I’m linking up with Krista of Teaching Momster for Math Madness Wednesday in honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day…
“If I hear one more pirate joke I’m going to make you ALL walk the plank!” That’s right teachers, international Talk Like a Pirate Day is just around the corner. Friday, September 19th to be exact. I actually really like silly holidays, so here is a math freebie to celebrate! Students answer the decimal addition problems to solve the riddle. But, these aren’t any old decimal addition problems, matey. These problems are set up using tape/strip diagrams to build those algebraic thinking skills!
Students answer decimal addition questions (in tape/strip diagrams) to solve the pirate riddle. Designed for grades 4 to 6.
Click HERE to download this Talk Like a Pirate Day free math activity from The Pensive Sloth!
In my last post about tape/strip diagrams, I shared some ideas for using them in upper elementary math. Here’s another idea. Provide students with a tape diagram with a missing part. Then, ask them to write what they would type into a calculator to find X. It isn’t as simple as you might think! Depending on the location of the unknown, X, students must form an equation that will get them to the right answer. Give it a try…
Put a spin on your math lesson–Don’t ask your students to just SOLVE the problems, ask them to tell you what they would type into a calculator to get the correct answer! This is a challenge when students are working with unknowns in different locations. Try it. It makes them think!
Fair winds my fellow pirates!
–The Pensive Sloth
Shameless plug–If you need some tape/strip diagram worksheets or task cards, I’ve got some for adding and subtracting decimals to the tenths and hundredths place.
The Pensive Sloth 