Math On the Move: Quick Brain Benders that Get (4th and Up) Students On Their Feet

Here are some ideas to keep in mind for future days when you and your students are in a bit of a slump and need to be energized! These activities will get your students out of their seats and thinking on their feet! All require very few materials and very little prep time (five minutes or less)!

“OFF THE WALL” ~ 24 Game

The game “24” is a favorite with many students and a great one to have in your classroom. if you’re unfamiliar with how to play the game, this explanation is simple and clear.

The following two options will get students up and moving as they play this game:

Option 1:

Use a marker to create four sections on standard 8.5 x 11″ white sheets of paper (see samples in the picture). Choose four numbers to write on each sheet, one in each section. You can use this 24 Solver to choose your numbers and also access the answers! Create several of this pages (perhaps one for every three students) and post them around your room. Have students, with small whiteboards or notebooks and pencils in hand, rotate from one displayed page to another, solving as many as they can in a set amount of time. You can monitor and adjust the time as needed. Remind students that there is often more than one way to make 24.

Option 2:

For this version, you need pennies, beans or counters and a deck of playing cards . Remove the jokers from the deck and, If you don’t want to include double-digit numbers, remove the face cards, too.

Call out a “grouping rule” from the list below and have students follow the rules to get into groups of four:

• find people who have the same suit
• get with people who have the same suit color (black or red)
• make a group with two red and two black cards
• make a group in which two numbers are the same
• make a group in which no numbers are the same
• anything goes! (no rule- just get into groups of 4)

If your class size is not exactly divisible by 4, you will have students left without a group. Ask the class how this problem might be solved. One solution is to allow groups of three and have students use one of their three numbers twice.

Set a timer for two minutes. The first group to make 24 wins the round and, if you want to make it a contest, each of those students gets a penny (bean, sticker, or whatever). If the students can’t make 24 with their numbers in the allotted time, at the sound of the buzzer, students should set their cards down on the nearest desk, and all groups rotate to view other group’s cards. Set the timer for two more minutes and repeat this until a group makes 24. You can use the 24 Solver to prove there is (or is not) a solution. Start back with a grouping rule to begin a second round, and play as many rounds as you choose. Winners are the ones with the greatest collections of pennies or counters.

You might be interested in other educator resources on the 24 Game website including instructions for setting up your own tournaments.

NERDLE HUDDLE

NERDLE is the math version of WORDLE, and INSTANT NERDLE can be played in much the same way, presented as card displays around the classroom (Option 1 above). Create your display cards and have students rotate to solve as many as they can in a given time. Or, using playing cards, have students rotate and get into groups to create equations (Option 2 above). Using the numbers on their playing cards and any operations, they compete to be the first to make an equation.

TRIPLE-A ANALOGIES

Even if you have used the math analogies in this post, you can modify the problems to create a game. Display incomplete analogies, providing the first line only (e.g. 4:18::6: ____) and have students rotate around the room to solve each one, coming up with as many possible completions of that analogy as they can in a set amount of time. This would also make a great brain break, sharing just a partial analogy and omitting the predetermined answers.

If you try these or have other ideas for making math activities mobile, please consider sharing them in the comments below! If you’re new to the site, this 4-min. video tour will help you find additional resources and lesson ideas.