Questions of the Day

Everyday at work, I compose a few questions for the kids to answer to get them started thinking about math. I always think them up about 5-10 minutes before we open, so they're often rushed. I always say that I'm going to sit down and write a bunch of questions beforehand so I don't have to scramble, but...yeah, doesn't happen.

The first question is always easy and designed for my youngest students to answer; it also bolsters the confidence of the older kids. The next couple questions vary in difficulty based on which kids I have coming that day. The last question is always the most difficult, and often tailored around the oldest/most advanced student I have that day.

Here's an example of the questions I used the other day:



(If you can't read the writing, the first bag says: "20 candies". The next bag says "2 lbs flour" and the measuring cup says "8 oz. flour". The last bag says "3 1/2 tons of gravel (!)" and the little pile of gravel says "314 lbs of gravel".)

I'm always trying to come up with new and creative math questions, and interesting concepts to explore with the kids, so if anyone has any ideas, let me know!

And if you'd like to answer the questions for a little virtual pat on the head, please feel free! (The questions are designed to use mental math, so no paper! And it's only fair to give you the supplementary information I give my students, so:

1 lb. = 16 oz.
1 ton = 2,000 lbs.)