Three Math Field Trips at School I

Math fluency stands a person in good stead all their lives. Here are two ideas for practicing math facts outside. The third activity is a fun scavenger hunt that helps students practice math equations, but it can be modified for use in all kinds of subjects!
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 Math Fact Circuit*

For the circuit, all you need is 

• sidewalk chalk
• pylons
• bean bags
• a few balls. 

The stations described below can be drawn with chalk. But if your school wants to make this circuit available for multiple classes for years, the circuit can be painted onto the paved part of your schoolyard and onto a windowless school wall such as the gym wall.

 

For Station 1:    Draw/paint numbers 1-10 in order

For Station 2:    Draw/paint numbers 1-10 a distance apart. Place pylons beside each number

For Station 3:    Draw/paint numbers 1-10 within a hopscotch design 

For Station 4:    Draw/paint a long line with odd numbers on one side and even numbers on the other

For Station 5:    Draw/paint numbers 1-10 scattered on a windowless wall

 

Divide the class into 5 groups.  Each group starts at a different station.  At regular intervals, each group rotates to the next station until all of them have been completed by each group.

 

 

The teacher announces one number between 1-10, for example 7, and instructs the class to add 7 to whichever number a student gets to when it is their turn.  Or the student multiplies the number they are at by 7, depending which math facts your class needs to practice.  

 

At Station 1, each student in the group jumps on two feet from one number to the next, calling out the equation (eg. 1x7, 2x7, etc) with the answer.

At Station 2, each student in the group slaloms around the pylons, calling out the equation (eg. 3+7, 4+7, etc) with the answer.

At Station 3, each student hopscotches on the game from one number to the next, calling out the equation (eg. 6x7, 7x7, etc) with the answer. 

At Station 4, each student jumps from left to right across the line from one number to the next, calling out the equation (eg. 4+7, 5+7, etc) with the answer.

Station 5 is the only station where students answer questions in random order.  They target the numbers on the wall with a ball, and answer 7x n, or 7+ n, depending on which number from 1-10 they hit.

The Sticks on the Bus*

What you'll need:

• bowls, one for every pair of students in your math class.  Your students will collect natural materials in them to start
• egg cartons, two for every pair of students in your class
• pylons, one for every pair of students in your math class
• dice, one for each pair of students in your math class
  
• sidewalk chalk or rope
• clipboards with paper and pencil, one for each pair of students in your math class
  

Ahead of this math class outside, you will draw or place a rope at one end of the schoolyard and a finish line at the other end.  Place a clipboard for each pair at the starting line.  Place between the lines as many pylons as there are pairs of students in your math class. Place a die with each pylon. So each pair of students has a clipboard at the starting line and a pylon with die halfway to the finish line.

When you take your class outside for math, first ask your class to collect natural materials from around the schoolyard, such as twigs, leaves, acorns, pebbles, rosehips or seedheads, one type of material for each pair.  If you anticipate that not enough materials will be found, take Unifix cubes or other counters with you from the classrooms. 

Once enough materials are collected, call the students back. Instruct them to place the bowl with their materials at what will be 'their' pylon.  Then explain the game, and model the whole thing once through. 

In this game, students will 'pick up' and 'drop off' passengers on their bus.  Two egg cartons represents one bus, so each pair of students gets two. Each bus has six passengers (bits of material) in it already.

Start all your pairs of students at a starting line.  Each pair runs to their pylon in the middle with their 'bus' and their clipboard and pencil.  There they add to their bus the number of passengers that the die shows when they roll it. After that, the pair runs to the finish line where they write down the equation and sum of the six original passengers and the ones that they added. 

They run back to the pylon, roll the die, but this time subtract ('drop off') that number of passengers.  When they run back to the starting line after the subtraction, they write down the subtraction equation and difference.  They repeat the run ('bus route') as many times as you or they like, picking up passengers as they go back and forth.

After the game, have pairs of students exchange their papers so that each pair can check the equations of another pair.

Math Scavenger Hunt*

This scavenger hunt set-up works well for math practice, but can be modified for other subjects or reviews also.  It works best for questions or problems that have unambiguous answers.

Preparations
Gather the necessary materials:

• Page protectors, as many as the stops on your scavenger hunt.
  
• Write pages with multi-digit addition and subtraction equations without answers on one side.  Write the answer to the first equation on the back of the paper with the second equation. In turn, write the answer to the second equation on the back of the paper with the third equation, etc.  Write the answer to the last equation on the back of the paper with the first equation. Put all the pages in the page protectors. This is how you create a trail of equations that can be followed by solving the math problems.
• One card for each group, with on it the answer that is on one of the page protectors.  One card has the answer written on paper #1 on it, one card the answer written on paper #3, one with the answer written on paper #5, etc. As many cards as there are groups in your class.
  
• Clipboard with (grid) paper and a pencil for each pair of students.
  
• Pylons (optional)
  

Ready...
Hang the papers inside page protectors along the trail where you'll do the scavenger hunt, one on each post. Make sure they are hung up in a random order. 

Go!
First, walk the trail with the students, so that they know the route.
Determine a starting line with chalk, pylons or string. Explain how the scavenger hunt will go:  

• Each group will get from the teacher a card with an answer on it.  This is the start and finish answer for each group, so be sure to hang on to it.  
• On the sound of a signal, each pair runs with the clipboard and pencil to the paper with the answer on it that matches their card, and solves the equation that they find on the back of it on the paper on the clipboard. 
•  Then the pair runs to find the next page protector with the answer that they just got, and solves the equation that they find on the back.
  
• This keeps going until they find the question with the answer on their card.  So whoever finds that page protector first, wins!
  

Reflection
Examine together the figuring that the teams did.  Which equation was easy?  Why? Which one was tricky? How can we solve that one?

*All three ideas came from buitenlesdag.nl