Number Power Lines

For a starter in maths today, we tried playing Number Power Lines. It is a fun game and Room 16 enjoyed competing against each other. The idea is to make each power line match a given total using all the numbers that you are given. Our main strategy was guess and check. However the best learning was to come later...

Look I am on Level 8, Mum!

Play Time

Crighton certainly got ahead of me when we were playing the online game, as he raced through the levels. Then Henry worked out how to get on to Phase 2, using the password that you earn in Phase 1.

Creating

Following the game, the students had a go at designing their own algebra power line. For the first challenge, the students had to have three connected power lines that added to 16. You were not allowed to use a number more than once. Here is a collaborative Google drawing of some successful creations.

Look how different each pattern is to each other. Do all the lines add to 16?

The next challenge was to create four connected power lines that all add to 24. Again, not using any number more than once. Do the lines below all add to 24?

One of these patterns is not quite like the others.

What phase or level can you get up to in Algebra Power Line? Can you create your own Algebra Power Line pattern for others to work out?

Basic Facts

Room 16 have been practising our basic facts (number knowledge). We have had 10 tests. Each test has 25 questions. We put our daily results into a stem and leaf graph. At first we would do this for our raw scores out of 25. We would also find the middle score (the median). Then times the raw scores by 4 to get a percentage score. This works because 25 x 4 = 100.
See my example below for converting a score of 20 out 25 into a percentage.

We then worked out the mean (average) and the range, to go with the median (in percent). Here are our stem and leaf graphs for our percentage scores on days three and four.

Stem and Leaf Graphs from Days 3 and 4

The students used Google Spreadsheet to record their scores and create graphs (charts). Here is one I created for the class results.

The students achieved their highest mean score of 80% on day 6. They managed a mean (average) score of around 70% from day 3 on. I am very proud of them because the questions were not predictable. On day 9, you can see the mean score dropped to 64%. Some questions that many found difficult on this day involved place value or fractions. These are areas of number knowledge we will continue to work on. Our mean score rebounded back to 71% on day 10.

Note: Maths Dictionary is great website for helping you remember how to use the words in bold on this page.