The best way to engage and challenge ALL learners in the room (or the Zoom) is to offer as many low floor/high ceiling tasks as possible. Tasks that allow our least confident learners to get in the game, while providing opportunity for fast finishers to continue working at higher and higher levels. These can be done in the form of 5 minute openers, 2 day investigations and everything in between. There are wonderful online resources to support elementary teachers and I organized all of my favorites for you below!
What does NCTM say about Enrichment?
First, let’s look to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. According to NCTM in their position on Access and Equity in the mathematics classroom, “Achieving access and equity requires that all stakeholders ensure that all students have access to a challenging mathematics curriculum, taught by skilled and effective teachers who differentiate instruction as needed; monitor student progress and make needed accommodations; and offer remediation or additional challenges when appropriate.”
As for me, the request I heard most over my ten years as a math specialist was:
"I need something really engaging to challenge my strongest kids while I am working with other groups! PLEASE!"
While researching best practices in mathematics education for advanced students, I discovered many ways to push my students out of their comfort zones – and get them excited about creating their own versions of math mobiles, esti-mysteries, W.O.D.B, and Two Truths & 1 Lie tasks!
I love how this challenges them, allows for creativity, and provides another way for me to get to know them. Read to the end for even more ideas to get the students creating their own enrichment projects. (All of these amazing sites, and many more, are organized in the “Math Talks & Tasks Grid” below.)
The Best Math Tasks, Talks & Reasoning Routines
Rich math tasks are the best part of the mathematics classroom, so I am over the moon about all of these online resources. However, I am still smacked in the face with math center resources that just give everything away!
Have you seen the “projects” with headings at the top of every page like, “Multiplying Fractions”? That negates any reasoning about word problems. Would you read the problem? Why would a ten year old?
Students deserve tasks that are engaging and challenging. They need more opportunities to wonder, to reason and to create. Teachers need to provide tasks that keep students learning and growing during independent time. I searched fruitlessly and began creating my own.
I worked on the Independent Enrichment Aspect for Ten Years.
Tasks like these are organized into printable enrichment packs of 5-10 pages. Each contains a cover sheet, number puzzles, area or shape puzzles, open-ended reasoning tasks, an algebraic or logic puzzle and something completely student created. This way, if a student struggles unproductively with any task, there are 5 more in the packet to explore! There is no “hitting the wall” too soon.
Each grade level offers 200-300 printable pages, gradually increasing in rigor.
* Sophisticated to challenge your fast finishers and curious young mathematicians.
* Low-floor, high ceiling tasks that appropriate for the entire class.
* BLANK templates for students to create their own version of the number puzzles, patterns, function machines, area puzzles, pan balances etc…
Print weekly packets for some students, and keep extra tasks on hand for ALL learners to develop reasoning skills and a love of math play!
Check out these Engaging Student Created Tasks!
In the intermediate grades, I have always encouraged my students to create their own projects. Here are some examples I have used repeatedly.
- Grab this simple “fast finisher”problem writing task that asks learners to write two story problems with the same answer. (Teachers provide the answer. It can be 11 puppies, three and one-half pizzas, $75,250 or anything else you can dream up.)
- Students can create their own KAHOOT and Gimkit games. I linked some free directions. (In the old days, they created Jeopardy and Math-Opoly games)
- Along the same lines, students can “Write a test question with 4 multiple choice answers. Indicate the correct answer(s), and explain what misconception or mistake might result in each of the wrong answers.
- Students can write math stories modeled after Remainder of One, Math Curse, Sir Cumference, and The Greedy Triangle.
- Students have created their own W.O.D.B slide shows, 2 Truths & 1 Lie Slides and Numberless problem slides for current topics.
- All students have written many of their own math story problems; with pencil & paper, with Flipgrid or Padlet, or in Google Slides. Here are some story writing activities for first & second grades, or third through sixth grades.
- Recently, student have started working their own (imaginary) side hustles as “Math Video Game Reviewers” and while not very lucrative financially, students have LOVED this project and often ask to do it again with new games. Win-Win!
- Math Mobiles are a great enrichment task! (I use them in all of the enrichment packs too.) The site levels up pretty fast!
- I just finished this “Among Us” Algebraic Reasoning project. All the kids flipped over it, and I was blown away by their reasoning! The third level of the project has students create their own balance scales. And this Fortnite Algebraic Reasoning Project also offers non-fortnite images and while I designed it for 4th and 5th graders, I have used it for enrichment with 2/3 graders very successfully! The third level of the project has students create their own balance scales.
- Speaking of “create their own”, you will notice that every Task Card/Match Game resource I offer, has a blank template to encourange students to make their own. Of course you can do this with any task cards or games you have. Students can make their own fraction dominoes, decimal cards, anything!
- “The ABC’s of Fractions” is just as worthy as “The ABC’s of Fourth Grade Math” or any other topic you desire. I always have a long-term project going on. Sometimes they are posters or Jeopardy games. Sometimes they are digital end-of-chapter projects. It’s great to have something kids enjoy returning to when they finish everything else or they have to wait for a partner… or me.
Enrichment is an essential part of Differentiation.
To sum it up, best practices in math instruction support rich math tasks with a low floor and a high ceiling. The lower the floor, and the higher the ceiling, the less differentiation is required. However, during more typical, skill-focused lessons, teachers must preplan ways of targeting students who need a challenge just as much as students who need support with the day’s lesson.
The unfortunate reality is we are pulled in 5-25 directions at a time. We need to have something ready to go that is worthy of our advanced learners. We also need to make them our first group at the teacher table occasionally. Many teachers have found that this becomes MUCH EASIER using math playlists or choice boards. Grab my FREE EDITABLE PLAYLISTS HERE! The linked Game Grid is a lifesaver. Promise!
Do you feel comfortable challenging your students when you do have them as a small group? Do you have any go-to challenges? Is there something you feel you need in order to better serve these students? COMMENT BELOW with a favorite resource or your greatest challenge! Oh, and continue the conversation on Facebook!
