Yay math!This meme is funny because it's true! You can admit it, it's just us teachers here. How many times do you say, "it's math time," and there is a collective groan that runs through the room? Yeah, I know. We sit at home and plan our exciting lessons while binge watching Netflix, all the while pounding our heads against the wall trying to find a way to make math exciting! Some days I would even accept if a math lesson was survivable! Then one day I created my first math relay tag product. We were learning about 2 by 2 digit multiplication. If you've ever taught this, you know that teaching students the steps is the first part of the lesson. Giving students many opportunities to practice the steps is the second part of the lesson. Good math teachers recognize that practice is vital to get kids to really embed those skills. I needed a way to get my kids to want to do their problems quickly and accurately. Kids love to compete with one another. So, I thought, what if they compete with each other while doing math problems? I took it from there. When I first introduced it to my students I said enthusiastically, "Today we are going to play a math game," - cue the groaning. I tried to beef up the excitement, "No, really, it's going to be fun! Really!" More groaning and complete and utter lack of buy in. But, I persisted. I explained the game, broke the students into groups and started the game. And then something magical began. Not like Harry Potter magic, something even better. The kind of magic every teacher (yes, even you) dreams of...the kids got excited about MATH. They started jumping up and down. Screaming and yelling (in a good way- not in a Veruca Salt way) and cheering. That is not a type-O- there was cheering. Like Summer Olympics Michael Phelps heading for his 23rd Gold Medal cheering. For 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication. Seriously. The students are placed into groups of 5, and they compete, relay race style with other teams to complete 10 math problems correctly before any of the other teams. Even if you believe in fairies and the possibility that kids will beg for math, you will be amazed at how your students react to this activity. There are 6 rounds in the game, which means that you can play this multiple times-which will please your students. My students actually will ask for the game every day once we play the first time. Let me say that again. They will ASk for the game EVERY day. Because of the success of this game, I made one for every math unit that followed. Multiplication Relay Math is great when I am wrapping up my unit and want to see my kids pressed into really working the problems repeatedly (willingly) to get the correct answers. Then, later, at the end of the year, this game makes a great end of the year active activity to keep your kids engaged right up to the last day of school. Which is a beautiful thing. Wouldn't you agree? Math doesn't have to be boring to be effective. We have permission to make it fun, wild and even a little crazy (it will get crazy-jumping up and down crazy).
I hope you enjoy a little bit of crazy in your lessons. Until next time- Happy Teaching!
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AuthorWelcome to my blog! I'm Susan and I am a wife, mother, runner, teacher, and resource author! I have been teaching for 21 years, and I love finding ways to engage my students in learning! Reading is my passion, and I love helping my students find their passion for reading. Categories
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