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!
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Manda
