Irrational and Rational Numbers Task Cards - 8.NS.A.1 & 8.NS.A.2 Math Stations

You will love using math stations!

They provide an EASY day for you, and a FUN activity for your students.

Try having students rotate around the room, increasing their fluency of the CCSS 8.NS.A.1 and 8.NS.A.2 standards.

Get them ready for that quiz or test on irrational and rational numbers!

TOPICS:

• Approximate Irrational Numbers (square roots)
• Complete a table of squares or square roots
• Graph rational and irrational numbers on the number line
• Order rational and irrational numbers (including square roots) from least to greatest
• Determine whether numbers are rational or irrational
• Define rational and irrational numbers
• Show examples of rational and irrational numbers

HOW CAN YOU USE THIS RESOURCE?

• Cut out and laminate stations so you can use them every class period and every year!
• I typically have students work in partners, but BOTH of them have to fill out the student information sheet, showing work. Students could also work individually. Working with more than one person gets too crowded, and some students skate by without participating at all.
• Each group will start at a station. They will be given a certain amount of time to complete each task. At the end of the time, they will switch to the next station. Example: If a student starts at station 1, they will go to station 2. If they are at station 20, they will go to station 1.
• There should never be more than two people at a station (unless you have more than 40 students…).
• Encourage (or require) students to write down EVERY problem so that if they run out of time on one station, they can finish earlier problems at another station.
• Give students a specific time to complete each task. (1-2 min) Use a timer that goes off to help students know when to switch stations. This way, when the timer goes off, students will just get up and move without direction. Determine the amount of time based on the skill set of each group. I give some classes more time than others if needed. If I start with 2 minutes and all of the students are finishing quickly, I will decrease the time as we go. Usually 2 minutes is too much!
• I use this resource every year in the middle school math classroom. It can take up to a whole class period depending how much time is given to the students per station.

ASSESSMENT/GRADING

I observe the students during the activity and offer help if needed. After the activity, I collect their worksheet. This activity can be graded on accuracy or for effort or completion. If grading for effort/completion, make sure that the students show work and attempt all questions!

COMMON CORE STANDARDS:

Know that there are numbers that are not rational, and approximate them by rational numbers.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.NS.A.1

Know that numbers that are not rational are called irrational. Understand informally that every number has a decimal expansion; for rational numbers show that the decimal expansion repeats eventually, and convert a decimal expansion which repeats eventually into a rational number.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.NS.A.2

Use rational approximations of irrational numbers to compare the size of irrational numbers, locate them approximately on a number line diagram, and estimate the value of expressions (e.g., π2). For example, by truncating the decimal expansion of √2, show that √2 is between 1 and 2, then between 1.4 and 1.5, and explain how to continue on to get better approximations.

WAIT! Before you buy:

This product is part of my Complete Bundle of Math Stations and Task Cards

Check out some other station activities:

• Slope and Linear Equations Stations
• Ratios and Proportional Relationships
• Integer Operations
• Slope of a Line Middle School Math Stations
• Area of Polygons (CCSS 6.G.1)