Back to School Math

As you get to know your new class, you want your first math lessons to be interesting and engaging! One great way to do this is to make the math all about them!

Here is a great activity that is based on their names. I love the Name Values activity as not only is it about their names (and they always seem to love playing around with their names) but it also gets them adding and estimating. The best thing about this activity though is that you can challenge them and add an element of problem solving! Here is how it works.

Name Values

Start by writing the alphabet on the board. Then under each letter add a value - the easiest way to do this is to put 1 under a, 2 under b, 3 under c and so on!

When each letter has a value ask students the following questions.

What is the value of your name?
What is the value of a classmate's name?
Whose name in the class has the highest value?
Whose name has the lowest value?

And you can get even more challenging by asking them questions such as these.
Whose name has a value of  between 20 and 25?
Whose name has a value of 30 or whose name value is closest to 30? 



 



This is a really simple activity to prepare yourself or this sheet with the Name Values activity is available in my Back to School Math About Me collection.
It is available now at www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Math-About-Me
or www.teachersnotebook.com/product/Games4Learning/back-to-school-math-about-me

Hope this helps with your Back to School Math!