Goal: Use math to identify others
Grades: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Group size: 4 or more Time: 10 to 20 minutes
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Materials: “Find someone” list: one per child or pair Pencils Rulers or tape measures (optional) Prerequisites: Some reading and writing |
List about 10 “Find someone who...” items. Each should contain a number, size, or shape.
Find someone wearing a triangle.
Find someone who can jump a length of at least 3.5 feet.
Find someone whose birthday is in the 10th month.
Find someone wearing a repeating pattern.
Give each child or pair a “find someone” list. Let them know that there may be some items that no one fits.
When they find someone who fits, that person autographs the item on the list.
2. Share Findings
Ask for volunteers to share their answers. Did anyone else find a different person for the same item?
Variations
Measuring and More (Grades 3, 4)
Include “Find someone…” items about money:
Find someone who has between 15 and 30 cents in their pockets.
Find someone who gets between 50 cents and $1.00 allowance each week.
Make It and Teach It (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Ask questions about arts and crafts skills that involve geometry and measuring. Children who know how teach others.
Find someone who can fold a piece of paper into five equal parts.
Find someone who can make a paper airplane that flies at least five feet.
Who am I? (Grades 5, 6, 7)
Children make up puzzles that contain three number-related clues about themselves. Collect and redistribute the puzzles, so each child gets one to solve.
Books and Other Resources
Marvelous Math: A Book of Poems (Grades 3, 4)
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. NY: Aladdin, 2001.The Phantom Tollbooth (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Juster, Norton. NY: Yearling, 2001.
Math words
Children build meaning for math words like parallel, length, and rectangle as they connect them with the people and things around them.
Familiarity with math words helps children in their reading, writing, and math classes, and gives them a wider and more precise vocabulary to use in describing their experiences.
ConnectionsMath words in books and stories
Writers, storytellers, and illustrators sometimes use math words and designs to provide detail and draw audiences into the story.
A dark dungeon with a single window 10 feet from the floor would be impossible to escape without a ladder or something to climb or stand on.
A house surrounded by a forest of thousands of trees would be hidden from the road.
A floor that is elaborately tiled with a pattern of triangles, squares, and octagons suggests great wealth, especially in comparison with a simple floor of rectangular tiles.
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