Back to School Math Activity

Can you believe it's almost time for Back to School?  As the calendar turns over to August, I know that time is running short and my mind needs to turn back to how to best engage my students.

One things I have found over the years is that it is absolutely necessary to engage them from day one - in this class we are going to talk about math and I mean business :)  I hope they get the message along the way that I love them, but also that I LOVE MATH!

Do you remember high school and on the first day…what did you do - listen to 7 or 8 teachers tell you about the rules for their class - maybe get your book - BORING!

So, how about an activity that you can do the very first day that even incorporates technology :)

This would be appropriate for a class that learned how two solve two step equations last year…

Give each student a card from this set of task cards:

Give the students a minute or two to solve the equation on the card.  Then, have the students - WITHOUT TALKING OR WRITING - line themselves up in numerical order from smallest to largest.

After the students feel that they are lined up in the correct order, the teacher can start at one end of the line with a piece of technology (phone, iPad, tablet) that has a QR Code Reader.  As the teacher scans each QR Code, he or she announces the correct solution.  Students listen to see if they are correct.

I have done an activity like this before where students line themselves up in order of their birthday.  It is a great activity to see who the leaders are in the class and for the students to work together.

(If you are interested in this activity - grab it from my store...Algebra Solving Two Step Equations - Line Them Up )

Have a great day!