Build A Jack-o-Lantern Race (Low Prep Halloween Math Facts Game)

Posted on October 28, 2024 by Squarehead Teachers

This game can be used to practice any kind of math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) or really any content where the kids have to provide a specific answer (teacher asks a question, students provide a short responds). I don’t recommend this will spelling though, because it will be hard to hear 3 kids spelling the same word all at the same time and know who got it right. Here’s the game:

Prep:

Cut out paper pieces for each team: orange pumpkin shape, 2 eyes, a mouth, a nose
Need glue to assemble the team pumpkin
Tell your students a day or two beforehand that they will do a game using multiplication facts

Goal

Be the first team to build your jack-o-lantern by answering multiplication facts correctly the fastest!

Play

Divide the class into two or 3 teams (more teams means each kid practices more facts).
(Round 1) Each team sends a representative up to the front to compete against each other to answer multiplication facts for the first round. Teams may not help. Hold up a flash card, whoever answers the fact correctly first a point in the round (keep track of how many each team answered). Do 5 facts for the round, and do a tie breaker if needed.
Whichever team has the most points at the end of the round, chooses a piece for their jack-o-lantern. Only 1 team will get a piece each round.
(Round 2) different representatives compete to earn another pumpkin piece for their team. You can do the same or different math facts, because it will be different kids answering. Again, teams may not help.
Whichever team has the most points at the end of the round, chooses a piece for their pumpkin.
Continue having rounds of multiplication facts until one team wins.

Adaptation for last-minute play:

Instead of doing pumpkin pieces and building a jack-o-lantern, write Halloween themed word, like “ghost” or “witch” on the board once for each team (or, if you want the game to be long, write “Halloween”). Circle letters in the word every time you would have given a pumpkin piece to the team that won the round. This cuts out the prep for the teacher, but I don’t think it’s as fun for the kids. They seem to like getting to walk back to their seat with a piece for their team.

What other low prep Halloween activities have you tried that incorporate math facts?

Halloween Coin Counting Practice

Posted on October 11, 2019 by Squarehead Teachers

Happy Halloween!! Do you have your costume figured out yet? I don’t, but I’m working on it! Anyway, use the excitement for Halloween to sneak in some coin counting practice. Enjoy another freebie!

Click here to download the free PDF: Coin Counting Practice – Halloween Costumes
Click here to download the free PDF: Coin Counting Practice – Halloween Costumes – Answer Key

Line Plot Practice Page

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Squarehead Teachers

Line plot practice worksheet! Free! Hot off the press! I made this (and the other line plot practice pages yet I’ll be posting in the future) for a friend who teaches second grade. If your classroom is already be buzzing with Halloween excitement, good luck! 🙂

Click here to download the free PDF: Line Plot practice pages -Toy Cars
Click here to download the free answer key: Line Plot – Toy Cars Answer Key

More free math worksheets! Click here.

Fall Fractions – Beginning Fractions Practice

Posted on September 16, 2019 by Squarehead Teachers

Want to add some fall fun to your math curriculum? Here’s a super self-explanatory beginning fractions worksheet for kids. Younger kids may need you to read the directions, but the basic idea is to color the numerator to depict the fraction. I’ve also uploaded an answer key. Happy fall!

Click here to download the PDFs:
Fall Fractions
Fall Fractions – Answer Key

Check out more of my fall freebies!

Skip Counting with Pictures

Posted on August 15, 2019 by Squarehead Teachers

Check out this awesome idea for practicing skip counting or number sequencing. Put the picture together by putting the sequence in the right order. You can do this with any picture, but the ones we used were from a calendar. Here are the steps (steps 1 and 2 can be done in either order, but this is probably the best):

Step 1: Put numbers on the bottom of your picture. We put them on dot stickers first so we could easily tell which belonged to each set (example – yellow dots all belong to the same set). You could just write them on the bottom with a permanent marker if you wanted to be faster. Just make sure they’re easy to see against your picture.

Step 2: Laminate your picture. This step is sometimes so annoying, but it will definitely help your project will last longer!

Step 3: Cut your picture into strips, making sure there’s only one number on each strip.

Step 4: Enjoy! This makes a good “fast-finisher” activity, since it is still kind of fun. Depending on the size of your finished picture, you can store them in baggies or envelopes. I recommend writing the number of pieces on the outside of your container.

Here are some skip counting ones we made:

Then we got tricky and did a few with fractions. Here’s one of them:

Click here to check out some other number sequencing stuff:
Before, Between, After – Numbers Worksheet
Holiday Number Sequences Worksheet

Guest Post: Track the Weather with Weather Charts

Posted on April 14, 2017 by Squarehead Teachers

Always changing and never predictable, weather makes a fascinating study for inquisitive young minds. Conduct a three-part study of the microclimate of your backyard, complete with charts on temperature, rainfall, and observed weather. Not only will your little meteorologist learn a lot about local temperature trends and rainfall frequency, he’ll also get some good practice in data collection, graphing, and how to describe his observations.

What You Need:

3 sheets of light colored poster board
Ruler or straight edge
Markers
Outdoor thermometer
Clear plastic cup
Weather stickers (optional)

What You Do:

Ask your child to draw a large graph on each sheet of poster board. He’ll use one graph to track temperature, one to track rainfall, and one to record the weather (sunny, partly cloudy, etc.). Have him title each graph accordingly. Example titles: “June Rainfall,” “June Temperatures,” and “June Weather.”
Before starting the study, help him figure out what kind of graph would best fit each chart. Ask him to think about the kind of data he’ll be collecting for each chart and how he’ll report that data. If he has trouble choosing, suggest a bar graph for the rainfall chart, a line graph for the temperature chart, and a simple table for the weather chart.
Prepare the rain collection cup. Help him clearly label the clear plastic cup with half inch dashes to make it easier to measure the rain each day.
Now conduct the study. Place the thermometer in the yard or directly outside the house where it will get accurate readings. At the same time each day for one month, have your child read the temperature on the thermometer and record it on his graph.
For the rainfall study, ask him to set the plastic cup in an open space away from any awnings or overhangs. Each day it rains, ask him to check his rain collection cup and record how many inches of rain fell that day on the rainfall chart.
For the weather study, encourage him to observe the weather each morning and draw what he sees (sunny, partly cloudy, cloudy, rainy, windy, etc.).
At the end of the month, look over his completed weather charts and talk about how the weather varied over the course of the month and how he thinks the weather this month compares to weather in other months.

The study doesn’t have to end here! Make weather charts for subsequent months for a more in-depth study of local weather patterns.

(Post by Greg from Education.com)

Equal or Unequal Parts – Math Printable

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Squarehead Teachers

The concept of equal is critical to kids understanding of so many things in math. Here is a simple page I made to reinforce this concept. In addition to the concept, it also helps kids learn the vocabulary. The key is on page 2 of the PDF. Thanks for checking out my blog!

Click here to download the full size printable:
Equal or Unequal parts

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St. Patrick’s Day Word Graphing

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Squarehead Teachers

If you’re lucky, St. Patrick’s day will fall during Spring Break or on a holiday. If not, then you’re got to embrace all the green and pinching that is St. Patty’s Day! Here’s a simple page to give your students to acknowledge the celebration of Irish culture, while secretly (or not so secretly) practicing graphing. 🙂