Idea: How to Engage Your Students at the Start of Any Lesson

Capturing your students’ interest and curiosity during the first few minutes of class is the key to keeping them engaged for your entire lesson.

But not all math warm up activities are created equally.

Math teachers miss out on activating their students’ critical thinking and reasoning skills when they assign routine, lower-level practice problems during the first five minutes of class.

However, when you use the right mix of fun and though-provoking math warm up activities to start your lessons, student engagement spikes, as your kids will constantly be wondering about what is coming next.

You probably already have some awesome math warm up activities—like Which One Doesn’t Belong? and Think-Notice-Wonder—in your tool belt. But if you’re looking for another great strategy for mixing up your instruction and engaging your students, then get ready for:

Two Truths and One Lie!

I recently started using Two Truths and One Lie (2T1L) activities, where students are presented with three mathematical statements (only two of which are true) and they have to identify which statement is a lie and justify why their choice is correct. The results? Pretty amazing. 2T1L taught me that my students love to argue and state their case (in small groups or to the whole class).

In short, 2T1L is a fun way to spark deep mathematical thinking and open discussion at the start (or end—2T1L activities make great exit tickets) of any lesson.

What topics/grade levels are 2T1L activities best suited for?

2T1L activities can be used for all grade levels and topics. The graphics should be topic/lesson specific and can include graphs, charts, and diagrams.

Here are some grade-level specific samples:

Imagine how your students would react to starting class with one of the following activities.

• What kind of creative and mathematical thinking would spark?

• What kind of small or large group discussions would occur?

• How would a spike in engagement effect the remainder of the lesson?

▼ 3rd Grade ▼

▼ 6th Grade ▼

▼ 4th Grade ▼

▼ 7th Grade ▼

▼ 5th Grade ▼

▼ 8th Grade ▼

Are you ready to give it a try?

Here are a few more free samples that you can download and share with your kids (right-click to download each graphic and save it to your computer):

• 3rd Grade: Sample A | Sample B

• 4th Grade: Sample A | Sample B

• 5th Grade: Sample A | Sample B

Looking for more for grades 3, 4, & 5? Download your 101 ‘Two Truths and One Lie!’ Math Activities for Grades 3, 4, & 5 eBook!

• 6th Grade: Sample A | Sample B

• 7th Grade: Sample A | Sample B

• 8th Grade: Sample A | Sample B

Looking for more for grades 6, 7, & 8? Download your 101 ‘Two Truths and One Lie!’ Math Activities for Grades 6, 7, & 8 eBook!

Looking for more?

You can now share 101 Daily Two Truths & One Lie! Math Activities for Grades 3, 4, & 5 OR Grades 6, 7, & 8 with your kids with our brand new PDF workbooks!

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Read More Posts About What’s Trending in Math Education:

Do you have experience using 2T1L activities with your math students? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below!

(Never miss a Mashup Math blog--click here to get our weekly newsletter!)

By Anthony Persico

Anthony is the content crafter and head educator for YouTube's MashUp Math and an advisor to Amazon Education's 'With Math I Can' Campaign. You can often find me happily developing animated math lessons to share on my YouTube channel . Or spending way too much time at the gym or playing on my phone.

Get Your Free Growth Mindset Math Poster: Middle School

Nurturing a growth mindset in your classroom starts with sharing the right messages with your students every day.

You can give your kids a daily reminder of what it means to learn math without the fear of failing and to celebrate mistakes by displaying your free Growth Mindset for Math Students poster!

The poster shares the following beliefs that are held by students with a growth mindset for learning math:

1. Intelligence can grow as long as you continue to make an effort.

2. Embracing challenging problems allows you to grow stronger.

3. Being confident in your abilities and sharing your thinking helps you to learn and grow!

4. Persevering through difficult practice develops grit and teaches you to never give up!

5. Making a mistake is no big deal because mistakes are opportunities to learn and grow.

6. Asking for help is never something to be afraid of.

7. The process of learning is more important than the outcome because you are a lifelong learner.

8. Failing only means that you don't understand something yet, and that more effort is needed.

9. With hard work and the right mindset, anyone can be successful in math.

You can get your free Growth Mindset Math poster as a JPG by clicking here and as a PDF by clicking here.

Thank you for all that you do for our kids and for empowering your students to learn math without the fear of making a mistake!

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Looking to share some daily learning motivation with your kids?

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Have more suggestions for growth mindset resources for your fellow math teachers? Join the conversation and share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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By Anthony Persico

Anthony is the content crafter and head educator for YouTube's MashUp Math and an advisor to Amazon Education's 'With Math I Can' Campaign. You can often find me happily developing animated math lessons to share on my YouTube channel . Or spending way too much time at the gym or playing on my phone.

Why You Should Be Using "Which One Doesn't Belong?" to Ignite Student Thinking in Math

How to Use Which One Doesn’t Belong? to Teach Math

Great math teachers know that the first five minutes of class are the most important—if you don't engage your kids early, then you'll be struggling to gain their attention for the entire class.

But finding fun and engaging warm-up activities can be challenging, as students can quickly become bored with routine and repetitive practice problems.

If you are looking to make your math warm-ups more visual and thought-provoking, then starting your lessons with Which One Doesn’t Belong? (WODB) activities is a great strategy for instantly sparking creative and critical student thinking that will last for the entire lesson.

How do WODB activities work? 

Instead of working on practice problems during a lesson's warm-up, students will observe and reflect upon a graphic displaying four images. They will then apply their mathematical and reasoning skills to decide which of the four items does not belong and also justify why their choice is valid.

Are WODB activities like visual multiple choice questions? 

Nope.

WODB activities do not have a single correct answer. These graphics are designed to be interpreted in a variety of different ways in order to spark deep mathematical thinking and discussion (in small groups, whole class, or both).

Here's an Example:

Consider the graphic below and the different responses by Students A, B, and C.

Student A says: I think 27 doesn’t belong because it is the only value that is not divisible by four. Also, 27 is the only odd number in the group.

Student B says: I think 64 doesn’t belong because all of the other numbers are either a perfect square or a perfect cube, but 64 is both!

Student C says: I think 16 doesn’t belong because it is not a perfect cube and the other three are.

Using post-it notes is a great strategy for assessing student thinking, especially when using WODB as an exit ticket.

Notice that all three students have engaged in deep mathematical thinking and their curiosity and interest will carry on throughout the day’s lesson!

As teacher, you can steer this discussion in a variety of directions by asking follow-up questions like:

What justification could you use to say that 8 doesn’t belong?

What other justifications could student A have used to decide that 27 does not belong?

How can students A, B, and C all be correct even though they each chose different values?

 What topics and grade levels are WODB activities best suited for?

WODB activities can be used for all grade levels and topics. The graphics can be topic/lesson specific or broader and more open-ended. Remember, the idea is to spark enough student thinking, interest, and curiosity at the beginning of your lesson to last for the entire class!

Are you ready to give it a try?

Here are a few free graphics for you to try with your kids!

Looking for more? Download your 101 WODB Warm-Up Activities for Grades 1-8 eBook!

Looking for more?

You can now share 101 daily WODB warm-up activities for grades 1-9 with your kids with our PDF workbook!

And for more inspiration, graphics, and ideas check out Mary Bourassa's WODB website and Christopher Danielson's Which One Doesn't Belong? A Shapes Book.

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Are YOU ready to start using WODB math activities with your kids? You can now get our best-selling PDF workbook with over 100 printable WODB activities!

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An example of how you can record student responses.

Do you have experience using WODB activities with your math students? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below!

(Never miss a Mashup Math blog--click here to get our weekly newsletter!)

By Anthony Persico

Anthony is the content crafter and head educator for YouTube's MashUp Math and an advisor to Amazon Education's 'With Math I Can' Campaign. You can often find me happily developing animated math lessons to share on my YouTube channel . Or spending way too much time at the gym or playing on my phone.

Here Are The Only Free Back to School Math Worksheets You'll Ever Need

Are you looking for some fun, engaging, and free back to school math activities to share with your kids?

The first days of school are an exciting time for students, and sharing activities that channel your kids' enthusiasm into fun learning experiences is a great way to start the year off on the right foot.

That’s why I’ll be sharing fun Back to School Math Puzzles with my kids during each day of the first week of school this year.  Math puzzles and challenge problems give your kids an opportunity to think critically and deeply about mathematics, develop problem-solving strategies, and work through challenging problems.

And when math activities incorporate your kids' personal interests, their engagement will skyrocket!

So, go ahead and try these challenges and puzzles with your kids this back to school season. These free back to school math worksheets are perfect for warm-up and/or cool-down activities and are great for sparking mathematical discussions in your home or classroom.

The puzzles are perfect for students in grades 3 through 8.

How to Download: You can download any of the puzzles by right-clicking on the image and saving it to your computer or by dragging-and-dropping it to your desktop.

Would you like more FREE math resources in your inbox every day? Click here to sign up for my free math education email newsletter (and get a free math eBook too!)

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1.) Order of Operations Puzzle

Use your math skills to find the value of each icon and the '?'

Apple = 12

Notebook = 12

School Bus = 8

Pencil Sharpener = 4

? = 36

Hint: Since the apple and the notebook are equal to each other, they are interchangeable. 

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2.) Multiplication Table

Multiplication tables work like a Bingo board, where the value of each box represents the product of its corresponding row and column.

Apple = 1

Chalk Board = 3

Sneaker = 2

School Bus = 6

Notebook = 18

Looking for more free math challenges like this one to share with your kids? click here

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Are you looking for more daily math challenges and puzzles to share with your kids?

My best-selling workbook 101 Math Challenges for Engaging Your Students is now available as a PDF download.

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3.) Which One Doesn't Belong? (WODB)

WODB activities are meant to spark mathematical thinking and discussion and do not have a single correct answer. They work well as warm-up and cool-down activities.

Want to learn more about how to use WOBD? math activities with your kids? click here

Tip: Have your kids justify their thinking in writing!

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Are you looking for more daily WODB? math graphics?

You can now share 101 daily WODB warm-up activities for grades 1-9 with your kids with our PDF workbook!

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4.) Think-Notice-Wonder (Writing Prompt)

Writing about math encourages creativity, exploration, and communicating one's thoughts and feelings, which leads to deep and meaningful understanding of difficult math concepts.

Think/Notice/Wonder is a great strategy for getting your kids engaged in math writing every day.

Want to learn more about how to use TNW math activities with your kids? click here

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Want more? Download 101 Daily Think-Notice-Wonder Writing Prompts for Engaging Your Kids

You can now share 101 Daily Think-Notice-Wonder Writing Prompts with your kids with our PDF workbook!

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5.) Two Truths and One Lie (2T1L)

2T1L activities help your kids to develop reasoning skills, make logical arguments, express their ideas in words, and engage with visual mathematics—which ultimately leads to deeper and more meaningful understanding of challenging topics and concepts.

Answer: Statement 2 is a lie because any value divided by zero is undefined. 

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Looking to Share More 2T1L With Your Kids This Year?

You can now share 101 Two Truths and One Lie Math Activities for Grades 3-5 with your kids with our PDF workbook!

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What strategies are you using to engage your kids this back to school season? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below!

(Never miss a Mashup Math blog--click here to get our weekly newsletter!)

By Anthony Persico

Anthony is the content crafter and head educator for YouTube's MashUp Math and an advisor to Amazon Education's 'With Math I Can' Campaign. You can often find me happily developing animated math lessons to share on my YouTube channel . Or spending way too much time at the gym or playing on my phone.

Why is GEMS the Best Way to Teach Order of Operations?

Students who master the order of operations at a young age have a much better chance of excelling at higher levels of math than those who don't.

Many teachers rely on teaching the order of operations using popular PEMDAS mnemonic (and the played-out Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally catchphrase).

But many students fail to ever grasp a true conceptual and procedural understanding of how to correctly apply the order or operations, and PEMDAS is the likely culprit.

The following video shows you a more effective strategy for teaching the order of operations and it includes a free reference sheet and practice worksheet (keep reading to access the video and resources). The video focuses on using the GEMS mnemonic instead of PEMDAS and answers the following questions:

-Why is PEMDAS bad?

-What does GEMS stand for in order of operations?

-Why is GEMS more effective than PEMDAS when teaching order of operations?

Click Here to download your free GEMS REFERENCE GUIDE AND WORKSHEET.

Learning Standard: 3rd Grade Operations and Algebraic Thinking

Solve problems involving the four operations, and identify and explain patterns in arithmetic.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.D.8
Solve two-step word problems using the four operations. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.3

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.D.9
Identify arithmetic patterns (including patterns in the addition table or multiplication table), and explain them using properties of operations. For example, observe that 4 times a number is always even, and explain why 4 times a number can be decomposed into two equal addends.

If you find the video helpful, please give it a thumbs-up on YouTube, leave a comment, and subscribe to our channel. Your support is greatly appreciated :)

(Never miss a Mashup Math blog--click here to get our weekly newsletter!)

By Anthony Persico

Anthony is the content crafter and head educator for YouTube's MashUp Math and an advisor to Amazon Education's 'With Math I Can' Campaign. You can often find me happily developing animated math lessons to share on my YouTube channel . Or spending way too much time at the gym or playing on my phone.