Thanksgiving (and its break) arrive at the perfect time each year. Teachers and students are feeling exhausted. Overwhelmed. Inundated with tasks. And creative? Yes!
Each year I have wracked my brain
for ways to engage my eighth grade math students in meaningful activities that
highlight the upcoming holiday. I have
always fallen short. My most notable
“fail” was my first year when we made hand turkeys and wrote about being
thankful for math. <<Palm to
Forehead.>> Thankfully I’ve come a
long way since the hand turkeys. I have
developed a meaningful activity that engages students in a hands-on review of
the current unit of study. I love
it. My students love it. Other teachers love it.
Motivation
Students work with a partner to
complete eight stations. Here’s the
twist: Each partner solves a different
problem (“A” or “B”), but they should arrive at the same answer. Students are motivated because they have
someone else to bounce ideas off of and they get quick feedback to measure
their understanding of the topic.
Movement
In this activity, students are up
and moving around the classroom. I allow
my students to move at their own pace and go in any order they’d like. Movement and hands on practice stimulate the
brain and promote high student engagement.
Meaningful
By developing a Thanksgiving-themed
activity around our current unit of study, I can feel confident that my
students are engaging in meaningful math practice. These partner stations are leaps and bounds
more meaningful than those original hand turkeys.
Making Merry
As Thanksgiving approaches, students
are naturally going to become excited and antsy. These Thanksgiving-themed activities embrace
that excitement and channel it in a meaningful educational direction.
Here is some of the feedback I have
received from other teachers around the country:
“The
format was perfect as the problems were so challenging that the students
wouldn't have worked on them on a normal worksheet in my special education
support class. They were proud that they had been successful after working so
hard. I want more of these!!”
“I
love the combination of stations and partner work! This is a well-thought out
activity! Thank you!”
“Great
resource!”
The following Thanksgiving-themed topics
are available to purchase:
Decimal Operations
Similar activities are also available for other holidays. I am happy to create based on requests!
For other ideas and free resources, subscribe:
Similar activities are also available for other holidays. I am happy to create based on requests!
For other ideas and free resources, subscribe:
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