(#73) Get a Grip

What does it take for students of every age to take hold of a concept and internalize it? It takes what TOPS does best - plenty of hands-on experience. In this NEW self-paced, self-correcting program, learners across a wide age span can get a grip on what those abstract numbers and math operations really mean as they pour deliciously fluid, touchable lentils. Demystify adding and multiplying, subtracting and dividing, fractions, decimals, percentages, estimating, ordering, and more in a most concrete and comprehensible way. And your students will learn to use the symbolic language of algebra so gradually, so naturally, they won't even know it's algebra unless you tell them. 

How to prepare this preview lesson:

1. Recycle a small (2 1/2 oz), medium (4 oz) and large (6 oz) Gerber brand Baby Food Jar (1st, 2nd, and 3rd foods). Label them with masking tape A, B, and C, respectively.

2. Pour 2-4 pounds of lentils into a smooth-bottomed Job Box with 3 to 5 inch sides. Seal cracks (if any), with clear packaging tape to prevent lentil leaks.

3. Number index cards 1-12. Write each puzzle, listed below, on the front, with (answers) on the back. For children too young to write inequalities, underline which part contains the answer, asking them to write only that. Teach the inequality symbol by imagining a hungry alligator, whose mouth always opens toward the bigger lunch.

4. Invite students to work through your puzzles, and invent others of their own. Be amazed at all the math and science process they're learning-and loving!

PUZZLES:

1. Which holds more: C or B?(C > B)
2. Which holds more: A+B or C?(A+B > C)
3. Which holds more: 2A or C?(C > 2A)
4. Which holds less: 2B or A+C?(2B <A +C)
5. Which holds less: 3B or 2C?(2C < 3B)
6. Which holds less: C-A or B?(C-A < B)
7. Solve: 1 1/2 A = ?(1 1/2 A = B)
8. Solve: A + 3/4 B = ?(A + 3/4 B = C)
9. Solve: 2/3 B = ?(2/3 B = A)
10. Order: A, C, B.(A < B < C)
11. Order: 4A, 3A, B+C.(3A < B+C < 4A)
12. Order: A, C-2A, C-B.(C-2A < C-B < A)

(#73) GET A GRIP is an outstanding class-tested Job Box Workstation for elementary students of every ability, from gifted to remedial, and a boon for middle or high school students who don't yet have a grip on fractions or basic algebra. Students can revisit these puzzles year after year at higher levels of interaction.

(#73) GET A GRIP comes complete and ready-to-use. Each workstation accommodates one or two students. Works great as an independent learning station in the corner of your classroom, or at home on the kitchen table. All materials are nonconsumable; you'll never need to resupply! Here is what you get:

SIMPLE THINGS: One job box, two 1-liter bottles filled with lentils, one funnel, scoop and clothespin, ten volumes labeled with easy-to-draw symbols and calibrated in fractions.

PRINT MATERIALS: A 40-page teachers' guide with comprehensive teaching notes, including questions and answers to all puzzle sets and reproducible class management forms. Eight nonconsumable, nonreproducible student puzzle books, with self-checking answers. These contain 16 sets of 8 puzzles each. Topics include: Which holds more? * Pour and count numbers * Add * Which holds less? * Multiply * Guess, then test * Compare parts and wholes * More, equal, or less? * Pour and count fractions * Subtract * What goes between? * Mixed numbers * Fractions, decimals, percents * Order * Count and write by fractions * Experiment 

Do you wish to use (#73) Get A Grip with larger numbers of students? You may order additional Workstations at a discount. For 2-9 items, subtract 10%, or for 10 or more, subtract 20%.

You might also save money if you "build your own" additional workstations (we give you detailed instructions in our Teacher's Guide). While a set of eight Puzzle Books can serve multiple students if they are working in different sections at different times, you may wish to order additional sets of print materials only. We do not allow these puzzle books to be photocopied.

GRADE RANGE: K-6

ORIGINS: written by Ron Marson / illustrated by Peg Marson / copyrighted in 2001 
by TOPS Learning Systems / ISBN 0-941008-94-0