30 second remainder game
Lesson: 30-second remainder game
Grade Level: 3-4-5
Skills: division and remainders
Materials:
Blank paper
Pens & Pencils
Intro:
Discuss the length of a minute. Use a timer and have students put their heads on their desks and raise their hands when they think a minute is up.
Discuss whether they thought a minute was longer or shorter than they had expected.
Procedure for game: (This is a whole class activity)
- Tell students they are going to have 30 seconds to write consecutive numbers (starting with 1) on a piece of paper in pen. This is not a race- they can choose to write as many or as few numbers as they want as long as its more than six.
- After the 30 seconds are up, they put pens down and one student rolls a 6-sided die. Whatever number comes up is the number the class has to divide their number list by (have them use pencils for this).
For example: If a student has written 1-14 on their sheet, and a six is rolled on the die:
14 ÷ 6 = 2 Remainder 2
- The student(s) with the smallest remainder (usually of one or zero) will get a point for that round. You can change the rules so that the largest remainder wins.
- Repeat as needed
Questions for Discussion:
Did anyone think of any strategies to get smaller remainders?
What were some strategies to divide your number list?
Did it matter how many or how few numbers you wrote?