We finished our Addition and Subtraction unit and it was time for a Topic closure activity. I had some previously created options that I wanted to put in practice.
On the first day, students had to choose a station where they would role-play a scenario and practice addition and subtraction with decimals. They had four options: go to the Cafe Express ☕️ with their friends and order from the menu, pay and calculate the change. Students took turns taking orders. They could also go grocery shopping 🛒 and buy ingredients for a family dinner. The third option involved going to the BBB Gallery 🎧 to buy electronic devices, this involved the addition and subtraction of whole numbers. Lastly, students could choose their careers and create a monthly budget 💸choosing their house, car, calculating groceries and services. For this activity, students were grouped by interest. The tasks varied in difficulty, but with their groups' assistance, everyone was successful.
Students were engaged and practiced their skills; at the same time, they saw how math is meaningful and relevant for daily real-world activities. We need math all the time!
On the second day, students worked in groups to solve a Breakout Scavenger Hunt scenario. A teacher was trying to transform students into robots and cancel recess, their mission was to get the codes and save the students. For this activity, I let students choose their groups because I wanted them to practice self-regulation. The first activity was a set of addition and subtractions word problems that would give a number code to retrieve a key 🔑 to the treasure box with the next clue. Inside the treasure box, students found a puzzle. To solve it they had to add, subtract and match decimals and fractions. This activity took a long time, some students got frustrated and got stuck there. The puzzle had the clue to find the next activity, matching decimal models. The third piece took them to the last activity, a Google Form with a few Expanded Notation questions.
Even though not all students finished the scavenger hunt, I think it was a productive lesson. Students used higher-order skills to solve the activities, collaborated and reviewed previously learned concepts. The engagement was high, with just a few reminders to stay on task and don't give up. And yes, they saved recess! Win-win!
TEKS 4.A
Review TEKS:2.B◆2.E ◆2.G◆