The first resource the class explored was through one of our fellow teacher candidates. He chose to use cards in order to help students learn how to subtract and add integers. Red cards signified positive numbers and black cards signified negative numbers. The students had the goal of attaining the answer of 25 through adding or subtracting. The students play two rounds; one round adding the integers to eventually get the answer of 25 and the other subtracting integers to get the answer of 25. I thought this card game was a great way to get students engaged about learning the concept of integers. It gets the students to think on their feet and improve their mental math skills. I believe I would definitely use this in the classroom with my future students.
Math Hombre. Integer Games. Friday February 4, 2011. Cards [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://mathhombre.blogspot.ca/2011/02/integer-games.html
The next fun activity we completed was playing "Integer Football." I thought this was a great game to use with students to help the improvement of their skills. Students used a sheet with a number line; which was set up like a football field. One side had a negative end-zone and the other with a positive end-zone. The students are given a coin, in this case we were given a penny, and a die. In order to see how many places he or she moves, the student rolls the die. In order to determine whether he or she moves to the positive or negative end-zone, the students flips the coin; heads for the positive end-zone and tales for the negative end-zone. I thought this was a great game to use with students. It is a fun way that one can practice their skills, but using a concept that is relatable to many students. The game keeps students engaged and interested, while developing their skills.
Pagliaro, T. © 2016.
Lastly for this week's forum, we had a choice of two resources to explore. I chose to explore the game "Orbit Integers." This is a great game for students to practice their integer adding and subtracting skills either independently or in a collaborative work group. The game allows students to bring out their competitive side and work to develop mental math skills. The more answers the student gets right the more the team space ship moves closer to the finish line. For the future, I believe that I will definitely use this resource for students in my class.
Overall, I have learned some great resources to use to help teach students integers. Learning these new methods has put me at ease and feel a bit more comfortable teaching and helping students learn the basic concepts of mathematics.
Hey Teresa-Marie!
ReplyDeleteGreat recap on last week's lesson! Like you, I really loved the 25 game, and am planning on using it in my future classroom. (All of the presenters have had really great interactive games and activities, and I can't help but to think about using some of their strategies in my own class!)
I think that this lesson also helped to focus on mental math skills! Integer football really put my skills to the test, and the challenge of it was great!
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!