Kagan
It's All About Engagement!
Match Mine: Mathematics
Naming Fractions
Download this cooperative barrier game to teach your students vocabulary and communication skills using the structure Match Mine. Each partner receives a game board with a gumball machine and gumball game pieces to place on the game board. Partners sit on opposite sides of a barrier so they can’t see each other’s game board or game pieces. Partner A arranges the gumball pieces on each gumball in the machine on the game board. Then, using only verbal communication, Partner A describes to Partner B which piece goes on each gumball so they can make a match. For example, “Put the one-third gumball on the very top space in the gumball machine.” When they think they have a match, they compare arrangements and celebrate. This set teaches common fractions such as: one-fourth, two-thirds, seven-eighths, etc. Match Mine is a fun and cooperative way to develop language, communication, cooperation, and perspective-taking skills.
There's no better way to get your students talking about and using the language of mathematics than using these communication-building Match Mine games. Partners sit on opposite sides of a barrier. They each receive the same game board and game pieces copied from the book. For example, the game board is a grid and the game pieces are solid 3D geometry shapes. One student organizes her pieces on the game board. Then, with words alone, she must describe her arrangement to her partner so her partner can make a match. Students learn and use mathematics vocabulary and concepts as they play: "Place the rectangular prism in the first column, last row." The communication standard for math calls for: "students to organize their mathematical thinking through communication; communicate mathematical thinking clearly to peers; and use the language of mathematics to express ideas precisely." Includes 30 reproducible games spanning 7 strands of mathematics. Your students will ask to play again and again. 136 pages.