I'm thinking of growing bean plants too. About how high do they grow on average?"  You know how to find averages. You add up all the heig...

Hi All, Lots of Dots is simply a paper with, well, lots of dots on it. The objective is to count the dots accurately. Sounds simple. And boring. But, give this to kids and watch out! They can't get enough. The idea is for students to realize that lots of things are best counted with a strategy, not just one by one, though early on counting by ones and one-to-one correspondence are huge milestones.  For Grades 1 and up though, we can begin to think about maybe counting by twos or fives or tens. These methods are not only more efficient, but usually more accurate. Meanwhile as you do this, you build and reinforce the notion of place value. If I give you a mess of dots and you count by tens and circle each group of ten, and then count the remaining ones, you are using place value ideas. Not only is this faster and more accurate, you can also more easily check your count than if you went by ones. Have students try Lots of Dots first and then debrief. Share strategies. Comp...

Hi All, It seems like we're always asking questions in math. When you think about it, almost all the math you do; addition, subtraction, multiplication, percentages, fractions, all of it is answering the same question, "How much or how many?" Today's question is a tangent of that, as we ask, "Which has more?" A little comparison action. This is a good activity for those beginning multiplication when we want to make clear that multiplying means dealing with a given number of equal sets or groups of things.  Like 5 groups of 5. Or 6 groups of 4. Oh, by the way, which of those has more? They're pretty close, aren't they? In today's activity, each student is given a "Which Has More?" page (link below.) Their task is to draw two pictures on the page. Each picture should have the same type of items arranged in similar but slightly different groupings (and slightly different amounts) so that anyone looking at the page will have to look ...

Hi All, We had some fun with dice earlier this week as we learned an easy magic trick based on 7. Now let's go a bit deeper. Ask students if they were to roll two dice, what sum they think would probably come up the most and why? After a discussion give them the opportunity to explore. Many students will not realize which sums are possible until they play around with the dice again. Then many will guess that the higher numbers like 12 or 11 will come up the most. When these numbers don't come up as often as others, it's a great discussion as to why. This is an excellent partner problem and a dive into probability. Give each partnership the attached record sheet and have them roll and record the sums of the two dice rolled. Partners can take turns rolling and recording. The easiest way to record is with tally marks. Point out how the more they roll, the more reliable their data will become. For example if we only roll twice and 4 comes up both times, does that mean...

Hi All, This is not a big time math lesson, but kids love a good magic trick they can do, so here it is. This one uses the sevens times table and is a snap to learn. *Tell students that if they roll a pair of dice you will be able to tell them the total of all the top numbers and bottom numbers (without looking at the bottom) because of your "x-ray eyes." *The secret is that on any die, the top number and the bottom number always equal 7. Roll two dice and the total is going to be 14. Roll three dice and it will be 21. Four dice will be 28, and so on through the 7 times table. *Begin with students rolling two dice, then three, then four, and let them use as many as you have available. See if they can figure out the trick. *Once they figure it out (or you reveal it), they can practice and then take their "multiplying magic show" on the road and share it with others. Simple, but fun.  Oh, and keep the dice handy, on Thursday we'll get "Deeper wi...