Math Around the Room - Scavenger Hunts


One of my favorite strategies to use in my math class is "Math Around the Room" My students refer to these activities as scavenger hunts. This strategy works best when reviewing a concept in which most students can work independently. I usually have at least one or two scavenger hunts per unit that we are working on. I use this strategy mostly with Math, but the idea can be transferred to any content area.

I start by having the students create a recording sheet by folding a piece of plain white paper into eighths. The students number the sections 1-8 on the front and 9-16 on the back. The first time they do this it takes some time and can be a math lesson by itself with lots of good math vocabulary (lines of symmetry, fractions, equal parts etc...). Once the students do this two or three times it is a breeze. Now, when I have a scavenger hunt planned, the students enter the classroom, see the neon pieces of paper around the room, and immediately start preparing their recording sheet.
I tell the students that there are 16 math problems scattered around the room, and their job is to find and solve as many problems as they can. Work must be shown and the final answer recorded in the spot on the recording sheet that matches the problem they find.
Students are free to move around the room to find and solve the problems. 

Some of the ground rules that we go over ahead of time:
1. You may get help and ask questions, but no asking for or giving away answers.
2. If there are already three students gathered around and working on one problem, find a different problem and come back later.
3. If you finish early, find another classmate that is done and compare your work. Go back to find and rework problems if there are any discrepancies.

Here are some reasons why I love this strategy:
students love being out of their desks
increased student engagement
students help and support each other
slows down the early finishers
more time to support my struggling students


I create sets of 16 questions and print out 4 on one sheet of paper. 
I print them on bright colored paper, so they are visible around the room.

Create your own set of "Around the Room" problem cards using my template HERE.

Here are links to some of the "Around the Room" problem sets that I have created for my 4th Grade classroom:

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