Games and Activities Overview
Incorporating games and activities into your math programming can be an excellent way to break up the typical routine of the day without losing the emphasis on quality math education. We have listed some potential sites and options using the groupings of primary, elementary and middle grades. Having students help select a game /activity from a supplied list can be a very meaningful exercise as teachers and students must collectively analyze the mathematics required by the activity as well as the potential enjoyment factor of the exercise. Please remember, that while playing a game or completing an activity is meaningful, the deepest learning comes from analyzing the game or activity and by recreating a similar product. While initial original student work is often primitive, regular opportunities to create and share will result in more polished original works. Your students will surprise you and they will embrace the “ownership” of the process.
One often overlooked resource is that of math humor. Having students explain (either in words or in writing) the essence of the humor in a math cartoon, joke, pun, etc., can make for an excellent opportunity to clearly articulate the logic of the scenario. Students will enjoy searching the web for examples of math humor and selecting favorite examples to share with the class. As always, original student math humor should be recognized with extra kudos!
BTW, what did the zero say to the eight? Nice belt!
Why did the student get into trouble for saying the number 288? They were talking two gross!