This is a very quick one I did last week with my grade 9s. We have been learning about estimating square roots, and I figured it would be really neat for them to see their estimations on a number line on the board.

Prep:

Make a class-set of square roots on sticky notes. I had them work in partners, so I only needed 13 for my class of 24. (One was for me). Write them nice and big so they can be visible to the whole class when they’re on the board.

Draw a number line on the board. I made mine up to 16 because it made it easier to put all the numbers on it.

The Activity:

Have the students decide on partners and hand out one sticky note with a pre-written square root on it. Demonstrate on the board what you want it to look like. Then, have students figure out their square roots together, come up and put their sticky note on the number line where they think it should go. A bonus would be to write the value they figured out next to the sticky.

Post-Activity Discussion:

Ask the class if they notice any stickies that seem out of place. (Usually there are one or two). Put them in the correct spots. And see if there any patterns the students notice. There are usually a few who realize that the numbers are getting bigger much faster than expected.

This was a super quick and easy activity to set up. Some groups didn’t know what they were doing, but participated in the lesson afterwards and tried to work with other groups to get help on theirs. It took me about 15 minutes for the set-up, introduction of the activity, the activity itself, and the discussion afterwards.

I hope you can use this in your lessons. If you do, let me know how it goes.

Thanks, Lisa