A Par-fect Score: Teaching Integers in Grade 7-8

I am constantly striving to make math meaningful in the classroom. Students should be able to connect mathematical processes to real life. Providing opportunities for students to understand the importance of what they are learning in class and allowing them to build connections to their own lives is essential. They need to feel like they are learning something practical...when students feel this way in the classroom, they are actively engaged and motivated to learn.

Here is a grade 7-8 problem solving activity involving Integers. I was fortunate enough to teach this activity to a class this morning. They were very engaged and excited about the golf scoring scenario. I would suggest doing this activity after students are familiar with positive and negative numbers and their relationship to each other. I would also spend time exploring the game of golf and how the scoring works. This learning could be incorporated into the Minds On part of the lesson as I found it caught the attention of my students.

Expanding Ideas...
This activity sparks many hands-on learning opportunities. In pairs, students could each design a hole for a golf course. They could determine the difficulty of the hole, how many shots it should take to score (Par), and the distance from the tees to the flag. The class creates a mini golf course in the classroom. Students can play the course and use their scores for deepening their understanding of Integers and the relationship between Par and the number zero.

Student Worksheet

Smiljanic, O. (2016). A Par-fect Score. 

Connections to Ontario Curriculum 

Expectations and Mathematical Processes

Smiljanic, O. (2016). A Par-fect Score.