This school year, I’m taking two approaches to incorporating puzzles into my classroom on a regular basis. Every Monday, I put a new magnetic puzzle up on the dry erase board. For example, last week we tackled the Domino Effect Puzzle. I also have a table that I have designated as the “Puzzle Table.” These …
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Day one and two are in the books! I’ll share a bit more about what I did with my classes on the first two days in a later post, but I want to go ahead and share the mathematical challenge I used with my students on the first day since I have got several questions …
I created this printable Venn Diagram template to use with Guess My Rule cards, but it could be used in so many different ways in the math classroom. A couple of weeks ago, I was afraid that the lesson I had planned on Venn Diagrams wouldn’t take the entire 50 minute class period. I was …
Looking to play a friendly game of Farkle with friends or with your students in your classroom? I’ve got a free printable Farkle Score Sheet to help make your game play run smoothly. What is Farkle? Farkle is an incredibly fun and addictive dice game that is equally suitable for a fun family game night …
I’m excited to introduce you to the 5-4-3-2-1 Challenge. On Sunday morning, Nancy Swank tweeted me a link to a puzzle on NPR’s website. This shouldn’t come as a surprise because Nancy is the entire reason why NPR spent an entire day in my classroom in 2014. I followed the link and started reading …
Combining Like Terms Activity (Version 3.0) I modified my combining like terms strip activity that I have used for the past two years. This year, I added a box for students to write their simplified answer in. I think it really helped them organize their work better! Close-ups of each problem: Looking for a fun …
One of my favorite activities for introducing the concept of a function in Algebra 1 is to host a Function Auction. The first year I did this, I threw the activity together at the last minute. I grabbed a random function/not a function worksheet off of the Internet and stapled some colored paper on a …
One of my favorite statistics activities for introducing probability is Probability Bingo. Probability Bingo is not your typical bingo game. You aren’t looking for five in a row. Instead, the winner is the first person to fill up their ENTIRE bingo card. I once attended an AP Summer Institute for AP Statistics at the University …
31-derful is fun and easy-to-implement group problem solving activity that is a perfect activity for the first day or week of school. The only supplies needed to implement this activity is a deck of playing cards for each group. I used the 31-derful activity with my Algebra 1 students for the first day of school. …
After spending three days working with my 8th graders on a road trip project, I needed a one-day activity that was fun, interactive, and tied to the 8th grade Oklahoma math standards. Looking for inspiration, I turned to the Internet where I soon found a link to Dan Meyer’s Three-Act Math Tasks via Pinterest. While …