I recently saw this picture on Pinterest. I couldn’t follow the link very far, because I wasn’t a member of acvitityconnection.com, but I was inspired. Here’s my idea:
Set up: Make a box like this, with varying sized holes in the front. Smaller holes are worth more points. Then set it up in your classroom, with masking tape line on the ground, denoting where students should stand before they putt.
Game play: Group students for the review. Ask a review question, and have each team write down their answer. At the same time, have all groups reveal their answer. Any team who gets the answer right, gets to send 1 person to putt once to try to earn points. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins!
I’ve tried numerous games like this with my 6h graders and they loved them! It disguised reviewing for the end of the year tests so the kids had a blast and we got through tons of math and science review questions!
When I first heard about this article, I was amazed. What? Not teach kids to memorize basic math facts like the teacher did when I was a kid?! With the timed tests and everything? This article, “Strategies for Basic-Facts Instruction” by Andrew M. Isaacs and William M. Carroll, is an excellent article that discusses what teachers really need to be focusing on when teaching math facts. What really makes learning math facts effective? The author argues that rote memorization is much less effective in teaching mathematics, and why a strategy-based approach should be used. Isaacs and Carroll conclude that “a strategies-based approach {to teaching math facts} builds students’ understanding and confidence. De-emphasizing rote memorization encourages students to use their common sense in mathematics, thus supporting concept development.”
Squarehead Teachers 
