By Elaine Gallagher
Regular practice with mental math has been shown to enhance any mathematics program and result in significant improvement for students on standardized tests of computation and problem solving.
These mental math questions could be read to the students on a regular basis. The students should number 1 to 10 on their papers and write the answers to the questions quickly (within 10 seconds.)
The class should then check the answers and discuss ways to determine the solution mentally. This sharing of solution strategies is vital since students can hear and adopt other (possibly more efficient) methods.
The teacher may collect and record the results periodically. If students are weak in certain skills, additional problems involving those skills should be added to the items.
EVERY DAY give a Mental Math activity to your students. It will only take one minute, but practice over time will help your students to perform these tasks quickly and correctly.
I’ve given you 3 categories: EASY, NOT TOO HARD, and CHALLENGING. You can adapt the work to your students’ ages and abilities.
Here are 5 days of MM activities:
HERE ARE ACTIVITIES YOU CAN PRESENT ORALLY TO YOUR STUDENTS. SUBSEQUENTLY< YOU CAN INVENT YOUR OWN OR FIND MANY ON INTERNET SITES.
EASY
T: » I’LL START COUNTING AND YOU KEEP GOING WHEN I STOP.»
1 , 2, 3………. ( 4, 5, 6) 5, 6, 7……. ( 8, 9, 10) 7, 8, 9…… (10, 11, 12) 10, 11, 12…. (13, 14, 15)CONTINUE WITH NUMBERS THE CHILDREN KNOW.
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HOLD UP A NUMBER CARD.
T: «WHAT IS THIS NUMBER?»
SHOW A 4 . SHOW A 7. SHOW A 9. SHOW A 5.SHOW MORE NUMBERS THAT THE CHILDREN KNOW.
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T: «WHEN YOU COUNT, WHAT NUMBER COMES AFTER 7 ?» ….. (8)
4? (5) 9? (10) 6? (7) 10? (11) 8? (9) 2 : (3) 17? (18)_ 13? (14)_ 14? (15)ASK MORE NUMBERS THE STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW.
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GIVE THE CHILD A NUMBER CARD.
T; «HOLD UP THE NUMBER 8.»…..».6″…….».5″
CONTINUE WITH ALL THE NUMBER CARDS.
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T: «HOLD UP THE NUMBER CARD TO SHOW THE ANSWER.»
«IF I WERE COUNTING, WHAT NUMBER WOULD COME AFTER THE NUMBER I SAY?»
6 (7) 7 (8) 4 (5) 16 (15) 9 (10) 18 (19)CONTINUE WITH ALL THE NUMBER CARDS.
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NOT TOO HARD
T: «COUNT BY TENS. WHAT COMES NEXT?»
START AT 30. (40) START AT 60. (70) START AT 20. (30) START AT 10. (20) START AT 50. (60)————————————————————————-
WHAT IS 40 + 30? (70)
WHAT IS 30 + 60? (90)
WHAT ARE THE NEXT THREE NUMBERS?
2, 4, 6, 8 (10, 12, 14)
WHAT IS 90 – 60 ? (30)
WHAT IS 40 – 40? (0)
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WRITE THE NUMBER THAT IS 5 TENS AND 2 ONES. (52)
WRITE THE NUMBER THAT IS 7 TENS AND 4 ONES. (74)
WRITE THE NUMBER THAT IS 8 TENS AND 3 ONES. (83)
BE CAREFUL WRITE THE NUMBER THAT IS 6 ONES AND 5 TENS.. (56)
WRITE THE NUMBER THAT IS 3 ONES AND 8 TENS…(83)
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HOW MUCH IS 4 TENS? (40)
HOW MUCH IS 2 TENS? (20)
HOW MUCH IS 7 TENS? (70)
HOW MUCH IS 9 TENS? (90)
HOW MUCH IS 1 TEN? (10)
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WHAT NUMBER IS BETWEEN 36 AND 38? (37)
WHAT NUMBER IS BETWEEN 49 AND 51? (50)
WHAT NUMBER IS ONE MORE THAN 96? (97)
I AM THINKING OF A NUMBER BETWEEN 40 AND 50. THIS NUMBER HAS A 3 IN IT. WHAT IS IT? (43)
I AM THINKING OF A NUMBER BETWEEN 20 AND 40. THE NUMBER HAS A 5 IN IT. THERE ARE 2 POSSIBLE CORRECT ANSWERS.
(25 and 35)
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CHALLENGING
T: «LISTEN CAREFULLY, WRITE THE NUMBER THAT EQUALS
6 TENS, 2 HUNDREDS, AND 9 ONES.» (269)
HOW MANY COOKIES IN 4 1/2 DOZEN? (54 COOKIES)
WHAT IS THE DECIMAL FORM FOR 1/4? (.25)
300 DIVIDED BY 6 = ? (50)
ONE MINUTE 30 SECONDS EQUALS HOW MANY SECONDS? (90)
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40 TIMES 120 = ? (4800)
WHAT IS 1/2 OF 1/8 ? (1/16)
6 METERS EQUALS HOW MANY CENTIMETERS? (600)
WHAT IS 2/3 OF 12? (8)
WHAT IS 1/5 OF 35? (7)
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WHAT IS 18/24 IN ITS SIMPLEST FORM? (3/4)
WHAT IS 6 TIMES 10 DIVIDED BY 2? (30)
8 ORANGES COST $1.20. HOW MUCH WOULD 12 ORANGES COST? ($1.80)
WHAT IS 91 DIVIDED BY 7? (13)
CHILDREN’S TICKETS SELL FOR $3.00
ADULT TICKETS SELL FOR $6.00.
HOW MUCH WOULD 3 ADULT TICKETS AND 3 CHILDREN’S TICKETS COST? ($27.00)
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A $20 DOLLAR SHIRT IS REDUCED BY 50%. NOW HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? ($10 DOLLARS)
WRITE THE FORMULA FOR FINDING THE AREA OF A SQUARE.
(4 TIMES THE LENGTH OF ONE SIDE.)
REMEMBER: INA SQUARE, ALL SIDES HAVE THE SAME LENGTH.
WRITE THE FORMULA FOR FINDING THE AREA OF A RECTANGLE.
( 2 L TIMES 2 W)
L = LENGTH AND W= WIDTH.
120 TIMES 30 =? (3600)
AN INCREASE FROM 20 TO 50 IS WHAT PERCENT INCREASE? (150%)
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WRITE THE FRACTION FOR 90% IN ITS LOWEST FORM. (9/10)
WRITE THIS NUMBER: NINE AND 39 THOUSANDTHS, (9.039)
WHAT IS 3/4 OF 80? (60)
WHAT IS 12 SQUARED? (144)
«SQUARED» MEANS THE NUMBER MULTIPLIED BY ITSELF: 12 x 12.
WHAT IS THE PERIMETER OF A SQUARE THAT IS 6 1/2 FEET ON ONE SIDE? (26 FEET)
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