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Shove it!

Legitimately telling a pupil to 'Shove it' is a rare and wonderful moment, but beware the response! 'Shove Penny' is a game that can be easily adapted into maths lessons, and in these two cases it is used to enhance algebraic concepts.

The normal rules of 'Shove Penny' apply. A penny is placed on the start position and flicked with the nail of the index finger. If the penny lands completely inside a box then the player receives that score. If it touches a line then a set score is given. The first to a predetermined number wins.

Shove Penny (Substitution 1) is a game centred around substituting decimals and fractions into algebraic expressions. At some stage the fractions and decimals will have to be added together and pupils will have to be feel comfortable with this. The complexity of the game will be determined by the teacher (or even a die). The teacher will state the value of x for the game and the target number to reach. This value of x will be substituted into each expression that a player scores. Dependant on the x value chosen different areas on the board will become more or less attractive. It could be a die is rolled before/after each turn to determine the value of x, bringing a more random element into the game. Pupils may be allowed to choose a number from a range of numbers before a turn, encouraging estimating the values of different expressions and hence targeting those boxes in the game. Negative and fractional values of x may challenge the more able in the class.

Similarly Shove Penny (Quadratics 1) has the same flexibility in differentiating within the classroom by changing the value of x. Several games can be played with varying values of x. An analysis of the board can then be undertaken to find whether different areas of the board become more/less advantageous as x varies. This one analysis could lead to 12 quadratic graphs being drawn and discussions on maxima and minima etc! To show pupils the benefit of the analysis a new game can be devised. Pupils roll a die to determine the x value before a turn and use their graphs to target the best areas to aim for!

Ian Fisher

This article is about 10ticks worksheets Level 6 Pack 7 Page 35 and Level 7/8 Pack 3 Page 31.

Maths in Schools. November 2005. Vol 34 No 5.

 
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