One of the most engaging activities I have done with my Math 9s to date has been this Task Card challenge Multiplying Polynomials. All of the students were engaged, and rushing to try and finish ahead of everyone else. Some of the students even went so far as to call it a “game”. This was perfect review right before a quiz on Multiplying Polynomials.

This specific task shows multiplying monomials by polynomials, but it can be extended to other concepts as you wish.

Prep:

Print and cut Task Cards (on cardstock recommended) I usually print two copies in order to make enough for an entire class plus some extra I have included a copy of the ones I used as well as a blank Word template you can use to make your own at the end of the post

Print Answer sheets (one per student) Printable is included at the end of the post



The Activity:

Hand out the blank answer sheets, one per student, and instruct them to write their names.

Hand out one task card to each student, and leave extra ones scattered through out the room

Instruct the students to attempt their task card and write their answer in the corresponding spot on their answer sheet. E.g., The task card says “14” in the top left hand corner, the students will write that answer in spot number 14 on their answer sheet

Once they’ve completed a task card, have them swap their task card with another student, and repeat the process until they have filled in all of the blank spaces.

Once a student has completed their answer sheet, they are encouraged to find another student and compare their answers

As an additional task, I recommend the students to grade themselves out of 5 on their participation. Even if they haven’t finished, I still grade them on effort and participation.

Benefits of this Activity:

Students are engaged in an activity that would otherwise look like a worksheet with 16 questions on them. Because of this engagement, I often see groups forming and students working together on problems. Furthermore, when it comes to comparing the answers with each other, students are far more likely to go back and check where they went wrong, and figure out whose answer is the correct one.

Printables:

I got the Task Cards Templates as png files from here

As always, if you end up using any of my materials, or get inspiration from these, I would love to hear from you!

Thanks, Lisa