Number of the Day is a great activity for the beginning of class. It’s a simple and powerful activity. This description is from the Middle Level Mathematics Routine Bank.
- Post chart paper.
- Write the Number of the Day at the top of the chart paper.
- Ask students to think of several models and equations that would represent the Number of the Day.
- Ask students to represent the Number of the Day in at least four different ways.
For example, if the word of the day is 12, students might write one of the following:
6 + 6 = 12
12 = 22 – 10
3 x 4 = 12
5 + 5 + 2 = 12
12 = 10 + 10 – 8
100 – 80 – 8 =12
(2 + 2) x 3 = 12
36 ÷ 3 = 12
As you develop different number concepts in class, you can encourage your students to incorporate these concepts into the different ways they develop the number. You might give students constraints, such as the requirement to use an exponent, or fractions, or decimals.
The following example is from a guide for running a numeracy fair by Patricia Helmuth.
