Mental Math Strings.

  I tend to buy books, briefly read them before I put them on a shelf for later.  I've started going through several so I can plan for next year.  One of the activities that facinated me when I read about them are mental math strings.

In mental math strings, you give students a series of mathematical statements such as "The number of inches in two feet" or "The number of vertices in a pentagon" instead of the actual number itself. 

As you give each statement, students need to work the math out in their head. They are not allowed to use pencils, paper, or calculator during the exercise because the activity is for developing understanding of relationships.

Before giving the mental math, the teacher needs to preview the content, procedures and skills needed for the mental math but it does not have to be done immediately before the math string.  It could be done the day before.  When doing the math string, give one step at a time with a break so students have enough time to think of the number and do the math.  This engages the students and allows them the opportunity to do keep the answer in their head through the activity.

Once the students have the answer, do a quick check to see if they got the correct answer.  If any students made a mistake, they can make corrections and explain why the answer is incorrect.  Redo the math string using the same vocabulary, mathematical concepts and procedures but with different numbers.

This is a way for students to recall important vocabulary, concepts and procedures so the information moves from short term to long term memory and they develop a deeper understanding.  In addition, it can be done anywhere in the lesson depending on where you need it.  It can be used as a bell ringer, exit ticket, or just a quick assessment in the middle.

Mental math strings have advantages such as they improve student flexibility in thinking, builds their fluency and confidence, and exposes students to multiple ways to solve these problems. 

There are some things that can be done to help students be less intimidated by those who finish first.  Rather than raising their hands, students can put the fist on the table with a thumbs up or if you use the red/yellow/green cards, the student can choose the green card indicating they have an answer.  Once everyone has an answer, ask students for theirs and to explain the steps they went through to get the answer. 

There are plenty of examples on the internet for having students practice number strings to strengthen their calculation abilities or the more complex ones as explained earlier in the entry.  Give it a try because it will help students improve their over understanding of math.