Coupon! Math in the Moment

I love the way Dan Meyer does such a wonderful job of recognizing math problems in the moment. So I tried to catch a moment myself today. During lunch when I was looking through the local grocery ads, ds8 saw a coupon for candy bars, 5 for $2. He remarked, "That's not a good deal! You can get a candy bar for like $.68!" I asked him how much one candy bar would cost if they are 5 for $2 with the coupon. He didn't know. We've only done a tiny bit of basic division, and certainly not division with money, but I decided that he was probably up to this task. So I cut out the ad and told him to use pictures, words, and/or numbers to figure out how much one candy bar would cost.

I knew this would cause a bit of disequilibrium. But I also knew that the right amount of disquilibrium = a great environment for new learning. After thinking a bit, he wrote out a long problem of 10+10 until he'd written 20 tens. He then made 5 boxes and drew curved lines connecting a 10 to each box. In the middle of this he stopped and said, "I know! They cost $.40!" I asked how he knew. He said that there are 20 tens in $2. And 20 divided by 5 equals 40. (Since he seemed to be on the right track and was obviously thinking in decimals, I didn't interrupt.) Then, after a while, he grinned and said, "We should get 4 candy bars for $1.60. Then [brother] and I can each have two so it's fair."

When do you successfully use math in the moment?

Milk Cap Math: MADS Elimination

Here is another milk cap math game for basic +/-/x/division practice. My 15yo daughter thought of the name, MADS Elimination. (Thanks!)

The object?

M: multiply
A: add
D: divide
S: subtract

...in order to eliminate all milk caps on the playing field. (Before you go completely MADs!)

You'll need:

• two sets of 10 milk caps (any color), numbered 1-10
• two, 1-6 dice

To play the game, each player forms a line of milk caps, 1-10. Players take turns rolling the dice. When dice are rolled, the player may choose to multiply, add, divide, or subtract. So, for example:

Dice rolled: 3 and 5

I can:

M: 3 x 5 (won't work since my caps are 1-10)
A: 3 + 5 = 8
D: 5 / 3 = 2.5 (won't work)
S: 5 - 3 = 2

So I could eliminate either the 2 or the 8 cap. If the cap(s) has already been eliminated, I lose my turn. The first player to eliminate all caps, wins.

You can make this a little easier (preschool) by using 6 caps (1-6) and one die (1-6) and removing caps from the table as you roll each number.

You can make this a little harder by using bigger numbers (on the caps) or having the option of rolling multiple dice. For example, you could roll three, 1-6 dice, and make a number sentence using all three numbers. (You could also use dice with different numbers: 0-5, 4-9, etc.)

Example using 3 dice:

I roll: 1,3,4

I could do any number of combinations...I won't list them all, but for example:

3 - 1 + 4

1 x 4 - 3   (You could even talk about order of operations here.)

4 - 1 + 3

Lots and lots of possibilities for this game!

Running out of math caps yet?? ;)

This is another great math workbox game! ;)

Math App Saturday (#2, Add/Subtract/Mult/Divide)

Saturday series on using educational apps for iTouch/iPhone/iPad continues with games that promote skills practice with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. At posting, they are all FREE...

Math Zombie
In 10 seconds (or without the time mode), combine numbers to equal the number shown. The more numbers you use, the more points you earn. Practices addition facts to 20. All ages enjoy the game. Since you can set the time mode on or off, it also provides a challenge appropriate for a variety of levels.

Math Races
Skills practice in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. Presentation isn't terribly exciting...if you're looking for traditional fact skills practice, this is it.

Burn Your Brain: Math
FAST paced game. You are presented with a math problem and you must immediately say whether the number sentence is true or false. Challenging!

24 Lite
"An addictive new take on a classic math card game! The goal of the game is deceptively simple: make the number 24 using the four given numbers and basic arithmetic -- addition, subtraction, multiplication and division."