Category Archives: mathematics

Two kids in a kitchen

Baked-In Fractions

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Author: Isabel Bozada-Jones

Standards

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.B.7.A Interpret division of a unit fraction by a non-zero whole number, and compute such quotients.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.B.7.B Interpret division of a whole number by a unit fraction, and compute such quotients. For example, create a story context for 4 ÷ (1/5), and use a visual fraction model to show the quotient.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.B.7.C Solve real world problems involving division of unit fractions by non-zero whole numbers and division of whole numbers by unit fractions, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem.

Background Knowledge

Prior to this lesson, students should understand unit fractions and basic concepts in dividing fractions. This lesson gives students the opportunity to practice creating and solving problems where they have to divide fractions or divide by fractions, which can be easily differentiated based on student skill level. 

Instruction

  1. Introduce students to Bake-a-Palooza and have them play the game. The first time they play it, have them answer questions correctly. The second time they play it, have them answer questions incorrectly and watch the instructional video that plays.
  2. Explain that to practice dividing fractions, they are going to be creating matching questions for a new version of Bake-a-Palooza. Show the questions currently in the game as an example. 
  3. For each matching questions they add to Bake-a-Palooza they should have:
    1. Fractions that are divided by whole numbers or whole numbers divided by fractions. 
    2. Visual models for each equation
  4. Have students create a real world problem using their fractions and visual models that could be used to create a “chapter 2” of Bake-a-Palooza. 
  5. Have students share their game ideas with others for feedback. Students can solve each other’s problems to double check their work.

Extension

  • Students can create videos to teach students who incorrectly answer questions in the game.  If having students use their own phones to create videos, we suggest doing this activity at the end of class to minimize the number of times you need to say, “Please put your phones away.” Also, plan to have a few iPads or Android tablets available for use by students who don’t have a phone. If video editing software is available for computers or tablets, this lesson can be followed up with use of those computer applications.
  • Students can create multiple chapters of Bake-a-Palooza based on the three different parts of the 5th grade standard on dividing fractions.
silhouette of a man playing saxophone during sunset

All That Math Jazz

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Author: Isabel Bozada-Jones

Standard

STANDARD

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NF.B.3.C Add and subtract mixed numbers with like denominators, e.g., by replacing each mixed number with an equivalent fraction, and/or by using properties of operations and the relationship between addition and subtraction.

Background Knowledge

Prior to this lesson, students should understand the basic concept of fraction and how to add fractions with like-denominators. Basic knowledge of musical notation (whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes) would be helpful, but is not necessary. 

Instruction

  1. Reflect back on students’ prior work with fractions and ask about what they have learned so far. 
  2. Explain that musical notes can be thought of like fractions and that today we are going to be working in 4/4 time signature, which is something they will learn about later, but means that a measure contains four beats and each quarter note is a beat. 
  3. Today, we are going to be starting with whole notes, which take up an entire measure, and we are going to be finding out what different rhythms are equivalent to each other. 
  4. Show students this picture of different notes. 
  1. Explain that each measure in the picture is equivalent to each other, depending on how fast the notes are, they take up different amounts of the measure, or the whole note. Show students the same picture with the equivalent fractions on it. Ask them what they notice and wonder. 
  1. Watch Using Music to Study Fractions
  2. Show students several note combinations and have them find the least common denominator to create equivalent fractions. Demonstrate how these fractions fit into measures (equal to one whole note)
  3. Have students play Jazz Math  to practice creating equivalent fractions 

Extension

  • Have students write addition and subtraction equations with different notes. Have them clap or play a percussion instrument to show the different parts of their equations. 
  • Have students create their own equivalent fractions to add to the next version of Jazz Math. How would they make the game harder? How would they make it easier? 

Potential Questions for Game

What notes are equivalent to this fraction? 

pyramid with character at the bottom

Learn statistics and history, in English or Spanish

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 Standards

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT 5.NF.A.2 Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions referring to the same whole, including cases of unlike denominators, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem. 

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.5.c. Calculating quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean absolute deviation).

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.EE.3 Solve multi-step real-life and mathematical problems posed with rational numbers in any form (positive and negative, fractions, decimals, and integers).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

📲 Technology Required

Students will need access to a computer or iPad.

⏰ Time Required

30-45 minutes

📃 Summary

This lesson includes game-based instruction and assessment.

Click here for the AZTECH: THE BEGINNING TEACHERS GUIDE with answers to all math and vocabulary questions, game play ‘cheat sheet’ and everything else you need to know.

Lesson

Play a game (yes, it’s free)

  1. Assign students to play AzTech: The Beginning. The link to play the game online can be found here. It can also be downloaded from the App Store here.
  2. Students register with a username and password, then play the game, in English or Spanish. You can have students register and select their own, or provide usernames and passwords you wish them to use, for example, an existing school login.
  3. Each math problem has an EXPLAIN button that students can click to get an explanation of how to solve the problem. Some also have a hint, which is a short suggestion of how to go about solving it. For example, “Subtract the number of days you did not have homework, from the total number of days. Give the answer as a fraction of the total.”
Math problem with hint button

We recommend encouraging students to read the EXPLAIN and any HINT buttons before asking the teacher for help.

4. If students miss a problem twice in a row, they are routed to a LEARN MORE page and need to select an option, which may be a video, web page with voice over or matching terms, to learn more.

Assessment

Students get immediate feedback on right or wrong answers. Assuming students are playing online, results of in-game math challenges are recorded to a database which teachers can access. Access to reports can be found here.

Differentiated Instruction

Students who finish ahead of the class can continue the story in AzTech: Meet the Maya, available for the web and also in the Apple App Store for iPads.

Students who are not yet at the sixth-grade level in mathematics and who could benefit from a bilingual game can play Making Camp Bilingual, which address third- and fourth-grade math standards. It is available here for access from the web and in the Apple App Store and Google Play store .

Related lessons

Teaching statistics in classrooms with English learners AND Native speakers.

Multiple choice question asking at what age a boy became a buffalo hunter

Math Assessment and Lakota Culture

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Standard

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.EE.A.1
Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. For example, 32 × 3-5 = 3-3 = 1/33 = 1/27.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.7
Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths,

NOTE: Although the examples in this assignment primarily use scientific notation, it could be easily modified to include any area of mathematics above the fourth-grade level.

⏰TIME

120 minutes – including time to play game and create problems and activities.

📲TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

A projector and computer in class or a computer, phone or tablet at home is required to watch the videos, see the Google slides and play the Making Camp Lakota game. It is not required but strongly recommended that students have access to Google apps or Office 365 to edit and store their notes.

📃LESSON SUMMARY

This is the second in a multi-lesson unit designed to assess student mathematics proficiency by playing games that teach about Indigenous cultures that have embedded math problems. It also requires students to create their own math activities and math problems.

📚LESSON

Introduce today’s lesson with slide presentation

This lesson assumes your class did the previous lesson, Math Assessment and Ojibwe culture, where they were introduced to the purposed of the unit and (recommended) created a Google slides or doc file where they are taking notes.

To introduce today’s lesson with Making Camp Lakota, use this PowerPoint on Math Assessment and Lakota culture, with examples of new, more difficult problems using decimals and scientific notation.

Play a Game

Multiple choice problem from game asking the minimum age for a buffalo hunter
Question after culture video on Dakota boyhood

The Making Camp Lakota game teaches Lakota culture and division with single-digit divisors. Even older students should enjoy the game play aspects and the videos on Lakota history and culture. Middle school students should breeze through the math problems. These are recorded in the database for teachers to review student progress.

Each game in the series in this unit is gradually more difficult math problems.

Students create their own, grade-level math problems

The slides presentation instructs students, for each math activity, to create an example that could be used at their grade level. Most of the examples in this presentation are using scientific notation, but students should be instructed that they can use any math problems beyond simple division. That could be fractions, decimals or even long-division. Teachers can modify the slides at the end of the presentation to require a specific topic, for example, adding fractions without a common denominator.

ASSESSMENT

Making Camp Lakota teacher reports are available for assessing student answers in Data and Reports. Students also write their own problems and answers that the teacher can use for assessing abilities at application and creation levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.

Related Lessons

For students who need an introduction to Google apps and Google doc, the lesson Google Apps Basics for Hamsters is recommended. (You don’t need an actual hamster.)

Individualization

This lesson is appropriate for students whose math is from fourth- through eighth-grade level. The mathematics in the game is at the fourth-grade level but student assignments can be as simple as long division or as complex as multi-step equations with negative exponents.

wigwam scene from Making Camp Premium

Math Assessment and Ojibwe Culture

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Standard

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.EE.A.1
Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. For example, 32 × 3-5 = 3-3 = 1/33 = 1/27.

NOTE: Although the examples in this assignment use exponents, it could be easily modified to include any area of mathematics above the fourth-grade level.

⏰TIME

120 minutes – including time to play game and create problems and activities.

📲TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

A projector and computer in class or a computer, phone or tablet at home is required to watch the videos, see the Google slides and play the Making Camp Premium game. It is not required but strongly recommended that students have access to Google apps or Office 365 to edit and store their notes.

📃LESSON SUMMARY

This is the first in a multi-lesson unit designed to assess student mathematics proficiency by playing games that teach about Indigenous cultures that have embedded math problems. It also requires students to create their own math activities and math problems.

📚LESSON

Introduce lesson with slide presentation

The objectives, link to the first game and sample questions can all be found in this Slides presentation. The examples here use Exponent Rules and creating a math problem that can be solved with an equation using exponents. However, teachers are free to download the video and modify to fit their own class.

Watch a video

Even students who are Native American themselves sometimes need to be reminded when asked to apply mathematics to needs of Indigenous communities. This seven-minute video on Tribal Epidemiology Centers is a great example to get students thinking.

Play a Game

The Making Camp Premium game teaches Ojibwe culture, multiplication and division. Even older students should enjoy the game play aspects and the videos on Ojibwe history and culture. Middle school students should breeze through the math problems. These are recorded in the database for teachers to review student progress.

Students create their own, grade-level math problems

The slides presentation instructs students, for each math activity, to create an example that could be used at their grade level. The two examples in the presentation use exponents but students are told they can use any mathematics above multiplication and division. That could be fractions, decimals or even long-division. Teachers can modify the slides at the end of the presentation to require a specific topic, for example, adding fractions without a common denominator.

ASSESSMENT

Making Camp Premium teacher reports are available for assessing student answers in Data and Reports. Students also write their own problems and answers that the teacher can use for assessing abilities at application and creation levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.

Related Lessons

For students who need an introduction to Google apps and Google doc, the lesson Google Apps Basics for Hamsters is recommended. (You don’t need an actual hamster.)

house fly

Unit: Word Problems for fifth-graders

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CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NF.A.2 Compare two fractions with different numerators and different denominators, e.g., by creating common denominators or numerators, or by comparing to a benchmark fraction such as 1/2

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.1 Recognize that in a multi-digit number, a digit in one place represents 10 times as much as it represents in the place to its right and 1/10 of what it represents in the place to its left.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.3.A Read and write decimals to thousandths

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.4 Use place value understanding to round decimals to any place.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.A.2 Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions referring to the same whole, including cases of unlike denominators, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem. 

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.5 Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.7 Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.A.1 Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system (e.g., convert 5 cm to 0.05 m), and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real world problems.

Time

Approximately 2.5 hours

Unit Summary

This cross-curricular unit includes a variety of strategies and examples for solving word problems at a fifth-grade level, including division of three-digit numbers, fractions and decimals.

Buffalo Hunts and Division

This lesson begins with a video on long division (optional) or a presentation on uses of division from the playground to the buffalo hunt. Students then watch a short video working long division problems. Finish with practicing long division in Making Camp Dakota. Short videos on Dakota buffalo hunt traditions and related math lessons are also linked.

Watch out for blood-sucking fishes!

This 40-minute lesson introduces new science vocabulary words, teaches about indigenous and invasive species and includes a couple of math problems showing how quickly invasive species multiply. It concludes with students playing the Making Camp Dakota: Past and Present game. Math word problems require finding half of 500 and 10 x 500.

Using Visual Models To Compare Fractions

Students play 2-3 levels of a game that teaches and assesses adding and comparing fractions with different numerators and denominators, with the context of a story from Ojibwe history. They create their own problems using visual models to compare fractions. Students discuss classmates’ problems. The lesson culminates with a video on visualization as a problem-solving strategy. (35-45 minutes)

Decimals, Epidemics & Fly Vomit – It’s science!

Learn decimals while weighing a flies and the food they eat. The lesson begins with a game on decimals and the Aztec smallpox epidemic, then moves to another disease spreader – flies. Students learn the role flies play in our ecosystem, how they eat and reproduce. (75 minutes)

Differentiation

For students who are struggling with word problems, assign these videos directly teaching strategies or watch together in class.

Codex

The Codex in Latin American History and Math

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Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.3 Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

Technology required

Device with a browser for AzTech Game. Printer for printing codex and related worksheet and activity pages.

Time

4-5 hours

Lesson Summary

This is an augmentation of a lesson from the Library of Congress uses a primary source – the Huexotzinco Codex – as a basis for document analysis, inquiry and applied mathematics. Students analyze pages documenting tribute paid to Spanish administrators, compute the tribute paid, read a one-page overview of the codex and analyze the codex. A presentation is given on connections between Aztec, Mayan and contemporary methods. Students begin or end classes playing a game that includes Mayan history and middle school mathematics.

Lesson

First, some background for the teacher. The Huexotzinco Codex was part of the evidence in a case brought by the Nahuas, Indigenous people of what is now Mexico, against the Spanish administrators, alleging excessive taxation (tribute). This case was won by the Nahuas. In this lesson, students do not learn the full story until the third or fourth class period.

Analyze Documents

Begin with this link to the Library of Congress lesson, “The Huexotzinco Codex”, and have students complete Activity 1, Document Analysis. This should take one class period- approximately one hour.

NOTE TO THE TEACHER: Allow at least 30 minutes before using this lesson the first time, to read through the Library of Congress lesson, download and print out documents for students.

Play a game

Have students sign in and begin the game, AzTech: Meet the Maya. Students should play for about 15 minutes.

Computation – How much was the tribute?

Continue with the second part of Library of Congress lesson, “The Huexotzinco Codex”, and have students complete Activity 2, Computation. After students have completed one tribute sheet and corrected their answers, use this slide presentation to show the connection between the Aztec and Maya codices and our modern system of numbers and graphs. Optionally, have students complete one or two more tribute sheets from the linked lesson. This should take one to two class periods.

Play a Game

At the beginning of class, have students continue the AzTech: Meet the Maya game. Students should play for 15-20 minutes by which time some of the students should have reached the codex activity and explanation in the game.

Write a Narrative Explanation

Continue with the third part of Library of Congress lesson, “The Huexotzinco Codex”, and have students complete Activity 3, Narrative Explanation.

Assessment

Four types of assessments are included; observation of student understanding of historical document analysis in the class discussion, student self-corrected math computation, student written assignments (analysis sheet, observations and scenario outlines) and the math problems in the AzTech game which are scored automatically with data available in teacher reports.

Differentiated instruction (optional)

Advanced Students who complete their assignments early can continue with the AzTech: Meet the Maya game. If they complete this game, they can choose to play AzTech: The Story Begins or AzTech: Empiric Empire.

English learners can play the AzTech : Meet the Maya and AzTech: The Beginning games in English or Spanish.

Recommended Related Lesson

Counting ropes and rational numbers

Fishing and Statistics

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Standards

CSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.A.3
Recognize that a measure of center for a numerical data set summarizes all of its values with a single number, while a measure of variation describes how its values vary with a single number.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5
Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context.

Technology

Students will need a Chromebook, Windows or Mac computer to play the game. Stories can be read on a computer or tablet or printed out.

Time Required

75 -105 minutes.

Summary

This lesson begins with a game teaching statistics, with a level assessing weights of salmon. Next, students read stories about salmon from the Pacific Northwest tribal communities. The lesson ends with a game outdoors or in the gym where students ‘catch’ salmon and learn the impact of overfishing. Optional activity includes creative writing or artwork to accompany the salmon stories.

Lesson

Play a Game (25 minutes)

Play Disaster Deduction Detectives through Level 4 where players compute mean weights of fish caught with and without an outlier. Earlier levels discuss median and statistical questions.

Fish catching game in Disaster Deduction Detectives

Read Salmon Stories (35 minutes)

This 35-page booklet of salmon stories comes from a collaborative effort of the tribal communities of the Pacific Northwest, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and Seattle Aquarium. In addition to four stories about salmon, traditional games featuring salmon are described. You can print the booklet or copy the link and assign it in your Google classroom or other online system.

Depending on your available class time and their reading level, you may wish to just assign one or two stories or the whole booklet.

NOTE: You can find the entire 72-page Teachers Guide, One with the Watershed, including the stories, here. It has a wealth of information, games and activities. We highly recommend reading it.

Physical Education and Math – Play the Salmon Catcher Game (15 minutes)

This game is explained on page 30 of the Teacher’s Guide and on page 24 of the Salmon Stories booklet. A group of 4 or 5 students must catch a classmate (a salmon) by forming a net around it by holding hands. Play with lots of salmon and one ‘net’ and then with lots of ‘nets’ and few salmon. After the game, discuss how having too many fishers for the number of fish makes it difficult for each group to get enough salmon for a feast.

Assessment

Students responses to the questions in the Disaster Deduction Detectives game on statistical questions, creating and interpreting dot plots, median and mean with and without an outlier are all scored automatically and can be found in the teacher reports.

Differentiated Instruction

Optional: Creative Writing OR Art and Social Studies (30 minutes)

The Salmon Stories booklet has minimal illustrations. Allow students 30 minutes to create an illustration for one of the stories. For students who would prefer to write a story instead, allow them to select one of the topics suggested in the booklet, for example, on page 23 of the student booklet (page 29 in the Teacher’s Guide) students are asked to imagine a discussion between a salmon and the forest.

UNIT: Word Problems with Multiplication and Division

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Standards

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.D.8 Solve real world and mathematical problems involving perimeters of polygons, including finding the perimeter given the side lengths, finding an unknown side length, and exhibiting rectangles with the same perimeter and different areas or with the same area and different perimeters.
CCSS.Math.Content.3.OA.B.5 Apply properties of operations as strategies to multiply and divide. 
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.D.8 Solve two-step word problems using the four operations. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.A.3 Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NBT.B.4 Fluently add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm

Time

Five hours

Technology Required

If teaching in person, the teacher will need a computer and projector or smart board to show the videos, or students can be given the links to watch on their own devices. Students will need a PC, Mac or Chromebook or tablet. Making Camp Premium, Making Camp Lakota and Making Dakota are all playable on any web browser on those devices. Spirit Lake: The Game, playable on Mac or Windows computers also teaches these same concepts or students can watch the videos from the game on any device with a browser.

UNIT SUMMARY

This cross-curricular unit teaches solving word problems with multiplication and division with a variety of strategies and in contexts ranging from agriculture to traditional dwellings.

Lessons

Lesson Multiplying to find perimeter of polygons

In this 45-minute lesson, students will learn how to compute perimeter of different polygons using multiplication and apply those skills in game-based practice problems. They will then learn about different Indigenous traditional dwellings. The lesson ends with students contributing to and solving problems that integrate the reading on dwellings and perimeter in an online assessment. 

Multiplication word problems

In this 40-minute integrated lesson, students learn about responsibilities of children in traditional Dakota society and discuss their responsibilities today. They learn a problem-solving strategy that can be applied to a wide range of situations, including mathematics. Students play Spirit Lake: The Game or watch videos solving multiplication problems set in the context of a story based on Dakota culture.

Travois, multiplication and 2-step problems

In this 45-minute lesson, the students will develop an understanding of the meanings of the four operations of whole numbers through activities and problems involving real life scenarios from Indigenous history. Students use properties of operations to calculate products of whole numbers, using increasingly sophisticated strategies based on these properties to solve using the four operations problems involving single-digit factors. It includes educational videos, games and video presentations that can be used for reviews and daily practice.

Problem-solving with pigs: Start at the end

This 75-minute cross-curricular lesson includes activities and instruction in agricultural science and math. Students begin by watching a video and learning about pig farms. After making their own pig barn, they watch two short videos about solving math problems. This information is then applied to solve multiplication and division word problems during a presentation on math around the pig farm. Students end playing one of the Making Camp games to reinforce skills and knowledge.

Lesson. Problem-Solving Two ways

his 40-minute lesson assumes that students have some familiarity with multiplication of one-digit numbers and division with one-digit divisors. Students are introduced to the various means of problem solving in a brief presentation. They watch a video on visualization, then solve a problem that asks them to visualize. After watching a video on building a model, students build and/or draw their own model of a multiplication problem or property. Lesson concludes with game play to reinforce these problem-solving strategies and learn more. T

Learn 4 Math Facts at Once with Google Slides

This 60-minute lesson starts with a video as an ice breaker. Then, students read or listen to a presentation explaining how each math fact is actually four. Students complete an activity where they create their own math facts slides. A recommended video explains features of Google slides. Students complete the lesson playing Making Camp Dakota, solving word problems using division.

Unit: Multiplication Review

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Standards

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.1 Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a total number of objects can be expressed as 5 × 7.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.4 – Determine the unknown whole number in a multiplication or division equation relating three whole numbers.
CCSS.Math.Content.3.OA.B.5 Apply properties of operations as strategies to multiply and divide. 
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.C.7– Fluently multiply and divide within 100

Time

Lessons require from 10-40 minutes for a total of 90 minutes. These lessons are recommended more as a review or preview.

📲 Technology Required

Students need a device with web-browser – Chromebook, laptop or desktop computer, phone or tablet. If using a mobile device, we recommend downloading the Making Camp Premium app. It can also be played on the web on any computer.

Unit Summary

Students who have recently learned multiplication tables still need frequent review. These five lessons present multiplication review in a variety of lengths and formats; games, cross-curricular formats integrating Ojibwe history, flash cards, virtual manipulatives, slide presentations and video.

Ojibwe History Integrated with Math + History = Making Camp

That’s Making Camp in a nutshell, um, equation. Each of these only takes about 10 minutes, teaches Ojibwe (Native American) history , multiplication or division. You can do these at the beginning or end of class as a warm-up, as an assignment for those students who finish early or combine all three for a 30-minute lesson.

Lesson 1: Making Camp – 10-minute multiplication review and Ojibwe history

Do this lesson first. Students sign in to the Making Camp game, play through the introduction, play a memory game and get a virtual dog.

Lesson 2 – 10 Minute Mini-Lesson: Rabbit Stew & Multiplication

Students learn about what foods the Ojibwe people ate and how their diet changed when they were forced on to the reservation. They play a multiplication tic-tac-toe to snare rabbits and spend the points earned in the game to outfit their wigwam.

Lesson 3 – Trade for a wigwam

Not strictly multiplication review but this is where students trade in the points they have earned in the prior two lessons for items for their wigwam.Students will watch two brief videos, one on building a wigwam and one on trading between tribes.Clicking on each item gives information on how that item was used by the Ojibwe

Lesson 4 – Multiplication Review and Red River Carts

Students watch a video on the importance of the Red River cart in expanding trade. The teacher presents (or students may read) a presentation discussing Red River carts followed by two related word problems. The 20-minute lesson concludes with students playing Making Camp Premium, reinforcing multiplication facts and the Ojibwe history lesson learned.

Lesson 5- Multiplication Terms

Students watch a video on multiplication terms then review terms with flash cards. Students quiz each other with flash cards. This 40-minute lesson closes with practicing multiplication and division by playing Making Camp Premium.