Mathematics on the Go — Activities
Most of us spend a lot of time moving from place to place in our cars or
in cabs, on buses and on trains and in airplanes. Travel, whether across
town or around the world, provides many opportunities for you to help your
child learn about and apply math.
On This Page
Off We Go
Preschool
Involving young children in trip planning can be a time to introduce them
to measuring and comparing.
What You Need
What to Do
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Before your family leaves on a trip, sit with your child and show him
a map that includes both where you live and where you're going. Talk
with him about what maps are and how they are used. Use the marker to
circle your hometown, and then explain that this is where you live.
Then circle the place you plan to visit and explain that this is where
you're going. Draw a line between the two (a simple straight line-don't
attempt to follow the highway route!)
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Point out and mark other places that have meaning for your child—the
place where his grandmother lives, the place where his favorite theme
park is located and so forth, and do some simple comparisons of
distance: "Grandma's is closer to us than where we're going on
vacation. See. She lives here and where we're going is way over here."
The idea is to familiarize your child with maps and distances, not to
have him understand complicated directions or measurements.
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Use the map to play number and counting games as well: "Can you find
three 2s?" "What number is on this sign?" "How many rivers are in this
state?"
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As part of getting ready for a long trip, involve your child in
finding and counting things that should be packed—two shirts, three
pairs of socks, five books and so forth.
Are We There Yet?
Kindergarten-Grade 2
Traveling—whether by car, bus, train or plane—provides many opportunities
for children to use mental math and estimation to solve time and distance
problems.
What You Need
- Information about how far you're traveling and how long it will
take
- Bus, train or plane schedule
What to Do
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On a routine trip around town, point out the time on a watch and say,
for example, "It's 3:15, and it takes us 30 minutes to get to your
dentist's office. Are we going to get there before your 4:15
appointment?"
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Show your child a bus, train or plane schedule and explain what it is
and how to read it. Point out, for example, that a schedule shows when
the bus leaves one place and when it arrives at another. Have her
figure out how long it takes the bus to get to several places listed on
the schedule.
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On a longer trip, occasionally ask your child to estimate how far
you've traveled and how much longer it will take to get where you're
going. Use road signs or schedules and timetables to help her check the
answers.
Number Search
Kindergarten-Grade 3
Traveling provides children with lots of opportunities to practice number
recognition as well as counting skills.
What You Need
- Paper
- Crayons or markers
- Ruler
What to Do
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Before you leave on a car trip, draw a "Number Search" grid, with five
boxes across and 10 boxes down. In each box (moving across from the
first box), write a number from 1 to 50. Make a copy of the grid for
each family member (except, of course, the driver!)
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As you travel, have family members play "Number Search." Tell everyone
to be on the lookout for numbers and when they see one on a car or
truck, a billboard, a sign, a building, or anything else, to point out
the number, then circle it on the grid. (Only the person who spots the
number first gets to circle it.) The first person to circle all the
numbers on the grid wins.
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Ask your child to look for words and phrases on signs and billboards
that have numbers (or number words) in them, such as "1-stop shopping,"
"2-day service," "buy one, get one free" and "open 24-7."
License Plate Riddles
Grades 2-4
License plates can be used both to help children develop their knowledge
of numbers and as an introduction to algebra.
What You Need
- License plates
- Paper
- Crayons or markers
What to Do
-
If you're stuck in traffic, point out the license plate of a car in
front of you and ask all family members (except the driver, of course!)
to study it closely. Then tell everyone to use the individual numbers
on the plate to make the largest three-digit number possible and write
it down. For example, if the plate number is 254-116, the largest
three-digit number that can be made is 654. Have each person read aloud
his or her number. The person with the largest number wins the round.
You can change the game by asking everyone to make the smallest
three-digit number.
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For your younger child, these activities can be simplified by having
them find the largest single or double digit, or even to recognize
individual numbers or add all the numbers on the plate.
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Choose a license plate number, for example, 663M218. Then ask your
child to use numbers from the plate to solve math problems such as the
following:
- add two numbers to get the answer 5. [answer: 3+2 =
5]
- use three numbers to get 5. [answer: (3+2) x 1 = 5]
- use four numbers to get 5. [answer: (6+3+1) ÷ 2 = 5]
- use five numbers to get 5. [answer: (6+6+3) - (8+2) =
5]
- use six numbers to get 5. [answer: (6+6) + (3x1) - (8+2) =
5]
License Plate Special
Grades 2-4
Licenses plates can be used to reinforce children's understanding of the
language of mathematics as well as their mathematical reasoning
abilities.
What You Need
- License plates
- Paper
- Crayons or markers
- Ruler
What to Do
-
As you travel in a car or on a bus with your child, point out a
license plate and read it to him using only number names (excluding the
letters). For example, if the license plate is 663M218, read it as six
hundred and sixty-three thousand two hundred and eighteen. Ask your
child to find and read another license plate. Ask him if his number is
less than, greater than or equal to yours.
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Ask your older child to estimate the difference between his number and
another license plate number. Is the difference less than 10, more than
100, more than 1,000?
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Ask your child to write the names of the different states he sees on
license plates (later he can check an atlas or dictionary for
spellings—or you can help him use the abbreviations for each state).
After the trip, ask him to tell you which state plates he saw most
often. Which the least often? Help him to make a bar graph to show his
findings.
Ease on Down the Road
Grades 3-5
An important mathematical concept for children to learn is the
relationship between two quantities such as miles
per hour or cost per
gallon.
What You Need
What to Do
On car trips with your child—short or long—take advantage of the following
opportunities that allow him to apply his math skills:
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Before leaving on a trip, give him a map and tell him that you want
him to be your "navigator" as you drive. Help him to mark the route
that you will take. Then show him how to use distance numbers on the
map to estimate the distances between different locations. Check the
odometer before you begin the trip and have him write down the
mileage.
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As you're driving, ask him to check the route marked on the map and
let you know in advance when you'll need to turn onto another road-the
name and about how far away it is. Point out road signs along the way
that tell how many miles to a junction or town or city. Let him point
out some for you.
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On the highway, ask your child to read road signs and look for signs
that show the speed limits. Then ask him to watch the speedometer and
let you know if you're driving too fast for the posted limit. Help him
to practice his mental math skills by asking him questions such as,
"The speed limit is 65 miles per hour. How far will we go in one hour?
two hours? three hours? How long will it take us to go 500 miles?"
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When you stop for gasoline, ask your child to look at the pump to see
how many gallons of gas you bought and the cost per gallon. If the gas
cost $1.59 a gallon, ask your child what five gallons will cost. 10
gallons? 20 gallons? Ask him if he knows an easy way to figure this
out. (estimating the cost by rounding the cost per gallon
to $1.60).
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When you reach your destination, have your child write down the new
mileage on your odometer. Show him how to figure the actual number of
miles you traveled by subtracting the mileage when you left home from
the new number. Then have him compare the actual mileage to the
estimated mileage.
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Reprinted with the permission of the U.S. Department of Education.
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