Order of Operations Challenge Tasks

I don't know why I haven't blogged about these before, but they are a little known gem in my TPT store that have been available for about a year now. What are they?

These are 3 different puzzles/tasks that will keep your kids engaged for a while! In each puzzle, there are 4 order of operations problems with 9 numbers missing. Students can use the numbers 0-9 using each one only once to fill the 9 spots. There will be one number left over. Included in the file are the number squares should you want to have something tactile to use, or you can just have them make their own numbers on notebook paper. You can also choose to give them the number that is left over and will not be used, or you can have them figure that out. There is more than one solution, but I have included one in the answer key for you.

I originally made these to use in my 6th grade class. Last year I taught 8th grade, and thought I would give it to them when they finished an assignment. They really are rigorous for several grade levels. Let me tell you, my 8th graders STRUGGLED with this. But, they LOVED it and refused to take any hints. They were so proud when they were able to get the first one that they practically ripped #2 from my hands!

Don't you just love days like that where the kids are so engaged that they don't even want you to help them?

This was one solution that a group of girls came up with. The group of boys next to them came up with a different solution that was still correct. 

Once they come up with a solution, I have them write in their answers and turn it in. Easy breezy!

Have any of you used something like this in your classroom? What did you think? I'd love to hear from you!

Spark Student Motivation - The Ultimate Puzzle

Happy Saturday! If you are like me, you had yesterday off for Good Friday, so it's a 3-day weekend! I am linking up with Joanne at Head Over Heels for Teaching for her Spark Student Motivation Saturday.

This time of year, I will do ANYTHING to keep my kiddos motivated! They tend to finish their work a little faster now that testing is over for math, and the end of the year is about 7 weeks away! Last week, I had some students ask for something to do after a quiz, and I told them I had some extra credit for them. "Sweet!" they thought...even sweeter when I gave them a 16 piece puzzle and told them to make a 4x4 square. When they did, they would get a free 100. I knew that it took me much longer than the 15 minutes they had left in class, but it had been done in under 5 minutes before. Or so I am told. I don't know if I believe it!

They started by trying to make a 2x2 and then add on to make a 3x3 square.

These boys got the hang of it quickly!

Until--that LAST piece didn't fit! BUMMER!

These kiddos refused to leave until it was finished--I had to write them a tardy pass when I finally got them to go!

Needless to say, no one has gotten it YET, but every free moment we have had they have worked on it! And that, to me, is a WIN!

P.S. In case you are wondering, I got these from a math conference, but I believe you can get more information/order them online here: http://www.theultimatepuzzle.com/

I was not compensated or asked to write this post. All opinions are my own.

Spark Student Motivation Saturdays - Math Libs!

Finding fun activities for 8th grade can be tough because they think just about everything is super lame! However, each week I am bound and determined for them to say, "Wow, time goes by so fast in this class!" because they are genuinely enjoying what they are doing. Normally, this time of year, I have to BEG my students to complete their work. But, not yesterday!

Today, I am linking up with Joanne from Head Over Heals for Teaching!

I have a lot of products from All Things Algebra that I use in my classes, but these activities are some of my FAVORITE! It is her Math Lib Activities - but we specifically did this one for Volume and Surface Area! 

After giving directions, they got to work and all I had to do every once in a while was quiet them down because we were in the hall and other classes were taking a quiz or test. They would get into some heated arguments discussing what kind of shape it was, slant height vs. height, etc. LOTS of good math conversations going on today!

Basically, here is how the activity works:

1. There are 9 stations (one problem per station). 
2. Teacher pairs up kids.
3. Students answer the question and hope that their answer is one of the 5 answer choices.
4. Then, there is a phrase next to that answer to fill in to a "Mad Libs" type scenario.
5. The students LOVE to see which teacher is the "star of the story!"

Here are some pictures of us in action today:

I have another one of these planned to review solving equations at the end of the year :) Go check out All Things Algebra's store. I dare you to leave without purchasing something amazing!

Rational Number Line Activity

Why am I so tired? Unlike most of you, I didn't have to work on Friday, so I should be completely well-rested! But, for some reason, I am exhausted. I bet you are wondering why we didn't have school on Friday. Well, in the great state of Texas, we LOVE our county and state fairs, and Friday was Fair Day. We haven't had Fair Day off since my first year of teaching, but we got a new superintendent this year and reinstating that was one of his first orders of business. I like this guy already!

I spent Friday organizing some things for my high school reunion which is NEXT weekend...can't believe it! 10 years has FLOWN by.

Anyhow, on to more important things: my activity from Thursday. When I taught 6th grade, I had cards with random positive rational numbers on them that the kids had to line up from least to greatest without talking. It was great fun, and they were mostly compliant. The different classes would compete against each other and the next morning they would all rush in to see which class was the fastest. Like I said, this was 6th grade. In case you missed things, I now teach 8th grade and they are way too cool for an activity like that.

So, I created new cards that are positive and negative rationals and put magnets on the back. Each kid got a card (some kids got two if there were less than 30 kiddos in a class) and they were put in groups of 5-6 students. Their first task was to order those cards in order from least to greatest. They all competed to be the first group done--yes! They were engaged! They were excited! They actually thought they would win something! Just kidding...there was a small prize!

Then, when two groups were finished, I had them combine their cards to order all of them from least to greatest. Just when they thought they were done...

 They worked really hard on this and were so proud when they called me over to check their work. Then, I had them order them on the board. Remember those magnets? That's what they were for! They could easily move these as more cards were added.

 As they were finished, other kids would come up to correct mistakes. It was awesome to see them all help each other!

Just about this time, my building principal and assistant superintendent walks in. Let me set the scene...to the outside observer, it is absolute chaos in my room. Kids are everywhere. Yellow cards are everywhere. Some students are so competitive that they are paying more attention to the timer than to the actual task. BUT, everyone was participating, and was able to explain the task. I call that a win!

How was your week?

The Marshmallow Challenge - Day 2 Activity

Wow...my hat goes off to those of you who blogged regularly throughout your first week back to school. I literally was lucky to make it home without falling asleep at the wheel! Teaching procedures to 8th graders is SO much easier than teaching them to 6th graders. In fact, since I am new to the school, many of them were super helpful in telling me how things are done there and so on. The bell schedule is a little different than the one I was on last year, so I have new dismissal times to memorize. I would just ask my kids how much time is left and wouldn't you know...most of them ACTUALLY know how to read a clock!? Amazing.

I was so impressed with how my students behaved all week. These are some of the most polite kids I have ever taught. My classes are widely diverse, but the kids don't even acknowledge it, which is awesome. I am so privileged and blessed to have these kiddos to call my own.

After our first day of getting to know you activities (I actually saw all of my classes for about 30 minutes a piece that 1st day!), I knew we were ready for team building on day 2. I had already gone over my syllabus on the first day which I hadn't ever done before, but I felt like I could since I didn't have to give a school tour, etc. I am the one who needed the school tour! (True story...my kids walked me down to the textbook room so that I could issue them textbooks!)

I know I have COMPLETELY rambled, so let me get right to it! I read about The Marshmallow Challenge earlier this summer and KNEW that I wanted to try it in my class! If you want to read more about The Marshmallow Challenge, click here.

I spent about $10 on supplies for 6 classes which equates to about $0.06 per student. I am so willing to spend that on any lesson that students are going to get something out of. Here is the basic challenge:

Students use the following materials:

20 pieces of spaghetti

1 yard of tape

1 yard of string

and 1 marshmallow

I also include scissors for easy cutting

The challenge is that students must create the tallest freestanding structure out of these materials with the marshmallow on top--in 18 minutes or less. It is super easy to do this, but the marshmallow is the key to keeping it upright. Many students build the structure as tall as they can and then put the marshmallow on top...and then watch it collapse before their eyes. We all think of marshmallows as light, airy, and fluffy, but in this challenge, they might as well weigh as much as a brick!

I did have several groups that were successful, but sometimes I was too excited that I forgot to take a picture! The tallest one was in 7th period and it was 22 inches. I did not let the students tape anything to the desks and that is what was harder as well. Here are some of the successful groups:

This was the first one done in 1st period, and they were so proud. They had started doing some large contraption that of course fell right over after putting the marshmallow on top. This must have been Plan B. Or Plan E. Either way, they were only 1 of 2 groups that were successful in that class!

This was the winner in 1st period at 18.75 inches. They said their inspiration was the Eiffel Tower!

I was so shocked that this one stayed up! This one was the 3rd period winner.

This was the winner in 7th period and overall! 22 inches...super proud of these boys!

I can't wait to see what else I can throw at these kids to do this year. They are all begging me to do this again so that they can fix their mistakes--I promised that we would do it in the spring to see how much they had improved!

The best part was the recap at the end of the challenge where we discussed that most everything in life has a "marshmallow aspect" to it where it kind of throws a wrench in the plans and how we can overcome it in math. Did I mention I love my kids?!?

If you made it this far in my post...thank you! If you are looking for an easy way to incorporate this into your classroom without much setup, you might be interested in this product that can be found in my TPT store:

Looking for more Back to School activities to use in your math class? Check these out!

Be sure to drop me a line and tell me how it went in your class!