February 2007
Featured Topic: Coordinate Geometry Activities
Capture the Penguins Game
This game is designed to introduce elementary students to coordinate geometry. Students roll 2 dice: one regular die and one die marked A-B-C-D-E-F. After rolling the dice, students form an ordered pair and capture a penguin, if there is one on that space. In the simplest version, students place the penguins on the board, and play to see who can capture more penguins. For a more challenging version, see the directions included with the game mat.
Penguin pieces: The penguins pictured to the right were created from clothespins and doll stands, available at craft stores. They were assembled and spray painted black. Later, white and yellow acrylic craft paint was used to add details. A black sharpie pen added eyes. NOTE: Game pieces depicting two different penguins are included with the game mat. These can be laminated and cut out for student use. OR use any manipulatives to represent the penguins.
- Download
Capture the Penguins game mat, penguin pieces, directions and recording sheet.
- Download Capture the Penguins 6x6 game mat uses 2 regular dice to graph coordinate pairs at intersections.
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See more Coordinate Geometry Activities.
100th Day of School Activities
Numbers: ARG Animation
- See 100th Day of School Activities for suggested math activities and math-literature connections to celebrate this milestone in the school year.
- See Math-Literature Connections: 100th Day of School.
February Math Activities
Featured Activity: Freedom Quilts
- See all February Math Activities.
A study of quilting centers on the geometric use of slides, flips, turns and color patterns created by congruent squares and triangles. Students learn to identify these geometric transformations as they reproduce traditional quilt block patterns or create their own original patterns.
Freedom quilts and the history of their use by the Underground Railroad as a secret code for fugitive slaves relates geometry, literature and history, providing an interdisciplinary approach to this important topic.
Recent Additions to Mathwire.com
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About Mathwire.com
Mathwire.com is designed to provide activities and appropriate worksheets for teachers to use in their classrooms. All activities and worksheets support the constructivist approach to learning mathematics and the NCTM Standards.
Activities: The activities on this site were developed by Terry Kawas and the teachers in districts where she has worked as a math consultant and coach or with students she has taught in college math-methods courses. The activities are classroom-tested by teachers and appropriate modifications have been made to reflect this field-testing. These activities are posted online in an effort to share quality activities and routines within the mathematics community.
Terms of Use: Teachers are welcome to download any of the activities for free use in their classrooms. No activities may be copied for use on other websites or included in commercial products without permission in writing from Terry Kawas, webmaster. Contact Terry Kawas