Math with the Pack: A Day of Learning (and Teaching) Together

We had our inaugural Math with the Pack, and it was one of those days that everyone (adults and students included) will be talking about for a long time.

Students met with their Wolfpack buddies and rotated through classrooms across campus, playing math games like Garbage, Power Dot, pattern blocks, Target Ten, and number bowling. Each station was designed and run by students.

In the weeks leading up to the event, classes created their own math activities during class time. Then on the day of, both younger and older students taught their buddies, explaining the rules, helping their buddies get started, and adjusting as they went. It gave students a chance to share their thinking in a different way and learn from each other.

“I didn’t want it to end.”

“We were just getting into it.”

“It was really fun teaching my buddies. They came up with ideas I didn’t even think of.”

“I liked showing them how to play. I want to do it again.”

Across classrooms, students were working on different kinds of math thinking like number sense in the early grades or strategy and problem-solving in the middle school. The throughline was the same in every classroom: talking through ideas, trying different approaches, and figuring things out together.

Teachers noticed it too.

“Students really took ownership. They knew their games, they knew how to explain them, and they supported each other.”

“They were proud of what they made and excited to share it. The older students did such a great job guiding their younger buddies from room to room and the younger students were overjoyed to be able to teach their older friends what they know about math.”

“There was such a great energy. We’re already thinking about how to build on this next year, and it would be so fun to have families join us.”

Students tracked their progress with math passports as they moved from room to room, and wrapped up the afternoon back in their Wolfpacks with hand pies for Pi Day.

Huge thanks to our Math Curriculum Team for planning and organizing the event.

If you want to try some of the games at home, you can find them here:

Math with the Pack Activities