April activities from our readers.

Crop Circle Geometry I motivate my sixth graders to learn geometry and measurement with a Mystery Crop Circles game. After they learn the formulas for determining diameter, radius, circumference, and area (which we display on large posters), I divide the class into teams of about four to five students each. Then we head outdoors! I set out different-size lengths of string, white and colored sidewalk chalk, and meter sticks. Each team, using string and some chalk as a compass, scribes their circles on the side-walk or blacktop. Then students race to correctly calculate the radius, diameter, circumference, and area of all of their team's circles. Later, teams get to customize their circles with extra designs and shapes to make them even more mysterious, and we take digital pictures to remember the learning fun.--Bonnie L. Noonan, Cedar Falls, IA

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Pricey Patterns I make the (required) use of pattern blocks fun and interesting for my fourth graders with a Pricey Pattern Challenge. First, I assign a money value to each pattern block shape. Then I ask students to determine the value of a series of shapes. (For example, if the triangle is worth $1, then how much is the parallelogram worth? The hexagon?) Once all the patterns have values, I have students plot these on a chart or graph. Then I invite students to create their own designs with the blocks, and find their values using their chart as a guide. The possibilities for small group work or team games are endless: You can challenge students to create symmetrical designs, assign a value to each color, have teams race to calculate the value of the same design, and so on.--Mindy Messinger, Brooklyn, NY

My Multiplication Cards Your class will love these personalized, self-checking study cards! Invite students to choose and cut out favorite pictures from magazines, such as an animal or sports star. Next, have students glue the pictures onto construction paper. Show them how to trim their shapes so there is no more than 1" of paper around each image. To finish each card, punch holes all around the edge. Turn over and write the first half of a multiplication equation in the center, and a different number next to each hole. On the front, write the correct answer next to each hole that corresponds with the number on the back. Students can check their sums by inserting their pencils in the holes.--Karen Pickett, Richmond, VA

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Overhead Math Sentences

Leftover scraps of transparencies and laminating plastic can be recycled in so many ways. I cut the larger pieces into kid-size transparency sheets and store in a folder until needed. Then my second graders use the sheets to create math word problems with overhead markers. I put their transparency math sentences on the overhead projector and share with the class for whole group learning and problem solving. My students beam proudly when their own transparencies are being shown to the class! Kids can also use the sheets to illustrate picture dictionary pages, the poems they've written, or life cycles of the different animals they've studied.

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--Linda M. Kuehn, Honeoye Falls, NY

Animal Word Problems

My first graders just love solving these hands-on word problems! I purchase a few inexpensive sets of small plastic animals with a specific backdrop, such as a farm or zoo, which students can decorate with additional hand-made fences, trees, and other props. I distribute a sheet with questions (or write questions on the board) such as: How many cows were at the farm? How many pig legs did you count all together? How many animals were at the farm? Then I invite students to come up and explore the animal display to get their answers. Later in the year, I ask more advanced questions, such as "How many more cows are there than pigs?"--AnnMarie Stephens, Manassas, VA

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Kilometer Walk

One thousand meters is difficult to imagine, so every year my fourth graders and I walk a tenth of that, or 100 meters. We start at the top of the hill behind the school. One student holds onto the end of a string. Then the rest of the class and I mark off 100 meters with the help of a trundle wheel. At each 10 meters we stop, and a student holds up a sign with "10 meters" written on it. The class can look back to see 10 groups of 10 meters. Then we guess how far one tenth of a kilometer would be if we started at another end of the school, and walk 100 meters again to check out our predictions. This is a great way to keep the kids motivated and to visually fix some of the concepts of metric measurement in their minds.

--Bonnie Ephraim, Monroe, CT

Place Value Shuffle

Here's a fun and easy way to reinforce place value skills. I give each of my fourth graders an index card with a single digit written on it, from 0 to 9. Then I call several students with their cards to come to the front of the room and challenge them to correctly arrange themselves as the largest or smallest possible number. When students are in place, I ask the rest of the class to call out the number, then decide if the arrangement is correct. I encourage all the students to have a turn out of their seats to participate. Later I vary this activity with team challenges to see which teams can create a specific number arrangement more quickly. We also use it to practice greater than/less than skills, and to review place value column positions.

--Sue Petersen, DePere, WI

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