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Saturday, October 31, 2015

Converting Units Puzzle + Corousel

Much thanks to Sarah Hagan over at Math Equals Love for inspiring this activity. After doing a few examples of converting units (both converting within the same system and converting rates), I gave each group a set of index cards. One card said 'Start,' another said 'End,' and there were 6 smaller cards representing the numerators and denominators of the 3 fractions they would need to multiply by to converting the starting units to the ending units. I had already used tape to make a "template" on one of the desks of each table, so the students would easily be able to see where to place the cards.

Here's what one group's work looked like:

This activity worked out really well. Kids who previously did not understand why we were putting certain numbers and units in certain positions had a lightbulb moment. Other group members were able to explain to them and show by touching and moving cards why a correct solution would work. Students were also able to verify with their calculators that the numbers worked out from the 'Start'  card to the 'End' card.

They didn't all get the cards in the right places on their first try. Instead of checking and correcting each group's work, I had one or two students stay with their work, and the rest of the group rotated over to the next table to check over what they had done. This way the students ended up correcting each other's work, if necessary, and everyone got more reinforcement and confidence.