Fifth Grade Math Center Activities

Create a center that practices money skills.

Most teachers use literacy centers in the classroom. Math centers are just as effective and fun for the students. Fifth grade is the perfect time to introduce math centers, as students this age can usually work independently and in small groups with less direct supervision and instruction. Math centers are best used as a way to extend or review a lesson rather than to introduce a new concept.

Transformation

Fifth-graders need to understand how to convert a decimal into a percentage and again into a fraction. Create a center to help them practice this essential skill. Place a basket at the center filled with long strips of paper. The papers should be divided into four sections. The first should have a fraction, decimal or percentage. The second two squares are for the students to write that number in the other two forms. The forth square is for the student to write his or her name. Place a timer at the center also. Set the timer and see how many strips of paper the students can complete correctly before it runs out.

Word Problems

Word problems can be tricky for fifth graders. Give them more practice by having them write their own word problems in a math center. The center should consist of two activities. The first activity is for the students to withdraw a word problem from the basket and solve it. Once solved, they should write their name on it and place it in a box for you to correct later. Then, the students should write their own word problem and place it in the basket for the next student to solve. Change it up a bit by adding rules. For example, the word problems might have to include two steps; one multiplication and one division.

Making Change

Fill a bag with things such as canned goods, clothes, or other household items. Attach a price tag to each item. Set out play money as well, including coins. Tell the students that they have $20.00. They are to purchase two items and make change using play money. They must reach into the bag and pull out the two items without looking. If you want to grade the activity, have the students write down the objects they withdrew on a piece of paper, then have them draw a picture of the coins and bills they used to make the proper amount of change.

Measuring

Create a measuring and estimation center. Place a ruler and measuring tape at the center. Fill a basket with slips on paper on which you've written things to be measured. For example, you might write "the width of the chair in inches" or "the length of the dry erase board in feet." Have the students write down on a piece of paper what they are measuring and their estimation of the measurement. Then, have them go measure it and write down the correct answer. To make it more challenging, you might also elect to have the students use the metric system to take their measurements, or convert their answers.

References

• Scholastic: Preparing for 5th Grade
• Education World: We're In the Money -- Lessons for Teaching About Money