Math is Fun & Games

Well, we survived our first week back to school (after 3 weeks off!) and it rained. EVERY. DAY. Now to some of you, that may be normal, but for us in southern California, we've been in a serious drought for 5 years. That means MOST of my kids don't remember it raining consistently . . . they were more than a little excited about this rain! So how to review and keep them focused? Mixed Operations Jenga!!

Browsing through the Target Dollar Spot, I found "Stacking Blocks" for $5! There are so many cute classroom Jenga games on Pinterest, but I wanted to figure out a way to reuse this set in multiple subjects. I painted  the ends of each block six different colors. 

You can also just use a marker to color the ends; I happened to have a lot of acrylic paint at home.

The object of the game is to build the tallest tower without it tumbling over. Students push or pull out a block; this is tricky. Kids become good at testing which blocks are looser than others.

Depending on the color block the student picks, they pick that same colored task card. Each color is a different operation: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and mixed operations. Purple is "free choice".

Everyone in the group solves the same problem then shares their answers. Students solve equations on paper or dry erase boards. If the student who pulled the block is correct, then they place the block on top of the tower. 

 If their answer is incorrect, the other kids in the group teach how to solve the problem. Then the block is placed on top.  This encourages teamwork and cooperation. It's a win-win interactive game!

I'm planning to create more Jenga sets for social studies & science, as well as a fraction set. Be sure to follow my TpT store to be updated on when new products are added! Click {HERE} to get your set of Mixed Operations Jenga.

You can read about more ways to get your students moving while practicing math {HERE}.  How do you reinforce math skills?