Review that gets your students moving!

 Our first Maniac Math Monday is here and we have been thinking all week about what to talk about with everyone. We want to talk to you about an exciting product we are working on but it isn’t quite finished yet. Therefore instead we decided to think about something fun that could be done in all math classes. 

I began thinking about ways for the students to review topics covered earlier in the year. As the school year gets closer to all those end of the year test teachers are constantly faced with needing review games and activities to keep students thinking as well as keep them engaged. When I was student teaching I used activities my supervising teachers called “Gallery Walks” to review with my students. These “Gallery Walks” were a great way for students to review any topic but I always enjoyed how they worked in Math.

The teacher would post up word problems around the room. Each word problem had a corresponding picture on the page as well. The teacher would give each student a paper with the pictures from each word problem; this served as a reference for how many problems they had to find. The students would then have to “visit” each picture in the “gallery” and solve the word problem. The students would be checked off by the teachers and be given a sticker or signature marking the picture they completed. The students were told that they were to act as if they were in a real art gallery and they could not talk. I never had a problem with this activity getting out of hand because the students enjoyed getting out of their seats and doing this type of activity.

I feel that this is a great review activity for students and it also allowed students to work at their own pace. It also gives teachers a chance to check the student’s ability in a wide range of topics.  

Have you done any activities similar to this in your classrooms? Do you think it could be beneficial for reviewing topics with your students? We want to know what you think!

-         - Manda