Okay, so here’s what lesson I’ve decided to do for my lesson demo. And let me just quickly explain why. A lot of kids KNOW how to add and subtract integers. But they don’t even realize that they’re doing it. SO when it comes to doing integer problems in math, they can’t conceptualize adding and subtracting with making gains or losses. Let’s take football, for example. So many of my students understand that by having an 8-yard loss in the first down and then making a 20-yard gain in the second down, the team is still up by 12 yards. But if you ask them to solve: -8 + 20, you’ll often get 28 as an answer.
This standard is not something that should be covered abstractly. Kids need number lines to fully conceptualize why integers add up the way they do. So, I took it one step further and made my kids a football field.
USC vs. UCLA. Classic
Now, if you look carefully (and if you’re a huge football fan), I’m sure you’ve already noticed that it’s not accurate. There’s no 50-yard line in the middle. In fact, it doesn’t even have a 50-yard line. That, my friends, is because my kids are learning math. So we’ve gotta tweak the field a bit. 😉
So, I’ve taken this wonderful creation and sent it to Kinko’s to blow it up so it’s a humongous-poster game-board. The kids will set up their respective helmets on the 0-yard line (yes, that’s where we start in Integer Math). Obviously, the kids that choose to be Bruins will be my favorites.
This is a temporary picture until I get to Kinko’s to pick up the actual board, but just so you can see the helmets. I’m using the game pieces from a UCLA-USC Checkers Game I had back in college.
Aren’t they the cutest?
Students will then draw from each stack (two numbers and an operation):
The operations will go in the bag (either – or +). Only because you can see through to the other side because I was dumb and used a Sharpie.
I’m going to have my students record their individual problems on their worksheet. Since I’ll only be working with 4 students, it’ll be pretty easy to observe whether they understand it or not. But, it’d be a great tool to use if you use this as a center activity in your classroom!
I find it useful to draw in the lines and boxes for the students instead of giving them lined paper. It forces them to keep everything organized!
And I, the referee, will be wearing two hats. Because I am unbiased and will not favor my UCLA Bruins (that’s a lie).
Don’t mind the messy hair.
This freebie (my first one ever!) is available for downloading at TPT: PLAY BALL!!!!
It’s the first thing I’ve posted, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Also, feel free to contact me if you need any clarification on how to run the activity.
Go BRUINS! 😉
My 9 year old will love this! We played a game just tonight where we sat on the swing set and subtracted cars driving by in a negative direction (left) and added those going in a positive direction. He loves football and math so this is perfect!
Wow! At 9? You should be one proud mama! He’s a smart kid!
I’m a Math Ed PhD student and love seeing activities like this! Keep up the great work! Your students are lucky to have you 🙂