It is almost time to start a new school year. Some of you may already be starting! This is when you start to think about the middle school math activities you want to do the first few weeks of school. Most teachers have math activities they like to do every year but are also looking for new ideas to change things up. Usually, a get to know you activity is done the first day. Here are some ideas for math activities for the first few weeks back to school.
Review Middle School Math Activities
I think most math teachers agree that students need to review some middle school math topics before they start learning the grade level content. Of course, the topics differ by the middle school student’s grade level. Here are some ideas to help make math review more engaging.
Doing Math Review Activities in Groups
I like to have students do math review activities in groups. Using groups for math review has several benefits. First, it helps students to get to know how to work with each other. When the new school year starts students are in classes with others they may not know. It is good for them to start working together with each other at the start of school so they can get to know their classmates. A second benefit is that students may feel more comfortable asking each other questions about the problems. When students work together to solve problems, they get comfortable asking each other questions and sharing their thoughts on how to solve the problem. Another benefit is that is important for students to learn to discuss and share ideas for solving a problem in math. They need to get know it okay to make mistakes. Too many students get discouraged when they get problems wrong. They need to learn it is okay and they need to keep persevering until they get it.
A back-to-school math review game or puzzle activity is a good way to get students excited and involved. As you watch groups working together you can see if there are topics that may require more review. Here are some ideas to help make math review more engaging. Here are some activities to help make math review more engaging.
- 6th Grade Back to School Math Escape Puzzles
- 7th Grade Back to School Math Escape Puzzles
- 8th Grade Back to School Math Escape Puzzles
- Math 1/Algebra 1 Back to School Math Escape Puzzles
Math review as a whole class
There are some math topics that you may need to review by teaching a lesson. You can use digital games to review the lesson. Games like Quizlet live, Gimkit, Kahoot!, and Blooket are games that keep students engaged. You do not need to create a new set of questions. It is easy to look through the game resources to find a topic you need. Most of the game sites let you edit the questions so you can create a game that you need. The game sites also give good feedback on the questions so you can quickly assess and reteach if there is a misconception.
Cooperative Problem-Solving Middle School Math Activities
Doing cooperative problem-solving math activities like Week of Math on Youcubed (youcubed – Inspire ALL Students with Open, Creative Mindset Mathematics) is another good back to school math activity. These activities get students excited about math. The math problems encourage students to solve problems and show them that they can be successful solving them. Students help each other go through the problem-solving process. They have the opportunity to see problems solved a different way. They are able to communicate and explain their thinking to each other. You cubed has problems that can be solved many ways and all students can feel comfortable participating. There are enough lessons for a week. The site has different levels of lessons including middle school. At my school we assign a week to each grade level. That way we do different activities each year. These activities are activities that use many math concepts. Many use manipulatives to help the students solve the problems.
Back to school is a time to get students excited about math class and the upcoming school year. So many students come in with a negative view of math. Doing these activities at the beginning of the year can help change that point of view to a positive view of math.
Feeling overwhelmed with the start of school? Not sure what to teach in math the first week? We’ve got you covered!
We have Ready-Made Back to School Math units for 6th, 7th and 8th grade. Click the images below to find out more!
