The Multiple Uses of Math Dice

I'm sure this discovery is nothing new to you full-time math teachers, but I have been having a blast using dice in my ALLab this year.

In the basic tournament game, kids roll a target number, then roll their blue dice and come up with an equation to reach that number. The person with an equation closest to the target number wins the round.

What I've done with math dice:

Part-part-whole: My first graders roll the white 12-sided dice, add the two numbers together for their target number, then roll their blue dice and "synergize" (one of our 7 Habits) to build addition equations to reach their target number. (For example, 2+2+5+6+6=21.) They score tokens for every equation they can put together.

Place value & rounding: My third graders rolled the blue and white dice for a random number (up to five digits). They then had to practice rounding their number to each place value. Bonus: Kids who wanted a challenge added in a second set of math dice so they were rounding to the billions!

Graphing: A group of my second graders was getting bored interpreting bar graphs, so we used the dice to create their own. First, they rolled the three blue dice 10 times, using tally marks to track how often each was rolled. Then, they created bar graphs to show their results, and wrote two questions that other students could use to interpret their graphs.

How have you used Math Dice?

Putting the "F-word" Back in School

"Oh, your kids really have fun, don't they?"

I've been asked this question, or versions of it, more times than I can count over the past year as a GT facilitator, in tones ranging from wistfulness to sneer. And I reply, "Yes, they do -- and they think hard, too."

Because really, people, what's wrong with a little fun in school?

I'm thinking of this after spending an hour watching my fifth graders just have fun today. We were supposed to teleconference with NASA, but due to technological difficulties, had to reschedule. Which left me a classroom of fifth graders and an unscheduled hour.

Pentago

"Free choice!" I called out, deciding to give them their Christmas present early. They scattered -- LEGOs, chess, marble runs. Some chose new challenges, like Pentago or In a Pickle. Others went to old favorites -- Quoridor and Quirkle.

To be honest, I struggled with this decision -- was I wasting an hour? What would their teachers -- strapped for time with the stress of state testing in three subjects -- say if they found out?

Then I stepped back and just watched. Part of our district's mission statement reads: "...ISD,where we encourage collaboration and communication, [and] promote critical thinking..."

In their play, my students were embracing all three of those district goals. So yes, they were having fun. And thinking -- a lot.

You've Been Sentenced...to Practice Grammar

The fun, jazzy class drew my rainy Ohio feet.

The smelly girl, Cameron, jumped into the lake.

Suzy sneezed under the snake.

Odd sentences? Absolutely. Grammatically correct? Yes! This is the fun of "You've Been Sentenced," a great game for vocabulary building and sentence writing.

A group of fourth graders came to visit me recently to work on their grammar and writing skills. I pulled this game off the shelf, handed them some whiteboards, and the giggling commenced. 

The basic premise of the game is to draw cards and make sentences using as many of the cards as you can -- which leads to great use of clauses and adjectives. By mixing in the whiteboards, I forced the students to practice their punctuating skills -- something they were more than willing to do to prove how "correct" their sentences were. 

They were quick to point out when clauses were under- or over-punctuated, or when basic sentence components (like verbs!) were missing. The players quickly corrected these problems -- I only saw sentence fragments twice, as the kids made sure to include verbs from then on, so they could earn points!

I also really love the silly thinking involved in the game -- for example, Suzy's snake allergy problem.  Players can challenge each other as to the validity of their sentences -- both content-wise as well as grammatically. In this case, the writer of Suzy's sentence had to come up with a scenario in which Suzy would find herself sneezing under a snake.  She said the snake was in a cage in a classroom, and the cage was on top of the table. Suzy was under the table, and started sneezing.

Fun, divergent thinking, while still practicing and improving basic grammar skills.