It's the middle of winter here in Chicago and I need to liven things up in my classroom.

So, since we are gearing up for a quiz on the Pythagorean Theorem, I thought I might try this year's class at Speed Dating.

I made a group of 12 Pythagorean Theorem word problems that could be solved in about 3 minutes of less.  I printed one problem on each piece of paper.


I set up my room by putting 12 pairs of desks together.  Label the pairs of desks from #1 - #12  (You will want to adjust based on your number of students - I have 24 students in my class, so this worked perfectly for me.)

Each pair of desks gets one problem.

Set the timer for 3 minutes.  (You may want to adjust the timing based on your group of students.)  I actually put a timer up on my projector.  This seems to keep students focused and working for the entire time.  It also helps me keep to the schedule.  I can't get distracted by one group needing help...etc...the timer goes off in 3 minutes!

When the timer goes off, one of the students in each pair moves up a desk, and one moves down a desk.  (For example, the students who started the assignment in desk #5...one of them will move to problem #6 and one will move to problem #4.)  This gives everyone a chance to work with everyone else in the room.  No one complains about their partner because they get to work with everyone!

After everyone has had a chance to see every problem (36 minutes), I project the answers up on the screen and we go over them if students need to.

Students love this activity, and I love how it really runs itself.