You CAN'T call them MATH LIBS! Try some Wacky Math Fill-Ins instead!

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." We pitched the Mad Libs publisher instead and they passed on it, although they did let me ghost write Fairy Tale Mad Libs. Which was a blast and an honor.

Anyway, I ended up pitching Scholastic and they had me do a whole series of what they titled, 50 Fill In Math Word Problems books, which are essentially Math Libs. You can still find cheap copies on ebay and amazon. Attached are a couple of problems typical of that series you can try out with your students.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZPRDAFLJ4HCBfxLdgKX0--QqJ7w3souB/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1muXPlfxC6Go-z3PRlrP7m_IXjgwkIt2R/view?usp=sharing

I'm also attaching a page that explains the different kinds of words like verbs, adjectives, pronouns, etc. Students might find this handy.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bYCufWcrAUiiNsD29SUI3iFmWjKmEcfr/view?usp=sharing

After students do enough of them, you may want to have them try writing their own. It's a lot of fun either way. Just be ready for those words. :)

All the best,

Bob

Comments

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