Grade levels 

Math Slalom Lesson Plan

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Grade level: 2-4


Students will demonstrate ability to use mental calculation to find missing elements of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems.

Common Core Standards:

This lesson reinforces standard CCSS.Math.Content.2.OA.B.2 for grade 2, CCSS.Math.Content.3.OA.A.4 and CCSS.Math.Content.3.OA.B.6 for third grade, and CCSS.Math.Content.4.OA.A.1 and CCSS.Math.Content.4.OA.B.4 for fourth grade.
Descriptions of the standards can be found here.

Warm-Up Activity:

Teacher reminds students of how math problems can be represented as a number sentence where students must find the value of a missing number in the middle; for example, subtraction can be represented as an addition number sentence with a missing addend, and division can be represented as a multiplication number sentence with a missing factor, but the concept can manifest itself in other problems, too.

63/x= 7

Students should complete skier worksheet to practice identifying correct an incorrect math equations (similar to the game)

Main Activity:  

Students should watch the Math Slalom instructional video before playing on classroom computers or iPads.

Assessment Activity: Live Action Math Slalom

Each student chooses a numerical value for himself/herself and writes it on a sheet of construction paper to be pinned to his/her shirt.  By random draw (of colored marbles, etc.) students are divided into pairs.  If the number of students in the class is odd, there is one skier, and if the number is even, there are two.  Students stand around the gym (kickball field, etc.) in formation as pairs of poles, and the skier “skis” (runs) the course, finding ways to connect the two poles in a number sentence.  If the skier arrives at poles marked 20 and 4, he/she can say “minus 16” or “divided by five” in order to pass through.  Teacher accompanies the skier with a stopwatch.  After the skier finishes, his/her time is recorded, and there is another random drawing to rearrange the poles and select the skiers.  (Each student can only ski once.)  The student with the fastest time wins.