Students use extra class time wisely by participating in fun math activities.
" Miss, I am all done, what do I do know?" is a familiar question I answer in my teaching career. As a teacher, I notice the activities listed for students to participate in, if their work is done early, and most are boring and not engaging for students. Students want a fun activity if they finish work early. Engage students into solving math problems while waiting for the next lesson.
Card games are a privilege in the classroom, change a few rules, to teach students simple math facts while having fun. Having fun does not mean the student is not learning, it usually means the child will retain the information because they are connecting to the activity. War can teach younger children the order of numbers while older students can learn how to multiply. This game takes seconds to prepare and is a quiet activity.
Introduce students to math crossword puzzles and sudoku as they are a learning tool for students to problem solve and master math facts. Both activities can be prepared by the teacher or by fellow students. Have students create a sudoku puzzle with an answer sheet and photocopy them for other students to solve. Also, keep a copy of all puzzles with an answer sheet for future use.
Lastly, students love to solve puzzles using their hands. Teach students the basics of pentominoes and tangrams. Each day have a new tangram to be solved and challenge students to create all 2339 solutions for a 12' by 5' rectangle.
