Super easy way to have 2nd or 3rd graders physically make each of the multiplication facts. They roll two dice (two different colors, one color for rows and the other color for columns) and create the array using stickers or rubber stamps. Sometimes having them use graph paper helps keep the rows and columns lined up. Also, since a regular die only goes up to 6, you can use dice that has 10 faces. Another options would be to cover…
Crossword puzzles are symmetrical?! That’s usually the response I get after students have been given a chance to look through blank crossword puzzles I’ve cut from the paper. Then I show them how all crosswords are designed with 180-degree rotational symmetry. Starting with 90-degree rotational symmetry, we rotate an object 1/4 the way around the circle. See photo below. Then we rotate an additional 90 degrees so that we end up with a turn of 180-degrees. (We’ve done work in…
Meaningful math with a purpose! This great hands-on lesson gets students doing math while designing targets. Students become comfortable using the area formula for circles. And the best part is, their targets are set up and used during the school’s fall carnival. Watch the video below for the entire lesson plan. CCSS: 7.G.4 TEKS: 6th grade 6C, 8A, 8B Link to video. .
There’s no better excuse to have kids counting all day than the 100th day of school. Often, teachers have students bring in 100 of something that they sort into groups of 10 (you can also have each student bring in 10 of something and then combine them to make 100). Or maybe it’s a project made with 100 of something. Or making tally marks and skip counting by fives to 100. Whatever you choose, it’s the perfect way to celebrate…
This is one of my favorite math and art activities. That’s because it involves a mathematical pattern. Using centimeter graph paper, we start with the basic unit which, in this case, is simply one square. I then ask students what they think the area would be if we doubled the size of the square. The first thing they blurt out before thinking is “two”. I then use the graph paper to show them that if I double the square (double…