Halloween Math Centers

Pumpkin Nim Directions: Players take turns placing one pattern block piece at a time until the pumpkin is covered. The person who fills in the last hexagon wins! Play again and change the rules so that the loser is the one who covers the last hexagon.

Pumpkin Nim Materials Pattern blocks Pumpkin Nim pattern

Creepy Crawly Estimation Directions: Select one student to be the “Counter” and one student to be the “Estimator.” The “Counter” should count a number of critters and place them in the bag. Do not tell the “Estimator” the secret number. The “Estimator” should estimate how many critters are in the bag. (Be sure to have some critters available to use as a reference.) They may feel and shake the bag, but they may not open it. Have the “Estimator” talk about the reasons for their guess. The “Estimator” should then empty the bag of critters and count them. How close was the estimate? Switch roles and repeat the activity.

Creepy Crawly Materials Paper bags Black & orange unifix cubes, critters, frogs, etc. to estimate

Spooky Data Collection Directions: Select a bag of Halloween objects. Sort and count the objects in the bag. Create a representation to display the data (chart, table, pictograph, bar graph, etc). Extension: Create several questions about your data display.

Spooky Data Collection Materials Paper bags Halloween Objects Snapping cubes, color cubes, etc. Paper/recording sheet Markers, crayons, or colored pencils

Mysterious Counting Bags Directions: Select a bag of Halloween objects. Empty the bag and count the objects. Record your results. Extension: Create your own mystery bag and exchange with a partner.

Mysterious Counting Bags Materials Paper bags Halloween Objects Snapping cubes, color cubes, etc. Paper/recording sheet

Sweet Pictographs Sara returned from trick-or-treating with lots of candy. Help Sara sort her candy. Create a pictograph to display your results.

Sweet Pictograph Materials Bucket of candy Paper/recording sheet

Creepy Counting Directions: Place a handful of pumpkin ghost counters in a cup. Shake the counters in the cup and spill them on the table. Look at the counters. Are there more ghosts? Are there more pumpkins? Are the amounts equal? Record your results. Write a greater than or less than equation for each time you spill the counters. Repeat the activity at least more 5 times.

Creepy Counting Materials Lima beans—one side painted orange with 2 triangles for eyes and a zig zag mouth (Jack-o-Lantern face) and one side with 2 black eyes (Ghost) Cups Recording sheet/paper

Haunting Equations + = 6 Directions: Place a handful of pumpkin ghost counters in a cup. Shake the counters in the cup and spill them on the table. Create an addition or subtraction equation to show how many altogether or how many more. Record your equations. Extension: Create a word problem for each equation. + = 6

Haunting Equations Materials Lima beans—one side painted orange (Jack-o-Lantern face) and one side with 2 black eyes (Ghost) Cups Recording sheet/paper

Frightening Patterns Using the assortment of spooky objects, create a variety of different patterns. Record your patterns on the paper provided. ABAB ABCABC AABB ABBA ABABBABBB

Frightening Patterns Materials Halloween stamps Halloween objects such as bugs, bats, spiders, leaves, etc. Sentence strips/recording sheet

Spooky Sorting Sort the Halloween objects into groups based on one common attribute. Can your partner guess the attribute you selected? Sort the objects by two attributes and have your partner guess the attributes you selected. Switch roles and repeat the activity.

Spooky Sorting Materials Materials to sort—leaves, candy, critters Venn rings

Witchy Weighing Predict which pumpkin has the greatest mass. Place the pumpkins in order, from the pumpkin with the greatest mass to the pumpkin with the least mass. Weigh the pumpkins to determine how close your predictions were. Record the mass of each pumpkin.

Witchy Weighing Materials Balance scale Weighing objects Pumpkins of various sizes

Cauldron Capacities Predict which container has the greatest capacity. Place the containers in order, from the container that will hold the least amount of liquid to the container that will hold the most. Find the capacity of each container to determine how close your predictions were. Record the capacity of each container.

Cauldron Capacities Materials Containers of various sizes Water, rice, or beans for measuring

Measuring Pumpkins Estimate the height, width, and circumference of the pumpkin. Cut a piece of string to match each of your estimates. Measure the height, width, and circumference of the pumpkin. Compare the lengths of your string with the actual measurements of the pumpkin. How close were your estimates? Measure the height and width of the pumpkin using non-standard units. Compare your results.

Measuring Pumpkins Materials String Scissors Non-standard units—paper clips, cubes, etc.

Witches’ Stew Create your own concoction by filling a bag with your favorite goodies. Dragon Scales Shriveled Spiders Troll Eyes Rat Toenails Witch Teeth Vampire Blood

Witches’ Stew Materials Dragon Scales—Cinnamon Toast Crunch Shriveled Spiders—Raisins Troll Eyes—M & M candy Rat Toenails—Peanuts Witch Teeth—Candy Corn Vampire Blood—Dried Cranberries (Craisins) Cauldrons/containers Ziplock bags Cups or spoons to measure food

Fabulous Fall Ideas Describe additional ideas you use in your math class to engage and motivate your students during the fall season.