Have you ever found yourself scanning through the room during math class, looking at a mix of bored faces, frustrated sighs, and the occasional doodler?
I know I have, and we’ve all been there. But the real challenge is making math both fun and educational for kids at the same time.
This might seem challenging during some teaching days, but what if I told you there’s a way to sprinkle a bit of autumn magic into your math lessons and get those hands eagerly shooting up with answers?
And yes, that’s possible! The best way to make kids fully involved and ready to solve some problems no matter how hard they are is by using interactive games. 🍂✨
Use these interactive Fall-themed games in your classroom for small groups during centers or as a whole class activity and see the class engagement soar.
Here’s Why This Bundle is a Game-Changer:
Engagement Overload: With a delightful “Pick a Fall Cookie” Game, learning basic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division isn’t just another math lesson. It’s an experience. One where students eagerly click through questions, challenging themselves and having a blast while at it.
Comprehensive Coverage: This bundle isn’t just about practicing a single concept like division. Oh no! Your students will dive deep into 3 digit addition and subtraction with regrouping, tackle 3 by 1 and 2 digit division, and master 2 by 2 digit multiplication. It’s a math smorgasbord!
Perfectly Structured: Each game comes with 12 questions, allowing for a full, immersive session without dragging it out. Plus, navigation is a breeze with interactive features like clickable numbers and a handy home button.
Versatility: Whether you’re looking to jazz up your math centers, provide engaging activities for early finishers, or differentiate your instruction, this bundle has got you covered.
What you get:
Once you get this fall interactive games bundle, you’ll find a series of PowerPoint games designed to keep kids engaged in learning addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, along with 6 digit number place value practice. The goal? To make math engaging, interactive, and the highlight of your students’ day.
The main slides have interactive numbers with fun and exciting fall images that students can click on and go to that specific slide to solve.
Fall gives us teachers the perfect opportunity to engage students with fun, fall themed math activities that build excitement for learning inside classrooms.
For me seasonal math not only brings a fresh twist inside classroom for kids, but it also give me some change to use fun activities to keep my upper elementary kids engaged with unique activities that are different but perfectly with the curriculum.
Here are some way I have found helpful to bring the spirit of autumn into my math lessons to keep students motivated and excited to learn.
Why Use Fall-Themed Math Activities?
Once the back-to-school buzz goes away, students may start to lose some of the enthusiasm they had in the first few weeks of school.
This can be challenging to maintain that level of energy in the classroom as the routine sets in.
And tis is where seasonal activities come in handy and exciting to keep them engaged and ansurprised to work on their task!
Fall-themed math activities can help apture student’s attention and re-energize their will to keep their math learning moving forward.
These activities not only make lessons fun but also ensure students are still practicing critical math skills in an engaging way.
Upper Elementary Fall Math Activities you Should Try this Year:
Here are some of you can use activities to help your 3rd 4th or even 5th grade students get into the Fall spirit while practicing essential math concepts:
Fall-Themed Solve-the-Room Activities
This activity can transform your classroom into a dynamic learning environment. Students will move around the room, solving math problems with a fall spirit.
Activities like these are perfect for keeping students active while making sure they’re reviewing their key math concepts, such as Decimal and fraction operations or even math facts.
Fall Color-by-Number Worksheets
Ahhh! Who does not like some coloring to go along with their math centers and daily practice?
Color by number worksheets combine creativity with math practice to keep them on their learning journey and reduce their learning fatigue at the same time.
Honestly this alone is like a win win situation for me.
Every time I take out one of these Coloring sheets kids are just excited and motivated to work on them.
What’s most important is there are jut 8 problems they need to solve instead of bajillions just to get them to the coloring part.
This is the reason why they are more motivated to work on this single page coloring math sheets.
Here is how it works: Students will solve math problems and then use their answers to complete fall-themed coloring pages.
It’s a great activity for early finishers or as a calming task during busy classroom days which is a plus.
Fall Math Scavenger Hunt
Did you just said hunt? I think math reviews do not have to be boring?
Using this fraction scavenger hunt activity this Fall and turn you class in to a Scavenger Hunt adventure that your kids would love to be in.
Students solve math problems while following clues around the room. It’s an engaging way to review concepts and encourage teamwork.
And the best part is, it’s self checking so less work for you but more fun for them.
Fall Fractions and Decimal Operations – Mystery Picture Puzzle!
Tired of searching for an engaging and fun way to help your 5th-grade students master fractions and decimal operations?
Maybe try out some mystery picture puzzle math activities.
Using the Fall Fractions and Decimal Operations Picture Puzzle is the perfect way to practice math and increase creativity to keep your students motivated and excited on learning their fractions concepts.
These puzzles gives students the opportunity to solve fractions and decimal problems while slowing revealing a fall-themed picture.
Whether you’re looking for a way to reinforce lessons on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions and decimals or simply want to add an interactive twist to your math centers, this activity does it all!
How to Implement It
This resource is dynamic and easy to use into your classroom. You can use it as:
A fun, no-prep fall math center
A homework assignment to reinforce what was taught in class.
An engaging review activity before an upcoming test.
A small group activity for collaborative learning.
How to have Fall-Themed Math Spirit in the Classroom
Using fall-themed classroom activities and resources into your lessons is easy, and literally there are so many creative ways to do it!
Here are a few ideas from me to get you started:
Create Fall-Themed Math Centers: Yup that’s the first one. You need to set up multiple fall-themed stations in your classroom where students can rotate between different activities, like the Fall Solve-the-Room or Color-by-Number sheets. This gives kids diverse options and allows students to work independently or in small groups.
Use for Early Finishers or Warm-Up Activities: These activities are perfect for students who finish their work early or for a quick and engaging warm-up to get everyone focused on math first thing in the morning.
Fall Decor for Extra Fun: This one is a must! Decorate your classroom with fall leaves, pumpkins, and other seasonal visual elements. Then, use these resources as part of a fall-themed math review or even a class competition!
By using these fun ideas, you’re not only bringing fall into the classroom but also boosting students’ enthusiasm for math.
To bring the magic of fall into your math lessons. You will be able to watch your students’ willingness to work on their classwork soar, the big idea is to use multiple Fall themed elements in your day and your kids will thank you for all that you do for them.
Ready to add some seasonal fun to your math lessons?
Check out our Fall Math Activities on my TPT store Daily Dose of Mathematics store!
Struggling to teach the area of composite figures in a way your students actually get?
Ever wondered that every time you feel like thinking about how to get started or how even to think about introducing the topic to your kids, frustration kicks in!
Believe it or not, we all have been there during our first few years of teaching.
And you’re not alone… If your kids are zoning out the second you say “area” keep reading, this post breaks it down with easy, engaging ideas that make sense (and work for all levels).
Explore the Area of complex figures in an exciting way
Let’s be real right now teaching math isn’t what it used to be. Today’s kids are growing up with TikTok-level attention spans and infinite entertainment options at their fingertips.
That means if your area of complex shapes lessons are not engaging and exciting enough, you’ve already lost half the battle.
Here’s the good news, you don’t need flashy tech or hours of prep work just to make the area of composite figures click for your students. You just need the right strategy.
So how do you teach this topic in a way that’s fun, clear, and actually sticks?
The answer: make it visual, hands-on, and connected to real life, yup, that’s right this way your students aren’t just memorizing formulas, they’re solving problems like mini math detectives on a mission hunt.
Now the question is where do you begin?
Start with the Basics:
Like I said, it all starts with basics.
And to be honest, there is no other answer to this problem other than nailing the basics!
Here is the hard truth… if kids find the lesson interesting, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated to learn about the problem, think about it, practice it, and ultimately feel a sense of confidence in their skills.
Here are the steps to help kids see math everywhere in their life.
Step 1: Help Students See Math Everywhere (Real-Life Hook)
One of the most effective ways to introduce composite figures is by showing students where these shapes exist in their world.
What it means is to check for there: Activate prior knowledge. Ask your students:
What basic shapes do you already know?
Can you think of any objects that are made up of more than one shape?
Then guide them to see that a playground, a building (maybe school) floor plan, or even a weird-shaped pizza is made of multiple simple shapes.
🟩 + 🟥 + 🟦 = Composite figure.
Your goal here is to help them realize that composite shapes are just familiar shapes combined, nothing fancy.
Step 2: Revisit the Basics with Hands-On Practice
Before diving into composite figures, make sure your students are rock solid on calculating the area of:
Squares
Rectangles
Triangles
Here is a Pro Tip: Use graph paper and have them COUNT squares to confirm what the formulas actually do. This helps your visual and tactile learners “see” the math in action.
Step 3: Decompose a Composite Figure (using engaging activities)
Once the basics are solid, it’s time for the real fun, breaking down a complex shape into smaller, manageable parts.
Here is an activity you can try in your class:
Show them a real-life layout — like a house blueprint or the shape of a playground.
Ask them to identify the basic shapes they see.
Have them outline or color-code each individual shape inside the figure.
Guide them through finding the area of each part — and then adding it all together.
Finding the Area of Composite Figures or Complex Figures (Color by Number)
Since kids have already mastered how to calculate the area of regular shapes, it’s time to introduce them to composite figures.
You can use any composite shape, like a park or a house layout, and ask what they see.
Tell them to imagine the shape as a whole building made by several small ones and treat every small shape like a rectangle, square, or triangle as a room inside the building.
Let them think about this concept for a while, and then decompose the shape into its parts and find the area of the individual basic shape.
Finding Area of Complex Figures Piece by Piece
Next, it’s time to decompose composite figures like literally breaking the big shape into smaller, familiar parts.
For better understanding, it’s good to introduce a composite figure with 2 or 3 squares or rectangles and then move on to the more complex figures.
The next step is to ask your kids how many squares or rectangles they see inside their big figures.
Have them trace or outline each individual shape in a different color and then calculate the area of each smaller part one shape at a time.
Pro Tip: Write the area inside each shape as they go to help them see their progress. Next step is to calculate the areas of these individual shapes.
Since your students by now already know how to calculate the area of regular figures, it would not be a daunting task. Lastly, ask them to add all of them together to get the total area.
Finding the Area of Complex Figures (Trending and Most Popular)
Now comes the fun part: tell your kids that we are calculating the area of the whole building, not just the single rooms inside.
They also know how to calculate it by adding the areas of each smaller shape. Basically, by summing up, kids will be able to tell what the area of the complex figure is.
Want some fun digital and printable activities to help you with this lesson?
Using color by number activities in one of my favourite ways to bring excitment and fun inside classroom. I cannot tell you how much my kids look forward to using these for any topic or theme day.
Seriously its one of the best way in my opinion to keep them on the task while still interested in practicing math during math centers.
Try using the if your kids are hitting a math practicing roadblock. We even display the art result they produced in our classroom or gallery. Students feel super prod when I do that.
So today let’s discover five easy ways you can implement math color by number worksheets so you can have an engaged class that’s excited to work on them.
What is a Color by Number Worksheets:
Color by number worksheets aren’t just art and math combined today, instead they are a sure way to give your kids a more engaging and educational experience that they might miss out on during a traditional learning environment.
This way of practicing math provides a structured way to kid’s daily math practice. Today, I’m about to sow you how I use them to add engagement for any topic you want to teach be it fraction operation including word problems or order of operation along with decimal operations.
Why to use Color by number worksheets for developing understanding:
Using art in our daily learning is a fantastic way to increase our kid’s educational experience. Think of it this way: your kids solving math problems and revealing a historical place, figure, or even a themed art piece to set the mood for some festive spirit.
Coloring is also a calming activity that reduces stress and keeps them focused on the task while developing fine motor skills. This is one of the reason why I use color-by-number worksheets as a terrific way to keep them on track with their daily math progress while having fun.
Customizable Math Teaching Tool:
Every child is different, and no 2 kids can learn the same way. Customizing color by number worksheets to fit their needs and learning styles can drastically boost student’s engagement.
Here is how I achieve this. I display the finished color by number worksheets inside our classroom or hallway, which encourages students to perform better and acts as a reward for their hard work.
Develops Emotional Intelligence:
This type of activity not only gets student’s creative juices to follow but also keeps them calm and organized. This enhances their emotional intelligence and stamina to endure more demanding challenges in the learning process, which we as a teacher always strive for.
Independent and Self-Checking Practice:
If I had to pick one reason among all the above, this one would always surpass the rest. The most important thing any teacher wants is to cut down the time used for grading so we can actually do more of what we Love, aka “TEACHING“.
Color by number worksheets are a fantastic way to facilitate independent practice of topics like area of complex figures, order of operations during the math center activities or the morning bell work, or you can even leave them for a sub day and still get the teaching stuff done while you are away.
Looking for a 3 digit addition problem worksheets to practice 3 digit addition or subtraction with your students? Look no more because I got you covered.
Helping students work on word problems is a daunting task.
Especially if you are trying to encourage them to think independently on math problems and solve them on their own.
That is why I have created these fun and engaging 3 digit word problem worksheets that are free for you to grab and teach now.
Print the problems you want your students to work on and hand them to your class. Students can solve the word problems independently, or you can help them complete the task.
What I like to do in my class is put them in pairs. This way, even if one of the kids gets stuck, they can help each other out and figure out the solution.
Here are a few benefits of using 3-digit word problems worksheets in your classroom
Increase in reasoning and problem solving skills
More understanding of the topic by using comprehension skills
Able to break down more significant concepts into small problems
You not only have to explain the basics but also make sure your fractions lessons are engaging enough so they pay full attention during the learning period and do not get distracted.
In this blog post, I will discuss with you some new and easy ways I have found helpful in teaching fraction operations to my kids during math class to help them engage with the problems at hand and be happily willing to practice adding and subtracting fractions.
So, let’s dive in…
1. Fun Fractions Maze Activity with Task Cards – Save the Queen
This activity includes a printable self-checking maze that you can use with your kids to have them practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division of fractions with unlike denominators.
Each fraction operations maze activity comes with 12 task cards and a self-checking FUN maze, which keeps kids inspired to learn, but you do not have to spend all day grading.
The activity is story-based, in which your kids become detectives, helping the Queen bee, who is lost in the jungle, return home. For that, your kids have to work through the problems to bring her back home.
Once the kids have completed the activity, you can use the printable reward card to reward your kid’s hard work and create a positive motivation for them to practice their math skills happily the next time!
Are your kids bored with their daily boring math routine work and want to have some fun and excitement while learning new concepts?
Try adding Solve the Room activities to help them get moving and learn all at the same time!
Solve the Room is my kid’s favorite activity as it allows them not to be glued to their desks but to move around the room while working on the problems. The best part is that it is very easy to set up.
All you have to do is print the question cards and place them in different spots inside your classroom. Next, give students their recording sheets. Kids move around the room, looking for problems with adding and subtracting fractions.
They solve the problems and record their answers on the recording sheets provided. You can also instruct them to use the back of the recording sheet to show their work, which is always a good idea.
If you want to try these activities for your next class, Click here.
3. Color by Number Fractions Activities
Coloring is LOVE for all my kids – no matter their age.
Primary, lower elementary, or upper elementary, you name it!
The easiest way teachers can use it to their advantage is by making any doodle on a piece of paper along with a bunch of practice problems and giving them to solve and color.
Using color by number activities in elementary math classes can enhance engagement, reinforce concepts like perimeter and area of complex figures and volume of rectangular prism creatively, and facilitate differentiation for diverse learning levels.
These activities make working on math problems more enjoyable for students and provide valuable tools for teachers to effectively deal with the challenges of teaching elementary mathematics.
Looking to add some fun color by number activities to your next lesson? I have created these 5th grade fraction operations color by number activities that you can use to skyrocket your class math learning outcome. Want some fraction word problem worksheets? Click HERE to check them out.
Halloween week in the classroom is chaos. Between sugar highs, costume distractions, and a packed schedule, the last thing you need is a complicated GCF and LCM practice lesson.
But October is also a great time to hit those tough concepts like Greatest Common Factor (GCF) and Least Common Multiple (LCM) practice especially, if you’ve got the right tools.
That’s why I created these three hands-on, no-prep Halloween-themed math activities that actually get your students excited about GCF and LCM.
These aren’t just worksheets, they’re interactive, self-checking, and fun.
In this post, I’m breaking down how each activity works and how you can use them in your classroom this October.
GCF and LCM Practice Halloween Coloring
Kids in my class LOVE coloring period. The truth is, we need to use more coloring math practice in the age of AI than ever before.
The reason is that kids these days aren’t as calm as they used to be. Coloring helps them calm down due to their hyperactive abilities.
This Halloween color-by-number activity blends math + art to keep kids engaged while practicing core skills.
Students solve GCF and LCM problems, find the matching color, and use it to complete a spooky themed image that you can display on bulletin board.
Why it works:
Self-checking format helps students correct their own work
Visual + hands-on = more focused engagement
Works great for early finishers, math centers, or calming down a hyped-up classroom
The best part? It’s Print and go! No prep needed.
It’s perfect for days when you want meaningful review without managing chaos.
Want to get access to free Order of Operations activity you can use with 5th and 6th grade students? Check it out here:
GCF and LCM Puzzle Cut, Solve, and Reveal
Puzzles help kids with their critical thinking and problem solving skills.
This Halloween math puzzle is like magic, your students won’t even realize how much math they’re doing.
Here is how to implement this 2-pager activity. Problems are on one page and corresponding answer puzzles are on the other.
Students solve each GCF or LCM question, find the puzzle piece with the correct answer, and paste it into the correct space to reveal a mystery Halloween image.
Skills it reinforces:
GCF and LCM mastery
Critical thinking
Fine motor skills and focus
It’s engaging, it’s visual, and it’s low-prep. Just print both pages, and your students handle the rest.
Riddles are like catnip for kids. In this Halloween themed riddle activity, students solve GCF and LCM problems and write their answers on the connected given space.
At the end, they collect letters that solve a spooky riddle.
Here is why it’s a win in my classroom:
Instant buy-in from students
Encourages problem-solving and logic
Great for math stations, partner work, or even test prep review
You can even use it during rotations, independent practice, or as an enrichment activity during Halloween week.
Want to survive Halloween week without losing your mind?
Print all three activities and set them up as stations.
Your students rotate through the color-by-number, puzzle, and riddle and they stay engaged the entire time.
They think it’s fun. You know it’s standards-based review. Everyone wins.
Want to try all 3 Activities?
I bundled all three Halloween GCF & LCM activities together in one low-prep printable pack perfect for 5th and 6th grade math teachers who need a break from boring stuff.
You don’t need to skip meaningful math instruction just because it’s Halloween week.
With the right activities, your students can have fun while practicing critical concepts and you can keep your sanity intact.
Whether you use them for centers, sub plans, or fast finishers, these Halloween-themed GCF and LCM worksheets are ready to go when you are.
Pin it now. Print it later. Teach it without the stress.
