Monday, October 13, 2025

Math Block Series: The Best of the Best Engaging Math Activities

Math does not have to be boring....let me say that again. Math. Does. Not. Have. To. Be. Boring. Have you ever tried to make your math block more engaging? Spice it up a little. I'm going to share five of the best of the best activities for engaging your learners in math. 


1. First, get math rotations up and going. 


Seriously, math centers break up your block, give you time to work in small groups, and help your learners work independently on engaging activities. I suggest these rotations: teacher, independent (spiral reviews, color by math skill, etc.), math around the room (math task cards that get your students up and moving), read about math (math picture books), math games, math online (we use Dreambox, but you could also use IXL, or Khan Academy), and math facts. Tailor these math rotations to your content area. I like to have these independent skills about one unit behind what I am teaching. For example, if I just finished doing the unit on place value and I am moving on to addition/subtraction, I will put out rotations that involve skills about place value. The reason behind this is that I want these rotations to be skills students have already practiced and are fairly competent in. The whole point is for them to work on these rotations while I am working with small groups. I cannot afford to be interrupted. The review allows time for students to become even more solid in the skills they have just mastered in the previous unit. It is a review. For more posts about math rotations, check here, here, here, here, here, and here.

2. Spruce things up by gamifying your class from time to time. 


I like to use games like this to add focus, challenge, and fun into my teacher time. Some of the games I am going to be using in my classroom are:

Scrabble Math
In this activity, students draw random scrabble letters as they complete their math problems, I immediately check those problems and then I allow students to draw one Scrabble tile. They continue doing this for the entire math with the teacher period. Once the period has 2-3 minutes left, I allow the students to use their tiles to create words. We add up the points (on the tiles) and the student with the most points wins a small prize.

Boom Clap Snap
For this game, I would play with the entire class for teacher time. This is especially great for math reviews. Students start with their desks facing a partner. Take 4 index cards and fold them in half, creating tents. On each side write one letter from A-D. These will be the multiple choice answers. The teacher reads a math problem, allows a bit of time and then starts saying boom (students hit desks), clap (students clap) and you can go back and forth between those two words as many times as you choose before shouting snatch. Once you shout snatch, each pair of students try to be the first to grab, or snatch, the correct multiple choice answer. Each pair of students will keep a tally of their own points. Repeat the process with as many questions as you want. You could also use a Power Point slide show instead of reading the questions. This one is a lot of fun, very competitive, and loud...you can't be afraid for your classroom to be a bit noisy, but trust me when I say this, everyone will be focused.  

Race to 100
This one is used with your math assignment for the day. Doing this in small groups is great, or it could be used whole class as well. Print or project a 100's chart. Students will complete math problems on their worksheet. As they complete them, they will come to show you their answer. Once the answer is correct, they may write their initials in any space that does not already have initials. Students will continue answering, checking, and placing their initials on the 100's chart. Once all the spaces are full (or time runs out), you will use a random number picker (free online) to choose a number between 1 and 100. The student who has their name in that spot will receive a prize.  

Looking for even more ways to gamify? Check out this blogpost here for some other fun games. 

3. Math Escape Rooms & Mysteries

Doing something fun and different gets instant engagement. I love doing math escape rooms and mysteries in my classroom. Specifically, I use them at the end of the unit to review for a test. Students love that it is not just paper and pencil. Plus I usually have some sort of small reward they are working for or even an activity. These are easy to turn into full room transformations, or you can even leave them alone and they are still effective. I am currently building up a library of these that I can use from year to year. Here's a look at a couple we have done in the past few years. 

Students were working in teams to solve puzzles (all space themed) that revealed secret codes students used to unlock the next challenge. As they completed each challenge, they earned Star Bucks (fake money) to use at a Galactic Cafe' to make a space-themed drink when the escaped the entire challenge. Learn more about this in another blog post here. 

In this escape room, students competed in four challenges to unlock a mystery word/phrase. As students completed challenges, they earned tickets. The team that completed the challenges first, received an extra ticket. Once they completed all four challenges, they used the tickets to play carnival-style games. If students won a game, they were about to get a prize at the prize table. This was a definite hit, and everyone was engaged. You can read more about this in another blog post here.


In this super math mystery, students are trying to find out which superhero is the true superhero, sent to save Mathopolis, and which are imposters. As they work through the challenges, students can use the clues to eliminate the imposters, one at a time. In the end, they reveal the real superhero and save mathopolis. They receive a lollipop, that has been turned into a superhero, for their super math skills. This was so engaging and fun as well.
Read more about it here


Math Facts Made Fun and Creative

Math facts are so boring...how many times have you heard this, or other variations? But is it true? Do they, in fact, have to be dry and boring? I'm here to convince you that they do not! I love to turn my math facts into a fun/engaging activity. Students can learn their facts in as little as 12 weeks. I like to have students use my  Multiplication Spy Academy to learn all the times tables from 0-12. It is easy to manage and works like this. 
Students are introduced to Spy Academy through an opening activity. This can be an elaborate room transformation, or just a simple introduction. Students are enlisted in spy academy and just like a video game, they will work their way through different levels to graduate. In the end, I like to host a ceremony where students earn a certificate or even a badge. 
I keep a fingerprint chart (like when you are being fingerprinted) for each student. After they master a certain level of facts, they add a fingerprint to the chart. When the chart is full, they are ready to graduate. 
To practice, I have students focus on just one level of math facts until they can master it. I consider it mastered if they can answer flashcards within 1-3 seconds. Students do numerous activities daily to help practice and prepare for their level tests. We use flashcards (verbal/auditory), pat-down-cards (kinesthetic), partner drills (social), games (social/ mathematical), timed practice. We cover a lot of the different learning styles while practicing. This keeps it fresh and fun. Students can tailor their practice to their own level, so it is easy to differentiate. Students get so excited about moving through the levels and when they accomplish all the levels, that is really something! Check out this blog post to learn more about it here. You can also check it out over here.

Math Transformations

I love using boxes, pom poms, and a sling shot with a few Angry Bird drawings to create a fun micro-transformation on perimeter, area, and volume. Simple and engaging. 


Love You to Pizzas
Students made pizzas using fraction math. We did this on Valentine's Day, so we added a love theme twist this year. We always do some sort of bakery transformation for our fraction unit and the students look forward to it every year. They are putting their real-life skills to the test, because I do not help them....and what they bake, is what they get, so they must be very careful. 


Superbowl Math Day
We always host a superbowl math transformation each year where students can practice their math skills in a football-themed transformation. Sometimes we incorporate other skills as well, not just math. 

I used a pirate transformation for learning about shapes and polygons...so fun. I dressed in a different pirate outfit each day for that week and we had tons of math activity. One of which was sorting crackers (of different shapes) by attributes. 


What is your favorite way to get engagement in the math classroom? Have you tried any of these?


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