Hold Up Your Number!

Purpose:  Practicing basic math and numeracy skills with a hands-on approach

Preparation Time:  5 minutes

Materials Needed:  A set of number cards (0-9) for each learner

Procedure:

1. Pass out the number cards to each learner.
2. Tell learners that you will give a prompt, wait for 10 seconds, then everyone will hold up their answer at the same time. Do a few practice rounds with simple questions; making sure to have the learners wait for the full 10 seconds to allow everyone to process.
3. Ask a series of numeracy questions and have the learners show their answers. After each question, call on a learner to explain how they figured out the answer.

Examples:

Of these two numbers, which number is greater?

Of these two numbers, which number is greater?

What is the sum of these two numbers?

What is the difference between these two numbers?

What is the product of these two numbers?

Modification for Higher Levels: Give each learner 2-3 sets of number cards so that the questions can involve higher numbers.

Modification for Teaching Online: Have learners create their own cards to hold up if they are on camera, or have them private chat their answer to the teacher in Zoom.  

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