Posted in Math is Awesome!

Spot the Error Math Fails – Can You Find the Mistake?

10 real world math fails, mistakes, math errors

Round 2 – These are so much fun for my students, that I had to put together another group of 10 Real World Math Fails. I tell my students daily to check their answers- does their answer make sense, especially in the context of their problem? The following pictures are some examples of people who have not checked their answers in the real world. My students love seeing these, finding the errors and laughing at the mistakes adults made.

Click the pictures to take you to the original site that I found them. If there isn’t a link, it was just a picture or had a dead link.

Walmart Rollback - Math Error
Walmart Rollback Sign! Not sure I want this “sale”
Math pricing error- Students find the mistake
Math Fail- Real World
Math Fail?
Math fail, math error, real world mistake
Whose job was it to make the sign?
Walmart math error, real world math mistake, math fail
Umm…..I’m a little worried.
real world math mistake, math fail, restaurant fail, find the mistake
Poor Jessie! She forgot to line her numbers up by place value.
real world math mistake, math fail, find the mistake
Forever 21 Mistake
real world math mistake, math fail, find the mistake
Again, whose job is it to make these signs?
real world math mistake, math fail, find the mistake
Not sure this is a sale….
real world math mistake, math fail, find the mistake
I would have to really want a banana to pay this much!

Bonus: Not real world but I love it!

Please check out my other entry…

Posted in Math is Awesome!, Task cards with QR Codes, Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Classifying Triangles (Sides & Angles) Task Cards

Classifying Triangles by Sides & Angles for 4th-6th grade

I created these task cards to be used with my 5th graders for our Geometry unit. However any grade can use them for enrichment or review.  I use task cards quite frequently and my kids love them.

Usually, my students will use these cards to practice at their table groups while I work with small groups in the back of my classroom. However, you can also set these up as a Math Workshop station or as a Scavenger Hunt around the room or hallways.

The QR code ensures that my students are not practicing incorrectly. Each task card comes with a code that students can scan on iPads, phones or computers. The QR code immediately pulls up the answer. Students can check their work and figure out if they made a mistake or not. There is also an answer key included that students can use without using the QR codes.

This version contains 28 task cards designed for 4th -6th grade but can be used as a review or enrichment in different grades.

  • Task Cards #1-8 Students classify triangles by their sides – includes a list of choices
  • For Task Cards # 9-16 Students classify triangles by their angles – includes choices
  • Finally, for Task Cards #17-28 Students classify triangles by both sides and angles (no choices)

The choices allow students to practice classifying them correctly with assistance before giving them the card that do not have each of the types of angles/sides listed.

The best part about the QR codes, is that if the students make a mistake, they can figure out where they went wrong and correct their mistakes. This provides instant feedback, even when the teacher is not right beside them.

The only prep and materials that are required are a printer, scissors and some lamination (optional). I also have a set of these in black and white that I have cut out and glued to colored paper since our printer at school is only black and white. I usually laminate everything so that I can reuse them year after year.

If you are ready to use them, please check out my store at teachers pay teachers or I also have them available through TES found here.

If you like these cards or would like to see more fun math lessons, please check out….

math, homeschool, triangles, middle school

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Posted in Math is Awesome!

10 Real World Math Mistakes – Perfect for students to find the mistake!

math pin

Real World Math Sales that don’t exactly scream sale… I tell my students daily to check their answers- does their answer make sense, especially in the context of their problem? The following pictures are some examples of people who have not checked their answers in the real world. My students love seeing these, finding the errors and laughing at the mistakes adults made. There are a couple that have no mistakes but still don’t add up to a “sale.”

The following are a few that I have used in my classroom and are some of my students’ favorites. Click on the pictures to go to the original sites.

Real World Math Errors and Fun for Students



If you like these, please check out my other post… Part 2 – 10 Real World Math Fails- Can you Spot the Mistake?

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Posted in Book Reviews, Young Adult Books

Countryside #1- Book of the Wise Book Review

Countryside: The Book of the Wise by J.T. Cope IV

From Goodreads:

“You have a power within you, one that is within everyone…It’s the same power that fills that building, that keeps that tree alive…and the same power that has attracted your attention…I know it’s all a bit strange to you, but I assure you it is quite real…” Eleven-year-old Luke Rayburn has never seen a skyline without skyscrapers or fallen asleep to anything but the sound of traffic. But his life is about to change in ways he never imagined. When his father leaves for a year of military service, Luke and the rest of his family move into their grandparents’ home in the remote town of Countryside, a place like no other. Reachable only by a mysterious traveling tunnel and horse-drawn carriage, centaurs roam the landscape and shadowy wraiths slip among the trees. There, Luke will be drawn into a centuries-old quest for an almost-forgotten book whose secrets will determine the fate of the world. He will have to reach deep to discover the power within him as he battles the forces of darkness and an alliance of sinister men who seek to destroy any who get in their way. Luke’s only hope is to find the book before they do, but to do so he’ll need help from someone he never expected as the forces of evil come to bear on the magical world of Countryside

My thoughts after reading this book…

Personally, I really enjoyed this book and have already purchased the second book in the series. It started off a little slow at first, as readers were introduced to several characters but picked up very quickly. I became invested in Luke and enjoyed watching him grow and learn throughout the story. Lots of elements of magic which I loved, even though there were similarities to some Harry Potter and some Narnia traits. Overall, the magic was very enjoyable and the settings were easy to imagine with lots of descriptions.

The book is targeted at fantasy readers, upper elementary – junior high, who enjoy series like Harry Potter, Narnia, and Percy Jackson.  Though any age fan of fantasy and magic would enjoy this story.

As a middle school teacher, I often read books designed for 4th-7th graders so I can recommend books to my students and this is a book that I will definitely recommend.

Amazon currently has this book for purchase as a Kindle eBook for $3.99, hardback for $24.99 and paperback for $10.97.

For the Nook, Barnes and Noble currently has the eBook also for $3.99 and paperback for $10.99.

Posted in Math Games, Math is Awesome!

Free Place Value Online Math Games – Grades 4-6; Games with links and descriptions

Finding a good list of games that my 5th graders can play is exhausting. Most of the games I have found have dead links or some are way too easy/hard. This year, I have decided to make my own list of games that my students can play for the last few minutes of class. These games can be played by any level but are best suited for students in grades 4-8.

place value, grades 4-6, math

If you have some other good ones that you find, please comment and let me know. Would love to add them to the list.

  • Math Snacks Gate
    • “Shadows are corrupting the land. Restore the balance of nature using number operations and place value.”
    • Students use the skills of decomposing numbers (in whole and decimals) to build the correct number to win the game and restore the balance of nature.
  • Place Value Hockey
    • Place Value Hockey is a fun educational game for kids to practice place value. There are 2 modes of play and 3 levels of difficulty.
    • Modes of play: Identify Place Value & Type Numerals Difficulty:
      • Level 1: ones to hundreds;
      • Level 2: ones to millions;
      • Level 3: ten thousandths to millions
    • The game will show the percentage each player gets correct and players get to take penalty shots to score points for their team when they get five correct in a row.
  • MathMan- Expanded Form
    • This one was a good game to introduce my expanded form unit. It is best designed for grades 2-4 but my kids loved it.
    • In this game, a version of pac-man must eat the ghosts in the correct order by expanding a number in the hundreds place by its value.
    • For example if the number is 641, students look for a ghost with 600 + 40+ 1 on him. They must eat him before the other ghosts eat him.
  • Comparing Decimals Fruit Shoot
    • Fun arcade style math game teaches decimal comparisons
    • Compare decimals by shooting fruit that has the or = sign to make the inequality true.
    • Students can choose between 4 modes and 3 levels. Each level has a timed mode slow and fast fruit, and a relaxed mode with slow and fast fruit.
  • Scooter Challenge- Rounding Decimals
    • Students help Jimmy earn enough money for his paper route by delivering papers to the correct house
    • Different levels of play. Students start off by rounding 1.377 to the nearest tenth place. Each of the houses have a number on the garage doors, and the student must throw the newspaper to the correct house. This will help him or her earn lots of money for his new scooter.
  • Rounding Decimals – Shark Attack
    • In this game, students will work on their rounding skills by rounding decimal numbers to the nearest hundredth place.
    • At the bottom of the screen will be a sentence with a number to be rounded and your goldfish friend. (“Fish are friends not food” – thanks Nemo)
    • Find the shark with the answer and click it to blow it into pieces before the the sharks reach your goldfish friend.
    • The students must be careful because if they pick a wrong answer, the shark will get to the goldfish quicker!
  • Funbrain – Spell the Numbers
    • In this game, Funbrain will show you numbers on the check in standard form.
    • Your task is to spell the the words that make the number (word form)
    • You can choose different categories from 0-10, 0-100, 0-1000, and 0-10000)
    • You can also do this in reverse order. Students are given word form and must write the numbers in expanded form.
  • Funbrain – Place Value Puzzle
    • Students use their knowledge of place value to find the location of individual digits within a larger number.
    • Each correct answer unlocks a piece of puzzle.  9 correct answers show the entire puzzle.

 

More will be added as I find some other good ones. Enjoy!

 

Posted in Kahoots, Math Games, Math is Awesome!

Base 10 Exponents/ Powers of 10 Kahoot

Powers of 10, Base 10 Exponents Kahoot 5th gradeKahoot Time!! My students absolutely love hearing that and competing against each other.

If you have never used Kahoot! before, you can create them for about any topic or subject. The registration is completely free.

This was a Kahoot my intern created which has 11 questions about powers of 10 or base 10 exponents. In this Kahoot, our 5th grade students practiced naming base 10 exponents in standard, word and exponential form. They used white boards, when needed, to write and calculate the different forms.

Click here to play – play.kahoot.it

If you’ve never used a Kahoot before, please check out my Kahoot Introduction. If you would like to see some other kahoots, I have several with different topics that I made under menu, Kahoots or just click anything below..

Posted in Math is Awesome!, Task cards with QR Codes, Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Place Value Whole Number and Decimal Task Cards- Standard, Word and Expanded Form

capture 3.PNG

Place Value Task Cards for 4th-6th grades

I created these task cards to be used with my 5th graders last week.

My students use these cards to practice at their table groups while I work with small groups in the back of my classroom. However, you can also set these up as a Math Workshop station or as a Scavenger Hunt around the room or hallways.

The QR reader ensures that my students are not practicing incorrectly. My students complete the work and then use the QR reader from my Ipad or the QR Reader on their Chromebooks to check their answers. The QR code links the students to the correct answer and appropriate work if work is required. .

Question #16.JPG

The best part about the QR codes, is that if the students make a mistake, they can figure out where they went wrong and correct their mistakes. This provides instant feedback, even when the teacher is not right beside them.

These task cards have students performing tasks such as finding…

  • Place Value of a Number
  • Value of a Number
  • Expanded Form of a Number
  • Standard Form of a Number
  • Word Form of a Number

Of both Whole Numbers and Decimals to the Thousandths Place.

The only prep and materials that are required are a printer, scissors and some lamination (optional). I also have a set of these in black and white that I have cut out and glued to colored paper since our printer at school is only black and white. I usually laminate everything so that I can reuse them year after year.

If you are ready to use them, please check out my store. The free version has 4 cards while the full version has 28 cards. (You can get those for $2.50 on my TPT store or on Amped Up Learning Use the code MATH10 to receive 10% off any purchases from our store on Amped Up Learning.

If you like these cards or would like to see more fun math lessons, please check out….

Posted in Math Games, Math is Awesome!

Remainders Wanted- Free Long Division Game

This game is a great game that I found free on Teachers Pay Teachers – (game here).  My 5th graders had so much fun with it, they really didn’t pay any attention to how many long division problems they were working.

Remainders Wanted Free Long Division Game 5th grade

To play, each student should have ten counters.  Students take turns covering a number on the game board with a counter, rolling the die and dividing the number covered by the number on the die.  The  remainder is the student’s score for that round.  – From Game Directions

The neat thing about this game is that you can roll a single die for students to divide by one number or two dice to divide by two numbers.  Since we were working on dividing by two digits,  I used these amazing dice found on Amazon.  They are dice in a dice!  My students loved them!

My students rolled the die and came up with a two digit number.  They then covered a number on the game board and on the back of their score card, they completed the long division problem.  You can use any type of counters you would like, my favorite are the bean counters from Learning Resource.   One student is the red side and the other is white side.  They are super easy to put in a ziplock bag and students can count out how many they need.

Remainders Wanted - Free long division game
Look at how many long division problems are on the back of his paper. They did so many practice problems and didn’t even complain once!

score card from Remainders Wanted
Since the remainder is the student’s score, they had to add up all the scores to determine their sum in order to determine a winner.

So currently, this game has over 70,000 downloads and I can totally see why.  I love how simple and effective it is, but most of all I love that it is free!  The link is in the first paragraph above.  I will definitely use this game again next year.  Who said math practice had to be boring!

If you would like to see a few other awesome math games, please click on a few others that I use in my classroom.

 

 

Posted in Math is Awesome!

Rubik’s Cube Mosaics

For the last few years, I have been fortunate enough to sponsor a great group of kids in Rubik’s Cube Club.  I use the You Can Do The Cube guides to teach the kids how to solve the cube.  You can get them free from their site – youcandothecube.com.  Once the students learn how to solve the traditional 3 x 3 cube, they can move on to advanced cubes.  Amazon has some great designs and is usually where I purchase mine.

Twice a year, You Can Do The Cube, sponsor a mosaic building challenge in which students are encouraged to build pictures (mosaics) out of Rubik’s Cubes.  You can even check giant sets out for free from their site, however shipping is really high.

The students have a lot of fun planning their designs.  They can use graph paper or the computer to grid out what their picture will look like.  A few of the ones that they designed are below.

  1.  Super Mario’s Bob-omb – Made with 51 Rubik’s Cubes

Super Mario's Bobomb made from Rubik's Cubes

2.  The American Flag – made from 61 Rubik’s Cubes

American Flag  made from Rubik's Cubes

3.  Space Invader- Made From 42 Rubik’s Cubes

Space Invader made from Rubik's Cubes

4. Face?  Made from 57 Rubik’s Cubes

Face from Rubik's Cubes

 

Posted in Kahoots, Math Anchor Charts, Math is Awesome!

Multiplication Strategies – Math Anchor Chart, Kahoot and Game

Last year I noticed that I had several of my 5th grade students struggling with multiplication facts.  It wasn’t just that they didn’t know them, but several of them couldn’t even skip count.  Some who were still drawing out dots and groups to count, would get so tied up with figuring out what 8 x 7 was that they couldn’t remember what step they were on in long division or fraction computation.  It was getting to be a little crazy.

I started researching strategies and found this handy anchor chart.  (This year,  it was the first anchor chart hung in my room!)  I tried researching where the original idea came from but there were at least 25 variations on Pinterest and the web.  I took out some of the facts that I felt my kids should know like 0s, 1s, and 10s and left the rest.  I’m hoping that if I get this out early enough this year and teach from it, that it might help those students who are struggling.  Chart Paper and Sharpie Markers are the best- I usually laminate all of my charts so it is super easy to pull out each year.

5th Grade Multiplication Strategies Anchor Chart

I also found this great little Kahoot called Multiplciation Facts by Jordan Manning that I love to use.  I started using that about midyear last year as a warm up to get our brains thinking about math.  I found that the kids loved competing against each other and for those who kept missing the same facts, I had them make flash cards on index cards to help them study. I plan on starting this a lot earlier in the year than last.

 If you’ve never used a Kahoot before check out my Kahoot Introduction.  I have several with different topics that I made under menu, Kahoots  or just click here.

Another game,  I like to use to help with fact fluency, is a game called Multiplication War.  The only item needed is a deck of cards. (Amazon has 12 packs and 2 packs)  In this game, students deal out the entire deck of cards, then turn over two cards.  Each player multiplies the two cards together while the highest product wins the cards.   In case of a tie, players flip again – this time winner takes all the cards turned over.  Aces are worth 1, Jokers are 11, and Jacks, Queens and Kings are 10.  The students use the cards that they won to continue playing until one person has all the cards or time is up.  This year, I played it the first week of school and gave my students a multiplication table to look up the facts if they didn’t know them.  As the year progress, I plan to slowly remove that handy chart.

http://www.multiplication.com also has some amazing games that the students love to play!

Hopefully, starting all of these games and strategies at the beginning of the year will help solidify some of those crazy facts that the kids need to survive secondary math!