However, I could hear the groans already just thinking about a boring day of working review problems. So in an effort to jazz things up I went to the one place I was sure to find a quick and easy activity... PINTEREST! (Come on I know I'm not the only one...) I was not disappointed when I stumbled upon the "Sum Math Madness" blog. It was here that I read about Becky Rahm's idea of "Best Hand Wins."
The idea was to have a review that would be completed in small sections. The students were in their normal groups and worked each section together. As they finished a section they would send someone to me to check their answers. If they were correct they were given a card. At the end of the review each group should have 5 cards and the group with the best "poker" hand won. The prizes were pretty simple, a couple of bonus points on an assignment, a homework pass, or any other small incentive. Nothing life shattering... or so I thought.. but boy was I wrong! I was blown away by the participation and enthusiasm in the room. For a deck of cards?!?! Students who NEVER want to participate were suddenly helping out their neighbors so the group could get their card. Who knew something so simple could change a math class so drastically?
I'm a relatively new teacher and I normally feel that I have to come up with something so original and so amazing each class that my students are sure to talk about it for weeks. Lets face it, this rarely happens and the pressure is exhausting. So imagine my own excitement to see this be such a hit! Could I do this every class? No... but I assure you I will be doing it again in the future! Who knows, next time maybe we will have enough time that at the end we can see who has the best "poker" face and can talk their classmates into folding =)
Thank you Sum Math Madness ! ! !
(BTW this is my first blog post! Yay ! )