Sparkle

Grade 3 Mathematics
Routine - Sparkle

Standards: 3.NBT.3, 3.MD.1, 3.NF.1, 4.NF.1, 4.MD.1 ; Mathematical Practices: #6; #8

This routine was adapted from Donna Boucher of the Math Coach’s Corner blog and is a fun way to practice multiples. Students stand in a circle, and for each round the teacher chooses a different number to skip-count by and an ending number. For example skip count by 5’s to 50. The student that says the end number in the sequence sits down. Play continues with the teacher continuing to provide skip counting sequences and end numbers that reinforce multiplication facts that the class is focusing on or needs to practice. The last child that remains standing is the winner. This is such a fun and engaging way to practice facts!

 

Routine - Sparkle Links to an external site. on Vimeo Links to an external site..

 

You can also do a fractions version of Sparkle.  You can play with two different sets of rules–using improper fractions or mixed numbers.  Either way, the student who says a whole number, or a fraction that represents a whole number, sits down.  You can have a stopping point, if you’d like.  For example, when you reach 3 or 5, you start over.  That tends to make the game go faster and reinforces the fractions students are repeating over and over.

 

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This same activity the next day could be skip-counting by eighths.  A lot more students will count between those who sit down.  This leads to a great discussion about why there were so many people in between the “Sparkle”.

Here are other ways to use skip-counting to reinforce patterns and make connections:

  • Skip count by even numbers (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc.); try starting at numbers other than 2
  • Skip count by odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, etc.); again, start at numbers other than 1
  • Skip count by whole hours (8:00, 9:00, 10:00, etc.)
  • Skip count by half hours (8:00. 8:30, 9:00, etc.) or quarter hours (8:00, 8:15, 8:30, etc.)
  • Skip count by quarters (25s) (25, 50, 75, etc.), sit down on dollars
  • Skip count by quarts, sit down on gallons (1 qt, 2 qt, 3 qt, 1 gal, etc.)
  • Skip count by decimals, sit down on whole numbers (0.25, 0.50, 0.75, etc.)
  • Skip count by multiples of a given number, sit down on the x12 fact (3, 6, 9, etc., sit down on 36)
  • Skip count by multiples of 30 (30, 60, 90, etc.)
  • Go backwards in counting by multiples (90, 80, 70, etc.)
  • Skip count by multiples of 3, sit down on the multiples of 12 to identify common multiples of 3 and 12 (3, 6, 9, etc., sit down on 12, 24, 36, etc.)

Questions to ask when playing Sparkle:

How is this similar/different from yesterday when we counted by _______?

Who do you think will be the 3rd person to sit down?  Why?

Who do you think will be the ____th person to sit down?

Why are more/less people sitting down today than when we counted by ______?

When it is down to two people, who will be the winner, the person that goes first or the person who goes second?  Why? 

How is counting by _____ similar or different than counting by _____? (i.e.:  Counting by fourths vs. counting by 15 minutes)

 

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