Idea Galaxy

Adventures in Junior High and Mathematics

math games

A Valentine’s Math Game for Middle School

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Are you looking for a fun game that helps student feel the math love this time of year? Do you want a whole class activity that will feel like a reward for students? Are you interested in maybe taking some of the middle school drama out of Valentine’s Day? (ha! That last one’s impossible. Have you ever had dance duty at the junior high Valentine’s Day dance?)

Playing Valentine’s Guesses and Wagers is a great way to get math students thinking about numbers, evaluating reasonableness of answers, and have some fun at the same time.

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5 Ideas for Math Class the Week After Winter Break

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When you come back to school right after winter break it can take a few days to get back into the swing of things. It’s kind of like the back to school season, except many things are already established. You still have to help students remember your procedures and break the ice with them again. This time around it most likely won’t take as long as it did back at the beginning of the school year. These 5 activities and strategies will help you start the new year off strong in your math classroom!

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5 Ways Math Games Motivate Students

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As math teachers we experience highs and lows. It can become easy to focus on the lows and become discouraged. Many students come into our classrooms with years of negative math experiences and we’re expected to get them to learn. Sometimes it seems like an uphill battle, and it can feel like the more we struggle the less progress we make.

Just the other day our 6-year old son came home from school and told us how his music teacher was jumping around the room with the kids and crawling on the floor. This is a new teacher who has been struggling with classroom management. I was a little startled and then Theresa said, “Well, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, I guess.”

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Math review game: Bingo

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Playing games in a math classroom isn’t all about fun and, well, games. While games are undeniably more fun than worksheets, I’ve also seen my students get so much more math practice, and answer so many more math questions, through games. One game that’s always a hit, while being simple to set up and play, is Bingo. Bingo makes math review a snap to plan and it’s a lot of fun to play.

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Simple, Super Tools to Make Your Math Classroom More Fun!

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In my opinion, there’s no higher praise than when students say they’re having fun while we’re learning and practicing math. Learning math doesn’t always have to be super-dooper exciting, but it really shouldn’t be drudgery either. Luckily, it can be pretty simple to step up the fun and engagement with just a little preparation. Part of that preparation is having a few tools that go a long way to creating fun review games or hands-on ways to explore math concepts. [Read more…] about Simple, Super Tools to Make Your Math Classroom More Fun!