Fall 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.

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

Nim Materials Pattern blocks Pumpkin Nim pattern Apple Nim pattern

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

Prospering Patterns Using the assortment of objects, create a variety of different patterns. Record your patterns on the paper provided. What is the rule of your pattern? Can you create an equation to fit your pattern?

Prospering Patterns Materials Fall objects such as leaves Sentence strips/recording sheet

Nutty Sorting Sort the 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.

Nutty Sorting Materials Materials to sort—leaves, candy, nuts Venn rings

Prize Pumpkins 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.

Prize Pumpkins Materials Balance scale Weighing objects Pumpkins of various sizes

Basket Capacities Predict which basket 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.

Basket Capacities Materials Containers of various sizes Blocks, 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?

Measuring Pumpkins Materials Pumpkin String Scissors Measuring tools: rulers, measuring tapes

Fall Fraction Activities 1. Use the fall items to create fractions. Record your fractions. Ex: ½ of the nuts are pecans 2. Find the fractional part of each bag of fall items. 3. Play the Fraction Concentration Game with a partner. 4. Build fractions with the pie pieces. What equivalent fractions can you find?

Fall Fraction Activities Fall items such as leaves, gourds, etc. Bags of items Concentration Game Fractional Pie Pieces

Thanksgiving Feast Create your own Thanksgiving Feast. Browse grocery store advertisements. Choose foods that you would like to have at your own Thanksgiving dinner. Don’t forget dessert! Calculate the total amount of your dinner and record. Can you create a Thanksgiving feast with $100? How about $50?

Thanksgiving Feast Materials Food advertisements Calculators

Massive Feast Predict the mass of each food item. Which food has the greatest mass? Place the food items in order, from the food with the greatest mass to the food with the least mass. Weigh the items to determine how close your predictions were and peek on the outside of the label. Record the mass of each food.

Massive Feast Materials Thanksgiving food items with the mass covered on the label

Seasonal Symmetry Activities 1. Sort the fall pictures into groups. 1 – Has line symmetry 2 – Not symmetrical 2. Draw or use the pattern blocks to create two designs -- one to fit each category.

Seasonal Symmetry Activities Fall cut-outs and pictures White paper Art materials—crayons, markers, etc. Pattern blocks

Fabulous Fall Art 1. Create a scarecrow using only polygons. Record the name of each polygon used in your design. 2. Create a fall picture using pattern blocks. Trace and color the design on construction paper. Find the total fractional amount of your design (Hexagon = 1) and record at the bottom of your picture.

Fabulous Fall Art Materials Geometric shapes precut Construction paper Glue or glue stick Markers, crayons, or colored pencils Pattern blocks

Leafy Grids 1. Each player should select 5 fall pictures and place them on their coordinate grid. 2. Players take turns calling-out ordered pairs. If a player names the correct location of a fall item, it is removed. 3. The winner is the first player to locate all 5 of their partner’s objects.

Leafy Grids Materials Coordinate grids—paper, cookie sheets, box lids, poster board Fall items—attached with magnets, velcro, tape, or drawn on grid

Turkey Time Create a graph to display the weights of the turkeys. Write three questions about your data display.

Turkey Time Materials Cut-outs of turkeys—one weight written on each turkey Calculators Graph and plain paper Pencils, markers, and colored pencils

Yummy Mathematics Select one holiday recipe. Change the recipe to serve: 5 people 10 people 20 people entire class

Instant Pumpkin Pie Recipe In a sandwich bag, crush 3 graham crackers. Add 2 tsp. of sugar and ¾ tbsp. of soft margarine. Mix together and spread in container. Mix 1 tbsp. instant vanilla pudding and ¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice. Add 3 tsp. canned pumpkin and 1/3 cup of milk. Mix well and pour into “pie shell.” Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Top with whipped topping.

Yummy Mathematics Materials Thanksgiving recipes Recipe cards

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

Autumn Equality Sort through the fall cut- outs to find number sentences that are equal. Record each equation.

Autumn Equality Materials Fall cut-outs—one number sentence written on each

Puzzling Pumpkins Select one pumpkin. Solve the function table and find the missing numbers. Decide what change is happening and figure out the rule of the function table. Record your solutions. Complete at least 4 pumpkins before changing centers.

Function Tables InOut InOut InOut

Function Tables InOut InOut InOut

Function Tables InOut InOut

Puzzling Pumpkins Materials Pumpkin cut-outs with function tables on each Recording sheet Pencils