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Sheila Cantonwine

4th Grade Math

The Important Role of Math Differentiation in Grades 3-7

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Hey, math teachers! We know our classrooms are full of different learners, and it’s crucial to adapt our teaching to each student. Let’s dive into why making math lessons unique for grades 3 to 7 is so important. In this blog post, I’ll explore five key reasons that explain the important role of math differentiation in Grades 3-7.

1. Everyone’s Unique

Students have different learning styles. Some love visuals, some need hands-on activities, and others prefer talking it out. Tailoring our teaching methods to these styles helps every student shine.

2. Ready, Set, Go

Students start each grade with different math skills. Some ace the basics, while others need a little extra help. Customizing our teaching lets us give support where it’s needed and add challenges for those ready to tackle more.

3. Go at Your Own Pace

Math isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal. Everyone learns at their own speed. Adapting our teaching speed to match each student’s needs keeps them engaged and excited about learning.

4. Fill in the Gaps

Moving up in grades sometimes means finding gaps in what students know. Customizing lessons helps us spot these gaps early and fill them, making sure every student is ready for the next big math challenge.

5. Promoting Critical Thinking

Math isn’t just about memorizing facts. It’s about thinking things through. By changing our teaching to fit each student’s level, we can add problem-solving tasks that boost their understanding and love for math.

Want to learn more about The Important Role of Math Differentiation in Grades 3-7? Check out these differentiated math bundles for 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th grade math.

Differentiating our teaching in grades 3 to 7 is a game-changer. Embracing each student’s uniqueness creates a space where everyone can grow, love math, and rock their academic journey. Let’s keep making math awesome for every student!

You might also be interested in 3 Easy Ways to Differentiate Math Instruction for 4th Graders.

Teaching How to Convert Fractions to Decimals

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Teaching How to Convert Fractions to Decimals

Teaching fractions is such a challenge. It’s really difficult when students struggle with basic math facts like multiplication and division. Teaching how to convert fractions to decimals can be especially tricky to teach.

The easiest way that I have taught this concept is by showing students how to divide the numerator by the denominator. For example, 3/4 as a fraction would be 3 divided by 4. When you express that long division answer as a decimal, it would be 0.75.

Practicing How to Convert Fractions to Decimals with Differentiated Worksheets

Converting Fractions to Decimals

Differentiated worksheets are a great way to practice converting fractions to decimals. Students can start with easier questions and then move to more challenging questions as they gain confidence. These worksheets are also helpful for two reasons. First, it has a helpful gray box at the top of the page explaining how to convert fractions to decimals. It even includes an example problem for students. Second, these worksheets are helpful because they have lots of room for students to show their work. The answer keys are super helpful too.

Here’s what one teacher said about these worksheets: “As I was teaching converting fractions into decimals using other strategies like knowing money fractions and knowing the factors of 100, it was clear my students had LARGE gaps in their decimal understanding. Many of my 5th graders don’t know how much coins are worth, let alone how to make a fraction into a division problem. This scaffolded resource was PERFECT for the the low kids, as well as the kids who are fluent with their conversions, but don’t understand why. Showing the math with division is key! Thank you! Please Please Please create more resources like this for other math topics! – A Virginia teacher :)”

For more information about teaching how to convert fractions to decimals, check out this helpful YouTube video:

You might also be interested in blog posts about 4th-grade math or 5th-grade math.

Easily Reach All Your 4th Grade Math Students with Differentiated Worksheets

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Using worksheets for 4th-grade math is very easy to do. Students are used to these and they can either work on them as a printable or in a digital format. Once you decide how you are going to differentiate your class, all you do is print and go or you can assign them online digitally. Then you can easily reach all your 4th-grade math students with differentiated worksheets.

These differentiated resources are great because students can use the level 1 worksheet which is the easiest, the level 2 which is a little more challenging, and/or the level 3 which has the most difficult questions.

Here are examples of how the 3 levels would work for Comparing and Ordering Decimals Worksheets. Although the questions for each level are different, each page has a helpful grey box on the top of the page. This gives the student helpful hints on how to compare and order decimals.

Easily Reach All Your 4th Grade Math Students with Differentiated Worksheets
Level 1 Worksheet

Level 1 Worksheets – Easiest Questions

Here is an example of a level 1 worksheet for comparing and ordering decimals. The numbers for comparing decimals are very small and students only need to look at the tenth place to be able to compare. In ordering the decimals, students only order 3 numbers and all of them are relatively small. Again the student only needs to look at the tenth place to be able to correctly order these numbers.

These are the easiest questions of the 3 levels and will help students practice the basic skills before moving on to more challenging questions.

Comparing and Ordering Decimals Worksheets
Level 2 Worksheet

Level 2 Worksheets – More Difficult Questions

For the level 2 worksheets, the questions are slightly more difficult. For example, when comparing the decimals, students will have questions with decimals with the hundredths place.

For ordering the decimals, some of the questions have 4 decimals to order and they will be looking at the ones, tenths, and hundredths places. These are more difficult than the level 1 questions and some students might even be able to start with these questions.

Level 3 Worksheets – Most Challenging Questions

Easily Reach All Your 4th Grade Math Students with Differentiated Worksheets
Level 3 Worksheet

The level 3 questions are the most challenging questions. The numbers to compare are more challenging in the first section. For example, 24.0 = 24 and 14.61 > 14.6 could be a little confusing and a challenge for some students.

When ordering decimals for level 3, students could order as many as 5 numbers with some of them really similar. For example, ordering the numbers 9, 9.9, 9.99, 8.99, and 9.1 could really challenge your students.

Easily Reach All Your 4th Grade Math Students with Differentiated Worksheets

Differentiation Made Easy

The beauty of using these resources is that they are already differentiated for you. You can reach all your students without having some students struggling and overwhelmed while others are bored and ready to move on.

Here is what one teacher had to say about these worksheets:

“This was great for differentiation. It helped build my lower students up to performing the at grade level tasks. It also gave my gifted students more of a challenge instead of staying bored.”

Teachers Pay Teachers Product Listing

If you need more help in learning how to differentiate in your 4th-grade math class, check out my blog post on 3 Easy Ways to Differentiate Math Instruction for 4th Graders.

3 Easy Ways to Differentiate Math Instruction for 4th Graders

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3 Easy Ways to Differentiate Math Instruction for 4th Graders.png

Differentiating math resources for students can be challenging. How do you meet the needs of all your students without making some feel overwhelmed and others bored? You might have some students below grade level, some above grade level, and others above grade level. Here are 3 easy ways to differentiate math instruction for 4th graders.

In my many years of teaching, I learned that students usually worked at 3 different levels. Above, below, or at grade level. Because of that, I started creating resources that had 3 levels for students.

There are many different ways that you can use differentiated resources for your 4th-grade students:

1. Differentiate By Student

In this case, each student would have a different leveled resource to work on depending on whether they are above (level 3), below (level 1), or at grade level (level 2). The skill they are learning is the same, but the difficulty of the question changes. In this way, students are able to work at their individual abilities.

2. Differentiate by Class

Here you can use the resources in different ways for the entire class. For example, you could use level 1 with the easiest questions for classwork. Level 2 with slightly harder questions could be used for homework. Level 3 with the most challenging questions could be used for early finishers, review, or test prep. Students are practicing the skill 3 different times with the difficulty increasing slightly each time.

3. Have Students Move Through All 3 Levels as They Can

An additional way to use differentiated resources is to have all students start with level 1 and then move their way through the 3 levels as they can. Students gain confidence when they start with easier questions and then proceed to more challenging questions as they become more comfortable with the math skill. Advanced students may complete all 3 levels in the same amount of time as other students who complete only 1 level.

The beauty of the 3 levels is that you can reach all your students with materials best suited for their math skills. I hope you found these 3 Easy Ways to Differentiate Math Instruction for 4th Graders helpful.

Helpful Resources for Differentiating 4th Grade Math

If you’re looking for differentiated math worksheets, task cards, or Boom cards for 4th grade, check out these bundled resources for your classroom:

3 Easy Ways to Differentiate Math Instruction for 4th Graders
4th Grade Math Task Cards
3 Easy Ways to Differentiate Math Instruction for 4th Graders

4th Grade Math Worksheets, Task Cards, and Boom Cards

You can also purchase all the worksheets, task cards, and boom cards in a mega bundle for even more significant savings.

4th Grade Math Differentiated Resources

Helpful Tips for Teaching Factors and Factor Pairs

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Teaching factors and factor pairs can be challenging for teachers to teach and students to learn. I find it helpful to break the steps into smaller pieces that are easier for students to master.

I enjoy resources that are differentiated and scaffolded. This means students start with easier questions then move to more challenging questions as they gain confidence.

It’s also really helpful if the resources are self-correcting so students can learn from their mistakes. This also saves a ton of time grading and is super helpful when tracking student data.

If your students need more practice with their multiplication facts, it might be helpful to have them practice with these Multiplication Fact Fluency Boom Cards beforehand. These decks of Boom Cards can be used over and over again until your students feel confident with the their multiplication facts.

For this particular deck of Boom cards on factors and factor pairs, there are 3 levels each with 12 questions. Students either type or click the answers so they’re interactive. The questions also increase in difficulty so students can gain confidence as they practice more questions.

Level 1 Questions with a Pink Background

Factors and Factor Pairs

For the first 12 questions, students are asked to type the missing number to complete the factor pairs of a given number. Students complete either 2, 3, 4, and 5 factor pairs for each number. This is super helpful for students because they make the connection that a factor is a number that you can multiply with another number to get a product. 

They also gain a better understanding of factor pairs. For example, with this Boom card shown on the right, 2 and 4 are factor pairs for 8.

Level 2 Questions with a Blue Background

Helpful Tips for Teaching Factors and Factor Pairs

For the next 12 questions, students are asked to click or tap the factors of a given number. Questions have from 3 factors to 8 factors. The numbers are listed in order from smallest to largest to prepare students for finding common factors and greatest common factor.

For these questions, I have students always start with 1 and then find the factor pair which is 18 in this case. They can then decide if the next number is a factor. In this example, 2 is also a factor so they can select that as well as its factor pair of 9. Then they would finally decide if 3 is a factor, select it, then also select the factor pair of 6. I love that these are self correcting so students can see which ones they have missed and can make the appropriate corrections.

Level 3 Questions with a Green Background

Helpful Tips for Teaching Factors and Factor Pairs

For the last 12 questions, students are asked to type all the missing factors of a number. Numbers are listed from smallest to largest.

For example, the factors of 66 are 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 22, 33, and 66. Most of the numbers are filled in but they would need to type the 2, 22, and 66.

Again, I’d have them start with 1 and type its factor pair of 66. Then they can see that 33 is typed so the factor pair of that is 2. It’s like a puzzle for them to figure out the missing factors.

Having students see the factors in order from smallest numbers to largest numbers is important. They’ll need this skill when they are finding common factors and greatest common factor.

What Grades Would These Boom Cards Be Helpful For?

These cards are aligned to the common core 4.OA.B.4 and 6.NS.B.4 so they would be appropriate for both 4th graders and 6th graders. It’s especially helpful to review factors for 6th graders before they work on Greatest Common Factor.

What Do All the Cards Look Like?

To get a better feel of what the cards look like, check out this helpful video preview of the cards. You’ll get a good idea of the difficulty of the questions. You will also be able to see how the questions progress from easy to more challenging questions.

I really love using Boom cards because they are great on a laptop, desktop, Chromebook, tablet, or any other mobile device that can access the internet. They can even be used on your Smart Board. Here’s the best part – they are self-grading and allow you to track student progress. Plus, they’re no prep which means no printing, laminating, or storage.

If you are new to using Boom Cards, check out this post on 6 Reasons to Use Boom cards in Your Classroom. You might also be interested in creating your own Boom cards for your students or to earn extra income selling them. Check out this post on Creating Boom Cards.

Helpful Things to Consider When Creating a Tutoring Contract

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Helpful Tips for Creating a Tutoring Contract or Agreement

Tutoring students can be a great source of income and incredibly gratifying. As a math teacher, I knew that some students needed more time with specific topics. Weekly tutoring sessions were a great way to help those students. Before you start, it’s essential to communicate effectively with students and parents to ensure that everyone understands the tutoring agreement. Check out these helpful things to consider when creating a tutoring contract or agreement.

1. How much will you charge per hour?

The average fee can range from $25 – $80 per hour, depending on the grade level you are teaching. Fees are generally lower for elementary grades and increase through middle and high school.

Think about your teaching and tutoring experience. You can usually charge more per hour when you have more experience.

When determining your hourly fee, you might consider whether you will have additional expenses like transportation to and from the tutoring location or rental fees for space. Also, consider printing costs if you provide worksheets or other printable materials like task cards.

Finally, consider a family discount if you will be tutoring more than one child in a family. A family discount is beneficial for summer math when parents want their children to avoid the summer slide.

2. How and when will the parents pay you?

Helpful Tips for Creating a Tutoring Contract or Agreement

Payment options is so important and very helpful to consider when creating a tutoring contract or agreement. Cash or check always works, but also consider using electronic payments like Venmo or PayPal for convenience. Some people use QR codes or credit card readers for their phones also but you’ll need to factor in the fees for that.

You should also decide if parents will pay weekly, monthly, or simply at the end of each session. Consider accepting payments before sessions to eliminate the possibility of frequently canceled sessions.

Helpful Tips for Creating a Tutoring Contract or Agreement

3. Where will the tutoring take place?

I have used my home, the library, and the school as different places to tutor. If you are using your home, make sure you have a comfortable place for students and parents to wait if they are early for their session and you are working with another student.

Always ask permission to use public places like libraries and schools. Some may require a fee to rent a room or space, so consider that when determining your costs.

4. How long will the sessions be?

Helpful Tips for Creating a Tutoring Contract or Agreement

For younger students, grades K – 2nd, I’d recommend 30-minute sessions. You could have 45-60 minute sessions for older students. I usually work with upper elementary and middle school students and have found that 45-50 minute sessions work well.

If you schedule them hourly, that gives you 10-15 minutes to transition from one student to the next. That’s perfect for you to wrap up one session and quickly prepare for the next. You’ll also need to have time to chat with parents to let them know about their child’s progress or any issues that you think should be addressed.

5. What is the cancellation policy?

Life can be so incredibly busy so I recommend a 24 hour cancellation policy. If students or parents provide 24 hour notice that they won’t be able to attend tutoring, you won’t charge them. If they cancel within 24 hours, you will charge them for the tutoring session.

You also need the option to cancel the session yourself in case of an emergency or illness. Again, I’d recommend a 24 hour policy with that. If the family has prepaid for the session and you cannot deliver, you will need to reschedule or reimburse them for the money they have paid.

6. How will you handle vacations or long term breaks in tutoring?

Over the summer months when working on summer math packets, make sure parents let you know about vacations and longer term breaks from tutoring. That way you can better plan your schedule. I worked with a family who traveled the entire month of July but wanted sessions in June and August. It was helpful to know so I could better help their children and adjust my schedule.

If parents ask for materials to work on over the vacation, make sure you can provide that as well.

7. Students who are late for tutoring sessions

Everyone is busy and there will be times when students are late. Depending on your schedule, it might not be possible to extend the lesson for students. For example, let’s say you have a student scheduled at 4pm and 5pm. If the student for your 4 pm session comes late at 4:15, and it’s a 45-minute session, I’d recommend working with them until 4:45 so you have time to prepare for your student at 5 pm.

From my experience, if parents know their students will be missing time with you, they’ll make an effort to be there on time since they’re paying for the entire session. On the occasions that I decided to extend the sessions for the students, I found that the students were late more often than not. The families must value your time as much as you respect theirs.

8. Services you will provide

Tutoring Summer Math

Always be clear about the services and materials you will provide. For example, I generally plan the lessons and provide all materials for the student. I also offer additional homework if requested by the parent.

Always keep family and student information confidential. Although this seems obvious, it’s also important to say that you will not complete the student’s assignments for them (yes, I’ve had parents request that!)

For more information on creating your tutoring contract, I’d suggest using this website:

https://www.free-legal-document.com/tutoring-contract.html

I hope this is helpful and that you learned helpful things to consider when creating a tutoring contract. I wish you lots of luck and great success in your tutoring business.

Fun End of Year Math Activities for 4th Grade

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The school year is ending, and students are anxious for their summer break. The only problem is that you still have instructional days left on the calendar. What you need is some fun end-of-year math activities for your 4th-grade students.

Ideally, you would want something fun and interactive. You want something that has little to no prep. You do not want to have to grade anything. Your 4th-grade students will love these fun end-of-year math activities, and so will you.

1. Summer Math Packet with Skills Pages and Multiple Choice

Summer math packets are great because students get into the summer mood. I love using this packet here because it has a ton of content that can last for many days of instruction. It features nine multiple-choice worksheets covering all the math topics for 4th grade. It also has an additional nine pages of math skills.

These are great for sub plans, morning work, classwork, or math centers. There are digital and printable options, so it’s flexible. It’s a fun way to review all the math topics with a fun summer theme.

2. Interactive Boom Cards to Practice All the 4th Grade Math Skills

Fun End of Year Math Activities for 4th Grade

Your students will enjoy these fun Boom cards in the final days and weeks before the summer break. They start with a menu of the five strands of math, and each of the five strands has ten questions. All the cards are interactive and self-correcting, making them fun for students and easy for exhausted teachers. You can even track student data to see how well your students remember all the 4th-grade math topics you’ve covered throughout the year.

If you are new to Boom cards, check out this post on 6 Reasons to Use Boom Cards in Your Classroom.

4th Grade Math Review and Test Prep Games

3. Review Games Similar to Jeopardy

Everyone loves playing games, especially in the final days and weeks of the school year. These games are perfect because students work in teams to answer the questions. All the questions are editable so that you can customize them for your class. You can even ask your students to create questions for even more fun. Your 4th graders will have so much fun that they’ll forget that they’re reviewing math.

4. Summer Themed Boom Cards

Using summer-themed Boom cards in the last days of school is super helpful for you as a teacher because they are low prep and require no grading. Students love that they are interactive and have fun as they navigate all the summer-themed math questions. Having self-correcting is a bonus for students because they receive instant feedback and learn from their mistakes. One of the great things about Boom cards is they can be assigned more than once, giving you more than one day of math fun for the end of the year.

Fun End of Year Math Activities for 4th Grade
Summer Math Self-Correcting Boom Cards with a Review of 4th Grade Math
2 Digit by 2 Digit Multiplication Summer Boom Cards - Interactive Puzzles

I hope these ideas are helpful for you as you wind down the school year and get ready for summer break!

Easter Resources Your Upper Elementary Math Students Will Love

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Spring is in the air, and your students are excited about the warmer days. Like you, they may be counting the days until spring break or even summer break. Now is a great time to use some fun and engaging spring and Easter-themed resources in your classroom. Using digital and printable resources will also help you reach all your students. Differentiation is also helpful because students can start with easier questions then move to more challenging questions as they gain confidence. Check out these Easter resources your upper elementary math students will love.

1. Equivalent Fractions Differentiated Worksheets

Easter Resources Your Upper Elementary Math Students Will Love

If your students need more practice with Equivalent Fractions, these differentiated worksheets are perfect. Students start with level 1 (the easiest questions) then move to levels 2 and 3 (more challenging questions) as they gain more confidence.

You can also find these worksheets in the Easter Fraction Bundle and Easter Math Bundle. These bundles would make great sub plans, morning work, or even math centers for your classroom.

2. Easter Multiplication Game Similar to Jeopardy

Easter Multiplication Game Similar to Jeopardy

Everyone loves a fun game of Jeopardy. This game is great if your students are excited about spring break and have a hard time focusing. They’ll have so much fun playing the game that they’ll forget their practicing multi-digit multiplication.

Categories and questions are editable so that you can customize them for your class. You can use the questions as written, change a few, or completely customize them to your needs. It’s completely flexible.

Questions are linked back to the interactive game board to make it easy to navigate. Once you visit a question, the link on the game board will change from purple to grey to let you know that you have already used that question.

3. Spring Themed Adding 4 Digit Numbers Color by Code Boom Cards

Students love color by code resources. Using digital color by code is great because there is no prep and grading. These spring-themed Boom cards are so much fun because they are interactive, and students receive immediate feedback so they can learn from their mistakes.

Students digitally color in two spring-themed images while answering twenty-two questions on adding four-digit numbers.

You can play the four first cards of the deck in this preview to check out these Boom cards.

Check out this blog post on Boom cards if you’d like to learn more about using them in your classroom.

4. Easter Order of Operations with Decimals

Easter Resources Your Upper Elementary Math Students Will Love

Are you looking for a fun way to practice Order of Operations with Decimals this spring? These 3 Easter-themed worksheets are differentiated and cover mixed operations with decimals. Students use Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally and order of operations to solve these questions with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. A helpful gray box at the top of each page explains the steps for multiplying decimals.

These worksheets are also part of a discounted Easter Decimal Worksheet Bundle. They would be great for Math Centers, Morning Work, Homework, Early Finishers, Review Sheets, or Sub Plans.

5. Easter Editable Labels and Gift Tags

Easter Editable Labels

These editable labels for Easter are perfect for creating your own task cards. You can even ask your students to write the questions for an additional fun activity. They will love writing math questions while trying to stump their classmates. They are also great for classroom decor or labels or bulletin boards. They also make great gift tags for Easter goodies for your students.

I hope these resources are all helpful for you in your classroom.

You might also be interested in other Easter and Spring-themed resources in my TpT store.

Your 4th Grade Students Will Love These Back to School Math Activities

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Your 4th Grade Students Will Love These Back to School Math Activities

Keeping students engaged in the exciting first days of school can be a real challenge. Students are meeting new friends, learning new routines, and getting to know you as their teacher. Plus, they haven’t been doing much school work, if any, for the last couple months.

During the first days and weeks of school, it’s important to use transition resources that will ease your students back into the swing of things. Your 4th grade math students will love these back to school math activities.

Back to School Math Activities for 4th Grade Math | Review of 3rd Grade Math

This is my go-to resource for back to school. It’s a great review of all the 3rd grade math topics and it features fun back to school images for your students. Questions are multiple choice so they’re easy for students to complete. Each question also has the common core alignment so you can see which 3rd grade topics need to be reviewed before you start teaching 4th grade math. Best of all, it’s no prep! Just print and you’re ready to go.

Here’s what one teacher had to say about this resource: “This resource really helped me pinpoint students that needed to go back and review concepts missed from 3rd grade. Really drove the groupings for my math breakout rooms. Thanks!!”

Multiplication Facts Boom Card Puzzles with a School Theme

Your 4th Grade Students Will Love These Back to School Math Activities

If you’re looking for a self-correcting resource, these Boom cards are perfect for the first days of school. Students can practice their multiplication facts while completing this interactive and digital puzzle. Students have two puzzles to complete giving them lots of practice with their multiplication facts.

As an added bonus, you can track student data to see which questions students are struggling with. These puzzles have school themed puzzles so they’re great for back to school but you could have students practice with them all year long.

If you’re new to Boom Cards, check out this article on 6 Reasons to Use Boom Cards in Your Classroom.

Summer Math for Rising 4th Graders

Summer Math for Rising 5th Graders with Digital & Printable Options

If your students aren’t quite ready to give up on summer yet, this summer math packet can be a great transition. It features multiple choice questions similar to the back to school math packet but it also has a ton of great skills pages for your students to work on as well.

This packet would work great for homework assignments for the first days of school. It’s also great for classwork or math centers. There are so many ways to use these fun worksheets in the first days of 4th grade math.

I hope these resources are helpful as your students start 4th grade.

Math Review Games Your Students Will Love

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Math Review Games Your Students Will Love.png

There are many different ways to review math for end-of-year testing. You can use worksheets, task cards, Boom cards, or games. This article focuses on math review games your students will love. Specifically, I want to talk about games that are similar to Jeopardy.

I enjoy using Jeopardy-style games because students love playing them. They usually have so much fun playing the game that they forget that they’re doing math.

They can also work in groups which takes the pressure off knowing all the correct answers. They also learn how to collaborate with their peers.

Here are some tips for choosing math review games that your students will love.

Consider Games with Editable Questions

4th Grade Math Games

All of the PowerPoint games in my TpT store feature editable questions. That means you can change any of the questions and answers to customize the difficulty of the questions. You can use some or all of the questions. It’s completely flexible.

For an extra activity, consider having your students write some of the questions themselves. They’ll love the opportunity to stump their classmates with their review questions. Plus, you’ll have multiple game versions that you can save for future years.

Make It Fun

Math Review Games Your Students Will Love

I always suggest assigning only positive points for correct answers. Subtracting points for incorrect answers prevents students from wanting to participate. Positive points also create a safe zone for students to try without the worry of answering incorrectly in front of their classmates.

Having the students work in groups also makes the game more fun. You can divide your class into four or five teams with a handful of students in each team. Assign a team leader who will answer the questions, so you don’t have many students shouting answers at you.

Be generous with the time they have for each question. Some questions require computation and will require more time than multiple choice answers.

Math Review Games Your Students Will Love

Award Fun Prizes for the Winning Team

Students tend to work a little harder when they’re excited about the winning prize. Homework passes are usually my go-to for prizes. Homework passes allow students to miss a day of homework when they’re busy with after-school activities. Students valued those homework passes.

Candy or baked goods are always desirable. Make sure you consider food allergies and sensitivities when selecting any food items. Store-bought foods with easy-to-read labels will help students who need to know the ingredients.

Use Games as Rewards

I also use games as a reward for good behavior. At the beginning of the week, I’d write the word GAME on the whiteboard. When the class was loud or had difficulties settling down, I’d quietly erase one of the letters. If they didn’t settle down after a minute or two, I’d erase a second letter. They knew they had to have all four letters in the word GAME on the board by Friday morning to play the game. That helped them settle down pretty quickly.

If they were missing letters, I’d give them back during class when they actively participated or were kind to each other. It was a great way to encourage positive behavior. Luckily I had a lot of games in my TpT store to choose from each week. My students particularly enjoyed holiday-themed games like this St. Patrick’s Day Game.