To cap off spooky season, Ms. Portillo's 4th grade class at Brothers Elementary used their knowledge of multiplication and division to solve seriously scary math problems in an escape room activity.
The prize? Time on their Chromebooks playing ImagineMath games!
With her class wrapping up multiplication and about to venture into the depths of division, Ms. Portillo said Halloween was the perfect opportunity to mix in some seasonal fun.
After explaining the concept, students split into teams of two and three to tackle the challenges: Riddle Me This, Trick or Check, and Spooky Division.
At the Riddle Me This station, students read multiplication word problems posted around the room. Each correct answer revealed a hidden letter—and when all were combined, they unlocked a mystery message!
To complete Trick or Check, students worked together to use the multiplication tools they already know to solve equations that were written as division problems.
Portillo explained that it's important for her students to see the similarities and relationships between multiplication and division, so they can confidently tackle the new unit using something they're already comfortable with.
The last station, Spooky Division, brought it all together with spooky-themed division problems. With the help of Ms. Portillo, students read through questions and then used base-ten blocks to illustrate the numbers presented. Using what they knew - the total - and how many sets they needed - the divider - students counted out the blocks to find the quotient. To pull it all together, they then checked their work using multiplication to make sure they counted everything properly!
Once they'd completed each station and had the message decoded, they unlocked their Chromebooks and were allowed to choose which math games interested them most!
Now that’s what we call a scary-good time with a side of math magic!