Math Game Monday: Bowling

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
Learn a new math game every week, for free

This game builds calculations skills and helps develop fluency.

Many parents remember struggling to learn math. We hope to provide a better experience for our children. And one of the best ways for children to enjoy learning is through hands-on play.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s play some math!

Bowling

Math Concepts: addition, subtraction, multistep calculation, column addition (for final score).

Players: any number.

Equipment: one deck of math cards, game board, ten tokens for covering numbers, pencil or pen, and (optional) scratch paper for adding up the scores.

Continue reading Math Game Monday: Bowling

Thinking Thursday: W.S. Anglin

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
Thinking Thursday math journal prompt

Writing to Learn Math: What did the author mean? Put the thought in your own words. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own?

Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or problem-solving situation with these classic tools of learning: Notice. Wonder. Create.

Continue reading Thinking Thursday: W.S. Anglin

Probability Puzzles with Obsolete Coins

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
jar of coins

I love math puzzles, and Henry Ernest Dudeney is the foremost puzzlemeister of all time.

Whenever I need a diversion from the pressing day-to-day busyness of life, I like to crack open one of his books. And get humbled. He stumps me as often as not, but I enjoy the challenge.

Today, I’ve got two of his somewhat-easier puzzles from Amusements in Mathematics, dealing with the probability of obsolete coins tossed or pulled from a bag.

Okay, so the penny isn’t obsolete quite yet, even though the US government quit making them. But the “penny” in these puzzles is the old British pence, which went out of date seemingly ages ago, along with all the other non-decimal coins that made old math puzzles so confusing.

Probability puzzles are great for middle school students because the arithmetic itself is simple. The challenge is in figuring out exactly what calculation to do.

Have fun playing math with your kids!

Continue reading Probability Puzzles with Obsolete Coins

Math Game Monday: Area Battle

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
Learn a new math game every week, for free

This game pushes students to consider area and perimeter beyond the basic shapes.

Many parents remember struggling to learn math. We hope to provide a better experience for our children. And one of the best ways for children to enjoy learning is through hands-on play.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s play some math!

Area Battle

Math Concepts: area, square units, perimeter, regular and irregular polygons.

Players: two to four.

Equipment: homemade game cards, pencils or markers.

Continue reading Math Game Monday: Area Battle

Thinking Thursday: Number Race

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
Thinking Thursday math journal prompt

Writing to Learn Math: Measurement is our way of connecting numbers to the things we find in the world, in daily life.

Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own?

Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or problem-solving situation with these classic tools of learning: Notice. Wonder. Create.

Continue reading Thinking Thursday: Number Race

Math Game Monday: Codebreaker

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
Learn a new math game every week, for free

This game challenges players to make logical deductions about number permutations.

Many parents remember struggling to learn math. We hope to provide a better experience for our children. And one of the best ways for children to enjoy learning is through hands-on play.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s play some math!

Codebreaker

Math Concepts: permutations, logical deduction.

Players: two or more.

Equipment: paper and pencil, or whiteboard and marker.

Continue reading Math Game Monday: Codebreaker

Thinking Thursday: Success

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
Thinking Thursday math journal prompt

Writing to Learn Math: You can spark creative thought by removing any need to worry about spelling or punctuation rules.

Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own?

Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or problem-solving situation with these classic tools of learning: Notice. Wonder. Create.

Continue reading Thinking Thursday: Success

Conversion Factors: How Old Are You in Nanoseconds?

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
birthday cupcake with sparkler

Homeschool Memories

[Based on a problem I made up for my co-op students, once upon a time…]

Conversion factors are special fractions that contain problem-solving information. Why are they called conversion factors?

  • “Conversion” means change, and conversion factors help you change the numbers and units in your problem.
  • “Factors” are things you multiply with. So to use a conversion factor, you will multiply it by something.

For instance, if I am driving an average of 60 mph on the highway, I can use that rate as a conversion factor. I may use the fraction:

Or I may flip it over to make:

It all depends on what problem I want to solve.

After driving two hours, how far have I gone?

But if I am planning to go 240 more miles, how much longer will it take?

Any rate can be used as a conversion factor. You can recognize them by their form: this per that. Miles per hour, dollars per gallon, cm per meter, and many, many more.

Of course, you will need to use the rate that is relevant to the problem you are trying to solve. If I were trying to figure out how far a tank of gas would take me, it wouldn’t be any help to know that an M1A1 Abrams tank would get about 1/3 mile per gallon. I won’t be driving one of those.

Continue reading Conversion Factors: How Old Are You in Nanoseconds?

Math Game Monday: Math Model Rummy

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
Learn a new math game every week, for free

This game builds conceptual understanding of multiplication or fraction models.

Many parents remember struggling to learn math. We hope to provide a better experience for our children. And one of the best ways for children to enjoy learning is through hands-on play.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s play some math!

Math Model Rummy

Math Concepts: multiplication or fraction models.

Players: two or more.

Equipment: one deck of math model cards, or a double deck for four or more players.

Continue reading Math Game Monday: Math Model Rummy

Thinking Thursday: 2-D Nim

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
Thinking Thursday math journal prompt

Writing to Learn Math: Games are the ultimate re-playable activity prompts.

Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own?

Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or problem-solving situation with these classic tools of learning: Notice. Wonder. Create.

Continue reading Thinking Thursday: 2-D Nim