Do your students have birthdays? Do they have class numbers? If you answered yes to either of those questions then your students are ready to practice their numeracy skills through out the day with mental math activities.
My students have "clicker numbers" and of course they have birthdays. We use those numbers to practice mental math strategies as well as math vocabulary skills all day long. These are ideas for math practice that actually improve classroom management. I also use this as a brain break or when it's time to line up to leave the class or when we need to choose groups of students.
It starts like this: "Think of the month of your birthday as a number." Everyone has a birthday month and now they all know how to show months with numbers. So after they have the month of their birthday in their heads, I mix it all up. Early in the year with 3rd graders, I tell them to double their number. As the year progresses, the mental math calculations become much more complex. I may ask them to multiply their number by 25 x 4. At first they are terrified - they can't do that in their head. Then, they realize that they can group the 25 x 4 and multiply by 100. Wow - that makes it much easier.
Next, we add the vocabulary component. Is the number prime? Composite? Square? Is it a multiple of 5? 6? How do you know? If it were an angle, would it be acute?
"If your number is > 100, please line up." "If your number is neither prime, go get your supplies." The possibilities are endless.
I love this activity. You don't need any supplies. No copies of worksheets. No long preparation. Kids love this and it combines mental math with math vocabulary and ultimately classroom management. Give it a try. What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment