A fun, easy-to-implement collection of activities that give elementary and middle-school students a real understanding of key math concepts Math is a difficult and abstract subject for many students, yet teachers need to make sure their students comprehend basic math concepts.

About This Resource v About the Authors ix Suggestions for Using Math Wise! xi I. Making Sense of Numbers 1 1. Toothpick Storybooks 3 2. Number Combination Noisy Boxes 5 3. Everyday Things Numberbooks 7 4. Under the Bowl 9 5. Cheerios™ and Fruit Loops™ Place Value 11 6. Beans and Beansticks 13 7. Incredible Expressions 19 8. Number Cutouts 22 9. Celebrate 100 Days 27 10. Paper Plate Fractions 30 11. Bean Cups to 1,000 33 12. Dot Paper Fractions 36 13. Fraction Cover-up or Un-cover 43 14. Post-it™ Mental Math 47 15. Calendar Math 50 16. Let’s Have Order 54 17. Reject a Digit 57 18. A Million or More 62 19. Smallest and Largest 66 20. Numbers to Words to Numbers 71 21. Target a Number 74 22. Fraction Codes 77 23. Comparing Fractions, Decimals, and Percents 80 24. Number Clues 83 25. Number Power Walks 91 II. Computation Connections 95 26. Paper Clip Addition Cards 97 27. Arm-Lock Computation 100 28. Punchy Math 104 29. Multiplication Fact Fold-Outs 106 30. Ziploc™ Division 109 31. Dot Paper Diagrams 112 32. File Folder Activities 119 33. Beat the Calculator 122 34. Floor Number Line Actions 125 35. Egg Carton Math 128 36. Cross-line Multiplication 133 37. Highlighting Multiplication 136 38. Chalkboard or Tabletop Spinner Games 139 39. Skunk 143 40. Subtraction Squares 147 41. Drawing Fraction Common Denominators 151 42. Fraction × and ÷ Diagrams 154 43. Decimal Squares 158 44. Square Scores 163 45. Math Concentration 168 46. Scramble 170 47. Palindromic Addition 174 48. Paper Clip Division 179 49. I Have—, Who Has—? 182 50. Number Grids 186 51. Here I Am 189 52. Equation Match-Up 194 53. Block Four 196 54. Silent Math 203 55. Rapid Checking 206 III. Investigations and Problem Solving 209 56. Shoe Graphs 211 57. Sticky Gooey Cereal Probability 214 58. Sugar Cube Buildings 219 59. A Chocolate Chip Hunt 223 60. Flexagon Creations 228 61. Watermelon Math 232 62. Restaurant Menu Math 235 63. Peek Box Probability 238 64. A Problem-Solving Plan 242 65. Fraction Quilt Designs 247 66. What I Do in a Day 250 67. Shaping Up 254 68. Verbal Problems 260 69. Scheduling 271 70. Student-Devised Word Problems 274 71. Tired Hands 278 72. Paper Airplane Mathematics 281 73. A Dog Pen Problem 285 74. Building the Largest Container 288 75. The Three M’s (Mean, Median, and Mode) 290 76. Post-it Statistics 294 77. A Postal Problem 297 78. Build the ‘‘Best’’ Doghouse 301 79. Dog Races 304 80. Four-Coin Statistics 308 81. Tube Taping 312 82. Height with a Hypsometer 317 83. Fairness at the County Fair 321 84. Winning a Prize Spelling ‘‘NUT’’ 328 85. Building Toothpick Bridges 332 86. A Bridge with a Bulge 335 IV. Logical Thinking 339 87. Stacking Oranges 341 88. Tell Everything You Can 345 89. Handshake Logic 349 90. 2- and 3-D Arrangements 352 91. Overhead Tic-Tac-Toe 355 92. Magic Triangle Logic 358 93. Paper Clip Spinners 361 94. Triangle Toothpick Logic 364 95. Rectangle Toothpick Logic 367 96. What Graph Is This? 372 97. Fold-and-Punch Patterns 377 98. Coordinate Clues 380 99. Puzzlers with Paper 383 100. Create a Tessellation 388 101. Problem Puzzlers 392 102. Dartboard Logic 397 103. Angelica’s Bean Logic 401 104. Line It Out 404 105. Duplicate Digit Logic 408 106. String Triangle Geometry 411 107. A Potpourri of Logical-Thinking Problems, Puzzles, and Activities 414 Plan a Circuit Board 414 22 Wheels and 7 Kids 415 Candy Box Logic 416 Brownie Cutting 416 Making Sums with 0–9 417 Upside-down Displays 418 Coin Walk 418 Dice Plotting 419 Coin Divide 420 Animal Pens 420 12 Days of Christmas 421 Rubber Sheet Geometry 422 How Long Is a Groove? 423 Solutions to Selected Potpourri Activities 424 Selected Bibliography 427 Index 428

Math Wise! Over 100 Hands-On Activities that Promote Real Math Understanding Grades K-8 Second Edition Many students find math a difficult and abstract subject. To compound the problem, teachers who are pressured to focus on meeting math standards all too often find themselves teaching to the test, leaving little time for teaching students how to really understand math concepts. Math Wise! offers teachers a collection of hands-on math activities, puzzles, and games designed to help students in elementary and middle school fully comprehend math concepts in a fun, engaging way. Sequenced in order of grade level and difficulty, the activities accommodate a variety of learning styles. This practical resource also helps students meet many National Math Education Standards as it teaches them a true grasp of the math they are learning. With more than 100 easy-to-teach activities, Math Wise! is a key resource for teachers who want their students to learn the fundamentals behind math problems. Praise for Math Wise! "Math Wise! is a unique, comprehensive, and well-organized compilation of activities with concrete, visual, and abstract tasks to enrich any teacher's repertoire of skills." —Raine Bumatay, support provider K–12, Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment, Fresno Unified School District "A timeless asset in my set of classroom tools?this book offers an easy-to-use format with highly motivating hands-on activities."—Lisa Esson, M.Ed., special education gateways teacher, Nampa School District, Nampa, Idaho "Math Wise! brings mathematics to teachers and students through over 100 engaging and user-friendly lessons using key mathematical concepts and skills. This resource offers a wealth of activities, puzzles, games, and extensions . . . . to challenge the student at every level of mathematical development."—Nancy H. Aaberg, superintendent, Yuba City Unified School District, Yuba City, California