Matching Activities

Heading into Algebra 1 this year, I wanted to add in some different activities that my students grew accustomed to that weren't just book work or IXL's. I know there was a big push away from worksheets when I was in college. It was like "if they aren't doing something hands on, they aren't learning." I can see where this line of thinking comes from, but if your freshmen are like my freshmen, you can't just do all hands on. They don't have the self control for that.

So I set out to find activities that are still different then problems from a book, but are still keeping them somewhat engaged. These matching activities are one of the simplest ways I came up with. I really like to use them as bellwork the morning after I teach the lesson. The matching itself doesn't take too long, but it gives them the ability to work different problems out and it only requires paper and a pencil. I also know that my class runs way smoother when they have bellwork and they come sit down and get to work. Here's an example of my dividing polynomials matching activity.

I also love to break them out for test or quiz review. I will often hand out any we didn't get to during our chapter for test/quiz review and then post the answer keys online for them to check. This is a great way for them to use them for self assessment prior to an assessment.

I have a plethora of ones for the Algebra 1 classroom at this link, but would love to hear how you would use them in your classroom!

Let me know in the comments,

Hilary

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