12 Thanksgiving Math Activities for Grades 1-8

Thanksgiving Math Activities for Grades 1-8

Thanksgiving is here and it’s time to share some fun Thanksgiving-themed math activities and puzzles with your students in grades 1-8 (elementary and middle school). This collection of Thanksgiving Math Activities includes order of operations puzzles, area models and multiplication tables, and ‘which one doesn’t belong?’ Enjoy!

The days leading up to Thanksgiving vacation are an exciting (and extremely distracting) time for you and your students.

But you can keep your students on track by sharing some fun Thanksgiving-themed math activities, puzzles, and challenges that channels their holiday excitement and enthusiasm into math learning experiences.

The following easy-to-print Thanksgiving Math Worksheets will add some holiday fun to your lesson plans this month. The activities can be shared with students in grades one through eight.

The activities are samples from our best-selling workbooks 101 Daily Math Challenges for Engaging Students in Grades 3-8 and 101 Daily ‘Which One Doesn’t Belong?’ Math Activities for Grades 1-8 .

The following Thanksgiving Math Activities can be used for anticipatory sets and warm-ups, exit tickets, transitions, and homework or extra credit assignments.

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1.) Thanksgiving Math Activity 1 of 12

Leaves = 18

Turkey = 9

Pumpkin = 12

? = 3

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2.) Thanksgiving Math Activity 2 of 12

Fire = 13

Apple Cider = 7

Acorn = 14

Honey = 15

? = 49

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3.) Thanksgiving Math Activity 3 of 12

Turkey = 8

Calendar = 8

Candle = 5

Cake = 9

? = 67

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4.) Thanksgiving Math Activity 4 of 12

Chipmunk = 13

Hot Cider = 8

Pumpkin Pie = 24

Football = 20

? = 65

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“I always look forward to getting my Mashup Math newsletter email every week. I love the free activities!” -Christina R., 5th Grade Math Teacher, Dallas, TX

Do YOU want free math resources, lesson activities, and puzzles and games for grades 1-8 in your inbox every week? Join our mailing list and start getting tons of free stuff (including a free PDF workbook)!

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5.) Thanksgiving Math Activity 5 of 12

Pumpkin = 12

Berries = 5

Turkey = 6

Pie = 30

? = 192

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6.) Thanksgiving Math Activity 6 of 12

Pie = 10

Turkey = 14

Corn = 9

Pilgrim = 12

? = 92

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7.) Thanksgiving Math Activity 7 of 12

Cooking Pot = 6

Cupcakes = 18

Cranberry Sauce = 9

Cauliflower = 10

? = 126

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Are you looking for more daily math challenges and puzzles to share with your kids?

My best-selling workbook 101 Math Challenges for Engaging Your Students in Grades 3-8 is now available as a PDF download!

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8.) Thanksgiving Math Activity 8 of 12

Apple = 6

Cider = 6

Cinnamon = 5

Kettle = 1

? = 180

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9.) Thanksgiving Math Activity 9 of 12

Multiplication Table

Pilgrim Hat = 8

Food Basket = 4

Mashed Potatoes = 1

Corn = 5

Pumpkin = 15

Turkey = 6

Pie = 3

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10.) Thanksgiving Math Activity 10 of 12

Area Model

1,3,6,10,...

Sunflower = 20

Turkey = 10

Acorn = 6

Turkey Leg = 40

Leaves = 120

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11.) Thanksgiving Math Activity 11 of 12

Solution:

Click here to access more fun math riddles and brain teasers for kids.

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12.) Thanksgiving Math Activity 12 of 12

Which One Doesn’t Belong?

Click here to learn more about how to use ‘Which One Belong?’ activities to boost student engagement in your classroom.

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Share your thoughts, opinions, and ideas in the comments section below!

Looking for more fun math resources to share with your kids? Click here to subscribe to our YouTube channel and access our free video library--and don't forget to subscribe!

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By Anthony Persico

Anthony is the content crafter and head educator for YouTube's MashUp Math and an advisor to Amazon Education's 'With Math I Can' Campaign. You can often find me happily developing animated math lessons to share on my YouTube channel . Or spending way too much time at the gym or playing on my phone.

10 Awesome End of Year Math Activities for Grades 1-8

Looking for Effective and Easy End of Year Math Activities?

The final weeks of the school year have arrived and keeping your students engaged in learning math is no easy task.

You can mix up your instruction and keep your students interested in learning math by incorporating a few awesome end of year math activities and projects into your upcoming lesson plans.

The following end of year math activity ideas are perfect for implementing during the final weeks of the school year, an extremely hectic time when sticking to your usual routine is nearly impossible.

And each end of year math activity is easy to modify to best meet the needs of your students! The activities can be modified for students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

So, which end of year math activity will you share with your students this spring?

(Tags: end of year math projects, end of year math activities, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade, grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade 4, grade 5, grade 6, grade 7, grade 8)

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1.) Math Book Report

Description: Standard math curriculums hardly ever make time for students to actually read about math. The end of the school year is the perfect time to give your students an opportunity to choose a book about math and create and share a book report.

One option is to have your students research a famous mathematician. I also like having students choose a math-related fiction book, like any of the ones included on this list of 13 STEM Fiction Books Your Kids Will Love.

Image Source: Mashup Math MJ.

There are tons of excellent math-fiction books available for students of all grade levels.

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2.) Tessellation Project

by GeometryCoach.com

Description: This project blends elements of the history of math, geometry, and art/design into an engaging learning experience where students use mathematical thinking to manipulate shapes to create “Escher tiles” and use them to create geometric works of art!

Image Source: Mashup Math MJ

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3.) Barbie Bungee

Description: The Barbie Bungee data collection activity may be the most underrated math activity ever. Ideal for pre-algebra students, this activity gives students a fun and engaging opportunity to make predictions, collect real-world data, and then analyze the results within the context of their initial hypothesis. This activity is even endorsed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), who share free lesson resources for any teacher interested in trying the Barbie Bungee in their classroom.

Image Source: Mashup Math MJ

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4.) Escape Room!

Description: Classroom ‘escape room’ lessons are growing in popularity. Why? Because classroom escape rooms boost student excitement and engagement while helping your kids apply and improve their mathematical problem-solving skills.

If you are new to the idea of classroom escape rooms (sometimes called breakout challenges), check out this blog post So You Want to Build a Classroom Escape Room… by We Are Teachers.

Image Source: Mashup Math MJ

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5.) The Parachute Project

by Amy at www.allabout3rdgrade.com

Description: Students use their math skills to design and build a parachute that will stay in the air the longest. This STEM activity is a great opportunity for math and science teachers to collaborate—and it’s a great activity to do outdoors!

Image Source: Mashup Math FP

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Are YOU looking for some super fun daily math puzzles for your students in grades 3-8? Our best-selling 101 Daily Math Challenges workbook is now available as a PDF download!

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6.) Plan and Budget Your Dream Vacation

by Jennifer at www.loveteachingkids.com

Description: Students are given a budget and have to work groups to plan all aspects of their determined “dream vacation.” This end of year math activity allows students to learn more about budgeting, personal finance, and real-world math applications. Aside from vacation planning, this activity can be modified to budgeting things like personal finances, events, starting a business, etc.

Image Source: Mashup Math FP

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7.) Build Fraction Kits

by Anthony at www.youtube.com/mashupmath

Description: Many students struggle with fractions and never really grasp the important concepts. Whether you want to help fortify your students’ understanding of fractions before the school year ends or you want to expose them to fractions a little early, this simple hands-on activity is highly effective and is definitely worth giving a shot!

Click here to get your Free Fraction Kit Lesson Guide!

Image Source: Mashup Math ST

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8.) Area and Perimeter Architecture

Description: Students explore and apply the concepts of area and perimeter by building a city using LEGO bricks! This hands-on activity is another great example of how math teachers can use LEGO to teach challenging concepts.

If you don’t have access to Lego bricks, check out this free STEM: Area and Perimeter City activity guide by teachbesideme.com.

Image Source: Mashup Math MJ

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“I always look forward to getting my Mashup Math newsletter email every week. I love the free activities!”

-Christina R., 5th Grade Math Teacher, Dallas, TX

Do YOU want free math resources, lesson activities, and puzzles and games for grades 1-8 in your inbox every week? Join our mailing list and start getting tons of free stuff (including a free PDF workbook)!

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9.) Year End Reflection Activity

Description: In this activity, students take time to reflect on what they learned in math this past school year, what challenges they overcome, and how they’ve grown as problem solvers. This activity is perfect for teachers who have students complete a math portfolio over the course of the school year.

Image Source: Mashup Math MJ

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10.) Math Puzzles and Brain Teasers

Description: The end of the school year is a great time to let your students apply their mathematical problem-solving skills to fun puzzles, brain teasers, and challenge questions.

You can access dozens of free math puzzles for all grade levels by visiting our Free Math Puzzles page.

Image Source: Mashup Math ST

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Have any more ideas for awesome end-of-year math project ideas? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

(Never miss a Mashup Math blog--click here to get our weekly newsletter!)

By Anthony Persico

Anthony is the content crafter and head educator for YouTube's MashUp Math and an advisor to Amazon Education's 'With Math I Can' Campaign. You can often find me happily developing animated math lessons to share on my YouTube channel . Or spending way too much time at the gym or playing on my phone.

11 Super Cute and Funny Math Jokes and Puns for Students

Are you looking for some funny math jokes and math puns to share in your classroom with your kids?

Check out these super cute (and super funny) math jokes and share some math humor with your kids today:

1.) What do you call a group of dudes who love math?

Alge-bros!

2.) What is the most adorable thing you will find in a math classroom?

An acute angle!

3.) Why was the number 6 afraid of the number 7?

Because 7 “ate” 9!

Image Source: Mashup Math MJ

4.) Are Halloween monsters good at math?

Not unless you Count Dracula.

5.) What do you call numbers that are always on the move?

Roamin’ Numerals

Image Source: Mashup Math

6.) What king invented fractions?

Henry the Eighth

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Are you looking for more super silly math jokes and puns for kids?

Then you’ll love this ultimate collection of the funniest, zaniest, wackiest, and silliest math jokes and puns for all ages! Click here to get your math jokes today!

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7.) How do you make seven even?

Take away the S

8.) Why is it such a shame that parallel lines have so much in common?

Because they’ll never meet!

9.) Why did Einstein and Pythagoras go to court?

Over who gets C squared

10.) What happened to the two thieves who stole the calendar?

They each got six months!

11.) Why did the student get upset when her teacher called her average?

It was a ‘mean’ thing to say!

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Want More Super Funny Math Jokes and Puns?

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Did we miss your favorite math joke, math pun, or math humor idea? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below!

(Never miss a Mashup Math blog--click here to get our weekly newsletter!)

By Anthony Persico

Anthony is the content crafter and head educator for YouTube's MashUp Math and an advisor to Amazon Education's 'With Math I Can' Campaign. You can often find me happily developing animated math lessons to share on my YouTube channel . Or spending way too much time at the gym or playing on my phone.

Idea: How to Engage Your Students at the Start of Any Lesson

Image Credit: Mashup Math MJ

Capturing your students’ interest and curiosity during the first few minutes of class is the key to keeping them engaged for your entire lesson.

But not all math warm up activities are created equally.

Math teachers miss out on activating their students’ critical thinking and reasoning skills when they assign routine, lower-level practice problems during the first five minutes of class.

However, when you use the right mix of fun and though-provoking math warm up activities to start your lessons, student engagement spikes, as your kids will constantly be wondering about what is coming next.

You probably already have some awesome math warm up activities—like Which One Doesn’t Belong? and Think-Notice-Wonder—in your tool belt. But if you’re looking for another great strategy for mixing up your instruction and engaging your students, then get ready for:

Two Truths and One Lie!

I recently started using Two Truths and One Lie (2T1L) activities, where students are presented with three mathematical statements (only two of which are true) and they have to identify which statement is a lie and justify why their choice is correct. The results? Pretty amazing. 2T1L taught me that my students love to argue and state their case (in small groups or to the whole class).

In short, 2T1L is a fun way to spark deep mathematical thinking and open discussion at the start (or end—2T1L activities make great exit tickets) of any lesson.

Image Source: Mashup Math ST

What topics/grade levels are 2T1L activities best suited for?

2T1L activities can be used for all grade levels and topics. The graphics should be topic/lesson specific and can include graphs, charts, and diagrams.

Here are some grade-level specific samples:

Imagine how your students would react to starting class with one of the following activities.

• What kind of creative and mathematical thinking would spark?

• What kind of small or large group discussions would occur?

• How would a spike in engagement effect the remainder of the lesson?

▼ 3rd Grade ▼

▼ 6th Grade ▼

▼ 4th Grade ▼

▼ 7th Grade ▼

▼ 5th Grade ▼

▼ 8th Grade ▼

Are you ready to give it a try?

Here are a few more free samples that you can download and share with your kids (right-click to download each graphic and save it to your computer):

• 3rd Grade: Sample A | Sample B

• 4th Grade: Sample A | Sample B

• 5th Grade: Sample A | Sample B

Looking for more for grades 3, 4, & 5? Download your 101 ‘Two Truths and One Lie!’ Math Activities for Grades 3, 4, & 5 eBook!

• 6th Grade: Sample A | Sample B

• 7th Grade: Sample A | Sample B

• 8th Grade: Sample A | Sample B

Looking for more for grades 6, 7, & 8? Download your 101 ‘Two Truths and One Lie!’ Math Activities for Grades 6, 7, & 8 eBook!

Looking for more?

You can now share 101 Daily Two Truths & One Lie! Math Activities for Grades 3, 4, & 5 OR Grades 6, 7, & 8 with your kids with our brand new PDF workbooks!

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Read More Posts About What’s Trending in Math Education:

Do you have experience using 2T1L activities with your math students? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below!

(Never miss a Mashup Math blog--click here to get our weekly newsletter!)

By Anthony Persico

Anthony is the content crafter and head educator for YouTube's MashUp Math and an advisor to Amazon Education's 'With Math I Can' Campaign. You can often find me happily developing animated math lessons to share on my YouTube channel . Or spending way too much time at the gym or playing on my phone.

Are You Ready? 5 Free St Patricks Day Math Activities for Grades 3-8

Are you ready to channel your kids' enthusiasm for St. Patrick's Day into learning math?

Math puzzles give your kids an opportunity to think critically and deeply about mathematics, develop problem-solving strategies, and work through challenging problems.

And when math problems incorporate your kids' personal interests, their engagement will skyrocket!

So, go ahead and try these challenges and puzzles with your kids this month. These free and printable St. Patrick's Day math activities are perfect for warm-up and/or cool-down activities and are great for sparking mathematical discussions in your home or classroom. The puzzles are perfect for students in grades 3 through 8.

How to Download: You can download any of the puzzles by right-clicking on the image and saving it to your computer or by dragging-and-dropping it to your desktop.

1.) Find the value of the '?'

Use your math skills to find the value of each icon.

Top Hat = 3

Pot of Gold = 9

Teddy Bear = 5

Irish Flag = 4

? = 21

Hint: Start with the Teddy Bear.

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2.) Multiplication tables work like a Bingo board, where the value of each box represents the product of its corresponding row and column.

Rainbow = 0

Green Hat = 1

Leprechaun = 2

Heart = 4

Pot of Gold = 0

Shamrock = 5

Looking for more free math challenges like this one to share with your kids? click here

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3.) Multiplication Area Model

Area models help kids to think visually about multiplication, which is the approach that Mathematical Mindsets author Jo Boaler recommends most for improving math understanding.

Balloons = 10

Shoe = 6

Leprechaun = 60

Shamrock = 30

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Are you looking for more daily math challenges and puzzles to share with your kids?

My best-selling workbook 101 Math Challenges for Engaging Your Students is now available as a PDF download. You can get yours today by clicking here.

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4.) Which One Doesn't Belong? 

Remember that WODB? activities are meant to spark mathematical thinking and discussion and do not have a single correct answer.

Want to learn more about how to use WOBD? math activities with your kids? click here

Tip: Have your kids justify their thinking in writing!

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Are you looking for more daily WODB? math graphics?

You can now share 101 daily WODB warm-up activities for grades 1-9 with your kids with our PDF workbook!

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5.) Math Writing Prompt

Writing about math encourages creativity, exploration, and communicating one's thoughts and feelings, which leads to deep and meaningful understanding of difficult math concepts.

And Think/Notice/Wonder (TNW) writing activities are a great way to get your kids engaged in math writing every day.

Want to learn more about how to use TNW math activities with your kids? click here

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How will you use these math puzzles with your kids? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below!

(Never miss a Mashup Math blog--click here to get our weekly newsletter!)

By Anthony Persico

Anthony is the content crafter and head educator for YouTube's MashUp Math and an advisor to Amazon Education's 'With Math I Can' Campaign. You can often find me happily developing animated math lessons to share on my YouTube channel . Or spending way too much time at the gym or playing on my phone.