An "Add 'Em Up" activity is one where several problems are given and students sum the solution to come up with an answer. They can then check their answer to see if they have the correct total. If not, they can work to find their mistake. This "self-checking" activity lets students know there is an error but not exactly where to find the mistake. There are lots of different versions of this activity. You can vary the number of questions that students have to add together. The more questions there are, the more difficult it will be to find any mistakes they might have. I feel that the harder the questions are, the fewer should be in a set(3 or 4 questions in a set seems to be the sweet spot). You could have students work in small groups or individually. You can give students several sets of questions all at once or sequence them one at a time or as a stations activity. Below is an activity I recently did with a Calculus 12 class to review several different derivative rules: Derivative Rules Add Em Up Activity Each of these sets of problems was printed on a different colored paper and each small group of students started with sheet 1. When they had a solution for the sum of the problems on their sheet, I checked their answer. If they were correct, I gave them the next set of problems. If they were wrong, I told the to find their mistake. If they were struggling I could give them a hint on where to look for their mistake or guide them with some probing questions about their work. The colored sheets made it really easy to scan the room to see how far each group had progressed and focus my attention on groups that may need some additional support. In the past, I've just printed the sum in the middle of the page but I really like having the check in with students when they have finished each set of problems. Students checked their final sum on a box with a 3 digit combination lock on it. If correct, they could retrieve a piece of candy for each member of their group from inside and then relock the box for the next group. For some other examples of "add 'em up" or "sum it up" types of activities, check out these links:
EL
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