Fall Math Centers

Pumpkin NimDirections: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 NimDirections: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 blocksPumpkin Nim patternApple 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 candyPaper/recording sheet

Prospering PatternsUsing 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 leavesSentence strips/recording sheet

Nutty SortingSort 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, nutsVenn rings

Prize PumpkinsPredict 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 scaleWeighing objectsPumpkins of various sizes

Basket CapacitiesPredict 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 sizesBlocks, 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

PumpkinStringScissorsMeasuring tools: rulers, measuring tapes

Fall Fraction Activities1. 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 itemsConcentration GameFractional Pie Pieces

Thanksgiving FeastCreate 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 advertisementsCalculators

Massive FeastPredict 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 Activities1. 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 picturesWhite paperArt materials—crayons, markers, etc.Pattern blocks

Fabulous Fall Art1. 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 paperGlue or glue stickMarkers, crayons, or colored pencilsPattern blocks

Leafy Grids1. 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

CalculatorsGraph and plain paperPencils, markers, and colored pencils

Yummy Mathematics

Select one holiday recipe. Change the recipe to serve:

5 people 10 people20 peopleentire 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 recipesRecipe cards

Fabulous Fall Ideas

Describe additional ideas you usein your math class to engage andmotivate your students during the

fall season.

Autumn EqualitySort 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 PumpkinsSelect 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

In Out

1 2

2 4

3 6

4 8

5

12

In Out

10 5

22 17

16 11

19 14

8

23

In Out

12 6

10 5

8 4

6 3

4

1

Function Tables

In Out

6 18

3 9

0 0

5 15

2

21

In Out

18 15

12 9

16 13

6 3

9

0

In Out

12 3

20 5

40 10

16 4

24

15

Function Tables

In Out

2 5

6 9

7 10

12 15

14

13

In Out

19 24

8 13

12 17

54 59

90

21

Puzzling Pumpkins Materials

Pumpkin cut-outs with function tables on each

Recording sheetPencils