Cottage Lane Elementary School Enrichment teacher Kerri McBride has been pushing into fifth grade classrooms to work on a math-inspired, problem-solving activity called the “1-10 Card Investigation.”
During the 10-card investigation, students were given a set of ten cards numbered 1 to 10. For the activity, students had to start with the pile of cards in their hands and lay down the cards by alternating between placing one onto the table and one back under the pile. Once all of the cards are on the table, they should be arranged in order from 1 to 10.
Last Thursday, students in CLE teacher Cassie Barbera’s class eagerly participated in the challenge and brainstormed ways to figure out the correct pattern so their cards would be arranged from least to greatest. Fifth grader Emily M. said, “This was hard to figure out, but I really liked it!”
Throughout the school year, McBride pushes into all CLE classrooms to focus on creative, problem-solving and cooperative learning activities “Participating in activities such as the 10-card investigation serves to enhance critical thinking skills which are crucial for academic growth. Not only are these activities fun themselves, but students are able to develop strategies such as trial and error, patterning, practicing, planning, note taking and more to achieve their goal. These skills transcend across all disciplines and real-life problems while challenging students to become better thinkers,” explained McBride. “The joy students experience when they accomplish hard tasks is priceless to observe, and the excitement is contagious.”