SamizdatMath

Winning Touch is a partner activity where students use tiles to fill in the products on a multiplication board. Each student starts with 4 tiles, and then a "shared" tile is chosen to be placed on the board to begin the game. Each student takes turns finding a combination of factors that will allow a tile to be placed on the board (for example, if the student has a tile marked "18", s/he can play it on 9 and 2, 2 and 9, 3 and 6, or 6 and 3. However, the tile must touch another tile that is alrea

Yes, you saw it with rats, turkeys and reindeers; fact it, you're eventually going to buy one of these, so why not snowmen and snowballs? NO JOKES PLEASE! Okay, the concept is simple: take the snowballs numbered from 1 - 6 and arrange them on the three sides so that each side adds up to 9. Rearrange them and they add up to 10. Do it again, and they add up to 11. Then do it one more time and they add up to 12. Record your results and see for the patterns that emerge in the corner numbers. Want

Addition Puzzles that Practice - Complete with SmartBoard Module! Note: this is a "zip" file that contains both a PDF and SmartBoard file: when you expand it, you will end up with two separate files, one with the PDF of "Reindeer Rescue" for you to print and use, as well as a SmartBoard "notebook" file that you can use interactively. "Reindeer Rescue" is a truly "hands on" approach to working with addition and subtraction, with links to patterns and problem solving. The basic puzzle is simple:

Our hero Samantha Sagacious: Number Detective, returns with 10 new mysteries, but this time she has a new tool at her disposal: the 1 - 100 chart. Your students will love solving each of these mysteries one at a time, either solo or in pairs at learning centers. Comes complete with answer key, and a set of "Do It Yourself" riddles that your students can create (and send to me!) for publication. Samantha Sagacious Rocks!

The game is simple, but the strategy will keep your students engaged for hours: roll 3 dice, choose 2, add the numbers together and cover up that number on the board. Except things aren't so easy: if you roll a 1, 1 and 6, should you combine 1 + 1 = 2, or 1 + 6 = 7? This game opens up some nice opportunities to discuss winning strategies using probability. A follow-up game, "The Big Cover Up," also uses 3 dice, but to make things even more fun, players have to choose between combining 1, 2 or 3

Do you have pattern blocks? Traditionally, we know the triangles as sixths, rhombi as thirds and trapezoids as halves. But what if we changed this a bit? Suppose the trapezoid was not 1/2, but 1/4? What would that make the green triangles? What would "1" look like? If you want to deepen your students' understanding of fractions using manipulatives and having children work together on a very engaging and challenging set of tasks, then you'll want to buy this. This unit, complete with lesson pla

10 Christmas Pattern Puzzles, from the very easy to the very hard. Students cut out "stamps" at the bottom of the page and place them in the missing space. Watch out: there are more stamps than there are places to put them. And, at a fellow TpT member's suggestion, includes answer key!

This is a set of 10 different pattern puzzles with a Thanksgiving theme. Print out on card stock and cut out the answer pieces on the bottom, attach to the puzzles and let the kids go at it. Graded from very easy (puzzles 1 & 2) to very tricky (8 - 10). Great for math centers, individual or paired work, or just to keep yourself sane from eating too much candy corn.

Patterns are an essential part of the elementary math curriculum; these charming pattern puzzles are fun for kids: print on card stock, cut out the pieces and have the kids place them in the missing slots.

Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking: what’s the big idea? Isn’t this just like your other Halloween Pattern Puzzle, and really, does the world really need another one of those? And why did you switch graphics halfway through? Herewith: this is a more “crafty” kind of puzzle, in that you can have the kids cut out and put the correct stamps on the puzzle, then you can personalize it with a photo of the student in the middle, or maybe a drawing he/she made, or maybe you can put your own photo