Blanchard Elementary, Year One
Stafford/ Martin – Elizabeth Reeves
Learning Objective/Exit Outcomes:
- Students will learn to focus and listen together as a team.
- Students will be able to solve problems involving multiplication and division.
State Standards:
MGSE3.OA.1 Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division.
MGSE3.OA.2 Interpret whole number quotients of whole numbers.
ELAGSE3SL1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Integration Area/Subject:
Math and English
Materials/Playing Space:
- Open Space for movement
- Ball
Description:
The teacher has the students form a circle around the room. The PAIR Specialist introduces the Cat Ball strategy. The PAIR Specialist or teacher stands in the middle of the student circle with a ball. The PAIR Specialist asks questions that students can automatically answer: (sounds, colors, states, cars, what you find at a restaurant, numbers). The PAIR Specialist will toss the ball to a student around the circle and the goal is for the student to provide an answer before they catch the ball. The student then passes the ball back to the PAIR Specialist and another student receives the ball and must give a different answer within that same category. For instance, if the PAIR Specialist asks for states, the first student may answer “Georgia,” the second student may answer “California”, and so on.
Once the students have had a practice round with the PAIR Specialist, the teacher will take over with specific questions regarding the content of the subject (multiplication division, products, etc.). Specifically, with this lesson, students were to review multiplication by 5’s. The teacher would ask each student a multiplication and then throw that student the ball. For instance, the teacher may say “3 times 5” and the student should be able to provide the answer, “15!,” before they catch the ball.
Debrief (5-10 minutes):
How did this game help you with remembering important numbers in an equation? What did you see us doing? (Try to encourage: we were working together as a team, moving, listening, focusing, thinking, etc.).
Notes:
- This game transitions great into Name Six (This is optional if the teacher wants to advance the game).
- Also, the teacher can also encourage rhythm while passing the ball throughout the circle. This should maintain engagement in the activity.