SamizdatMath

To quote Charles Dickens (from The Pickwick Papers) “What fresh misery is this?” This is what happens when you have time on your hands and you’re thinking to yourself, “well, how can I bring bles’sed torment unto my students this week?” Many (many) years ago I had a student in my sixth grade class (you probably had them) who would respond to any “do now” problem with a quick look and the brag “oh, this is so easy!” And then after fumbling his way through 3 or 4 methods, all featuring a lapse of

This is NOT your typical "is this a prime or composite number, and if it is composite, show the prime factor" exercise. No, this is an activity that actually demonstrates how figuring out prime factors is linked to encrypting information securely. If you know about the Russian Postal Service puzzle, then you'll appreciate this. There are 10 different puzzles, and then a "DIY" where your students can make their own "prime puzzlers" to share with one another. If they're really good, send them to

This is the one and only collection of "MadHard" 'puzzlas' that I have been collecting, editing and finally, answering for more than a decade. Each one is designed to test the mathematical meddle of your kids, from 3rd through 8th grade. Are they hard? Oh, some are sooooo hard that they even stumped mathematicians! Others are a little less hard, but they're all pretty unique and fun and the contexts are nothing like you've ever seen before. Here are some examples: • A cute baby dressed as a tac

Think about it: the average American eats over 40 slices of pizza a year; if you live to be 80, and assuming you start at around 5 years old, this is 75 years of pizza x 40 slices per year, or 3,000 slices in your lifetime! Since this delicious food is such an important part of our life, doesn't it make sense that we understand everything there is about the economics of buying pizza? This is a series of activities that examines the economics of pizza in several different ways. First, it shows

Teach your students the importance of ratios and unit rates.

This is the same as Number Logic Puzzles Silly Creatures with a Christmas holiday theme, which should really motivate your students! This is a fun little booklet that your students can put together in about 3 minutes and we’ll really give them some fun working logically - and because this is something you purchased from me, your kids will also have a chance to make their own puzzles to share with one another. Ain’t that cool? Comes in b//w and color booklets - the color booklets have been for

Note: this is the same as the "winter theme three part number logic puzzles," but with "silly icons" instead of "winter icons." This is a sequel to Silly Creatures Number Logic Puzzles, a fun little booklet that your students can put together in about 3 minutes and features 2 kinds of objects to decipher. This version involves three different objects to interpret, which will really give them something fun to do and most likely fry their brains by working logically - and because this is somethin

No, it's not a "scoot" game or a tradition "bingo" game; this is an estimation strategy game where students use 4 numbers to create a fraction and then turn it into a decimal (either by hand or using a mental strategy, NOT LONG DIVISION!), round it off (if needed) and then find a square that satisfies that decimal. However, there are many ways to choose a square: some clues are "between" clues ("between .2 and .3") or "exact" clues ("exactly .25") or "less than" clues ("less than .2") which mea

This is a "bingo" style game where players have to get 5 in a row. Sound pretty boring, right? Well, it ain't. Here's why: instead of just being a "one to one" correspondence game where the teacher calls out some bogus fraction (like, uh, 4/5 = ? %), this is a game where students choose from 4 numbers, create a fraction and then convert that into a percent, and then choose whatever square fulfills that percentage. Except the squares are not all exact percentages: most of them are "between 20%

This is a collection of 12 different division reasoning problems that require your students to understanding through written explanations. No, it doesn't mean your students are going to explain the long division algorithm by writing about the steps they took to solve the problem. First of all, who cares? Second of all, it doesn't really show a mastery of the concept of division; it only shows they have memorized the steps in an algorithm that is totally unnecessary to memorize in an age of calcu

This is a short activity with specific instructions that deals with the misconception that the decimal point is the "center" of the base ten system. The reality is that the decimal point has two functions, one of which is to act as a "pointer" to the ones place, which is the actual divider of the place value chart. This goes a long way towards explaining to your students why there is no "opposite" of the ones place: it is the actual center from which the decimals and whole numbers originate. Th

This is a fun approach to understanding the importance of ratios and proportions when working with visual arts: I took the famous Gilbert Stuart photo and cropped it so that it would be 2" x 3" and then made enlargements based on adding 1" to both the width and the height. The result is a distorted George that looks like he has had a tooth removed; Seriously, the idea here is that your students look at a series of photos, measure them in inches, and then organize that information into a chart w

Did I ever tell you that I design amazing assessments? Everybody says so: they are the best assessments you've ever seen. The other assessments you've seen? They're a disaster. Sad. This is a percent assessment that is unlike any that you have ever done. First, it requires your students to use scissors! Second, there are very few "clean" numbers (that is, exact numbers) because, well, life is NEVER exact! Third, it assesses on concepts and skill AND problem solving, so your students have to in

Okay, you think this is just one big joke: "Want a Hurtz Donut?" "Sure!" "Ouch!" Promise: hand your students a calculator and this assessment and you'll find out all sorts of things about what your students DON'T know about a concept they learned in 3rd grade: Division! This is a fun and non-threatening away to assess what your students actually know about division without having them do some dumb algorithm which they'll never use for the rest of their lives (except for some assessment cre

I know you all love "Task Cards" - so I made these for you, but at the same time, I had to get "snarky." Forgive me..... See all those stoopid questions that show up on Facebook, Instagram, PInterest, Friendster, Tumblr, Twitter, Woof, etc? The ones where they tell you to calculate some easy-peasy problem and then 83% get the wrong answer? Wouldn't that make a great activity for reviewing order of operations, a.k.a. PEMDAS????? So I collected a whole bunch of these, spread them over a few pag

Factoring is a very important skill in grades 4 - 8, yet our students are missing some essential skills needed to factor quickly and effectively. One of those skill is taking half of large even number quickly and accurately. This set of games will teach your students how to divide a number in half and then help them practice it until they are automatic. For example, your students may not be able to factor 96 as 3 x 32, but they should be able to perform 2 x 48, which would then become 2 x 2 x 2

"STOP THAT ZOMBIE! is a truly "hands on" approach to working with addition and subtraction, with links to algebra, patterns and problem solving. The basic puzzle is simple: using the numbers 1- 6, distribute them around a triangle so that each side adds up to 9 (thus, trapping the zombie in his cage!) Where it gets really cool is this: you can arrange those same 6 numbers to add up to 10, 11, and 12 on each side. But the fun doesn't end there: you can differentiate this by using the numbers 2 -

You see those gift cards hanging on the rack near the checkout counter? Well, they're a total ripoff, and this activity will show your students once and for all why they should just never, ever buy them. And maybe you won't either! Using a listing of 4 different values of gift cards from a popular "big box" store (whose name shall not be named here, except for the fact that they pay their employees substandard wages, prevent them from unionizing and then encourage them to go on food stamps....)

We are reflective teachers who embrace the CCSS Standards for Mathematical Practice. We are committed teachers who want to take the magic out of mathematics and focus on the beauty of sense-making. We wish for teachers everywhere to seek coherence and connection rather than offer students memorized procedures and short-cutting tricks. Students are capable of rich conceptual understanding; don't rob them of the opportunity to experience the discovery of new concepts. We acknowledge that this is

"Trap That Turkey" is a truly "hands on" approach to working with addition and subtraction, with links to algebra, patterns and problem solving. The basic puzzle is simple: using the numbers 1- 6, distribute them around a triangle so that each side adds up to 9 (thus, trapping the turkey in the pen!) Where it gets really cool is this: you can arrange those same 6 numbers to add up to 10, 11, and 12 on each side. But the fun doesn't end there: you can differentiate this by using the numbers 2 -