Today I'm linking up with K's Classroom Kreations and Theresa's Teaching Tidbits for Math Tip Monday. This post is all about Spring Math Ideas!
When I hear spring, I immediately think of Spring Training! So why not play math baseball to keep the students engaged?
When I play math games, I want them to be fun, meaningful, and most importantly easy for the teacher. I will not play a game that takes tons of time to set up and get the students ready to go. All you need is something for the students to write on (I usually use white boards or scratch paper) and something to display the problems. Quick, easy, and fun!
My rules and procedures are always the same, and very little changes overall. But there is enough change so it feels like a new game to the kiddos! Click here to read about some of the other math games I play.
My rules and procedures are always the same, and very little changes overall. But there is enough change so it feels like a new game to the kiddos! Click here to read about some of the other math games I play.
The rules and procedures I use are:
1. Divide the class into teams. I either use 2 or 4 teams depending on the game and how much time we have.
2. Number off everyone on each team. 1 - however many students you have. Each team should have a number 1, number 2, number 3, etc.
3. Everyone solves every problem. Gotta have that engagement!
4. Be quiet when solving the problems. I do not give warnings in games since it is usually a reward, so if this rule is broken that student will be out, or their team will lose points, move back, etc. The consequence depends on the game. I've found that if you are consistent with this then you have very little problems with students talking while solving the problems.
5. Give the students enough time to solve the problem. Depending on what the problem is, and the strategy I want them to use, it usually takes between 45 seconds and 1 minute. Ultimately you need to keep the game moving forward, or you'll lose the students. If I call on a student and they have not finished the problem then they earn an out.
6. Call out a number, and the student on all teams with that number show the answer.
7. If it's right - they move forward. If it's wrong, they move backward OR stay in the spot. In math baseball I let them stay in their spot, but this changes depending on the game. When the team earns 3 outs, aka 3 wrong answers, then all of the students on the diamond go back to their seats. The outs are then reset and the game continues.
8. At the end I usually give the students the opportunity to get a grand slam, by solving a more challenging problem. It's always exciting when they score 4 runs at the very end of the game!
8. At the end I usually give the students the opportunity to get a grand slam, by solving a more challenging problem. It's always exciting when they score 4 runs at the very end of the game!
Here's what math baseball looks like:
On each plate I wrote H for home plate, and the numbers 1-3 for each of the bases. I have two baseball diamonds going simultaneously so each team has the chance to move forward each time. It definitely keeps them all engaged and is a lot of fun!
Check out these other blogs for some great spring math ideas:
Check out these other blogs for some great spring math ideas:
I'm all about easy for the teacher! Your math baseball game sounds like fun and it would be easy to adapt to whatever skill you were working on. Thank you for sharing and linking up with us!
ReplyDeleteMath baseball sounds like so much fun! Thanks for sharing! Enjoy your weekend!
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