Empowering Parents To Teach- Squbed

Squbed Game: Learning Squares and Cubes

When my son was in first grade he said to me that he wanted to learn “everything there is to know about math.”  He is now ten and his love of mathematics has not waned.  Mental math is of particular interest to him as he constantly challenges himself to solve math problems in his head.  To help him in his quest, I designed this very simple game to help him memorize squares and cubes of numbers up to twenty.  He wants to have these memorized so that he can tackle harder math problems mentally. I don’t even have these memorized, but he finds this kind of stuff fun, so I’m happy to help! If you have a kid who loves math, s/he may enjoy this game too :)

 

Materials:

  • Squbed game boards (4 included)
  • Number cards
  • Squares and Cubes Guide
  • Beans or other small objects
  • Envelope to store the number cards
  • Print Squbed materials here
  • Note: Laminate materials if possible for durability

 

How to play:

1. Choose one Squbed game board.  This game can be played with up to four players.

2. Place the number cards in the envelope.

3. Players take turns picking out a number card randomly.  Each card contains a number squared or cubed.  For example, one card shows 2 squared. If a player has the equivalent value of the card (in this example: 4) the player should cover the square with a bean or other small object.

 

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Empowering Parents To Teach- Squbed

 

4. The first player who covers his or her entire board first is the winner.

 

Note:

  • I included the square and cube guide to help facilitate play until the squares and cubes are memorized.
  • I made each board a different color so that your child can keep track of which board or boards he or she used. After playing four times, with the four different boards, all of the squares and cubes will have been practiced at least once.

 

Have fun!

 

 

 

 

 

Empowering Parents To Teach- Greek and Latin

Greek & Latin Roots and Affixes

With over sixty percent of English words stemming from Greek or Latin, one can see why familiarity with these roots and affixes can be valuable to students.  

 

Many prefixes, roots, and suffixes come from Greek and Latin.  These roots and affixes can be directly taught and studied or learned as the words are found in reading and writing activities.  For example, when we studied ecosystems in our homeschool, the words “biotic” and “abiotic” came up in our reading. This gave us the perfect opportunity to learn that “bio” means life and it comes from the Greek language. The suffix -ic, comes from Latin and means characterized by, or pertaining to.  Knowing this, it could help my son remember that the word biotic means the living things in an ecosystem. It can also help him in the future to solve an unknown word with “bio” or “ic” in it.

 

We also learned that the prefix “a” can mean not. With this knowledge, he can remember that abiotic refers to the non-living things in the ecosystem.  “A” means not and “bio” means life and “ic” means characterized by or pertaining to. By knowing these roots the definition is spelled out for him. Once again, these roots and affixes show up in many words, so by knowing them he is adding to a knowledge base that can help him determine the meaning of an unknown word.

 

To keep this knowledge, it’s helpful to record the roots and affixes that are learned.  I created a simple table to help your child record and organize the roots and affixes that arise in his or her studies. In our homeschool, I have my son record new roots and affixes that we learn along the way. He can then use the table as a reference in figuring out the meaning of new words that he encounters.  With enough recording and referencing, these roots and affixes can be memorized.

 

Making a chart is simple; You can easily create a chart to meet your child’s needs. To make things even easier, you can click on the link below for a free printable table to use:

Greek and Latin Roots Printable Table

 

For a great reference to look up the meaning unknown roots and affixes to include on your list click here.