Play

How do you choose a good strategy? How do you switch gears when you're stuck on a knotty problem? Having a sense of play, of exploring relationships without getting too stuck in one approach at first, is really important!

We offer several playful activities for varying degrees of challenging, mathematical play.

Activities to Learn this Strategy

• Teacher Activity Guide [pdf]
• Student Handouts [pdf]

Facilitation Questions

• What happens if you change this?
• Is that clue necessary?
• What happens if you try a few different strategies?

Recommended Library Problems

The Strategy Examples documents linked from these problems contain examples of what students could do with the activities. You need a Class Membership or higher to access Library problems.

Math Fundamentals

Clock Work
She Counts Seashells

Pre-Algebra

Shelvin's Score
Bartering for Bananas

Algebra

Marathon Mitch
The Bouncing Ball

Geometry

A Picturesque Pythagorean Proof
Regional Ratios

Learn more about the different membership options.