Mrs. Buckmaster's Class

Hey friends!

Since I’m at home sick today, I thought you might enjoy doing a little “research” for me! I have always been curious about Cool Math.com.  It claims to be a site that’s about math, but there are many games on it that have nothing to do with math at all!  I would like to use the site at school, but I think we need to make sure that there are some legitimate math games that reinforce skills.
Here’s where you come in!  Follow this link to the Cool Math games section. This is where they supposedly have all the games that have to do with math.  Please play one or more of these games and write a review of the game in the comment section below.  Here’s how I’d like your review to look (feel free to copy and paste this part and fill it in with your thoughts):

Name of game:
Math skill practiced:
Difficulty (1-easy/5-very hard):
Description on how to play:
Comments (what you thought of the game):
Math Rating (1-terrible math practice/5-excellent math practice):
Fun Rating (1-boring/5-super fun):

Everyone must post at least one review to receive credit for working today.  Please make sure you get your review written and posted.  If there is extra time, you may explore other games (and write other reviews too if you want!).
Happy Gaming!
Smiles,
Mrs. B

Tags: games, math

This week in math, we have been reviewing some number sense concepts from previous years.  One of the skills we’ve gone over is multi-digit multiplication.  There are two ways to multiply large numbers: the normal way and the lattice method.

The normal way is the method that most people learn in school.  It’s the one where you multiply in columns, regroup, and have to remember to add the zero as a place holder.  Most of the fifth graders were fairly comfortable with this method.

The other way we learned is called lattice multiplication.  This method is explained very well on this website.  Most of the kids were unfamiliar with this method but enjoyed learning it.  For some, it was easier than the normal way!

I’m curious to see what method you prefer.  So write me some comments about which multiplication method you like better and why.  I wonder which method has more fans?  Hmmm….

Smiles,
Mrs. Buckmaster