Spoons - Rational Expression Style

In Algebra 2, we are learning how to simplify, add, subtract, multiply, and divide rational expressions.  They always need a good day of practice to let it sink in.

First, I started them off working in partners with 5 row game examples.  They have different problems that should lead to the same answer.  If they don't get the same answer, they switch papers and find the other person's mistake.  They did well with this.
Row Games - Rational Expressions

Then, they were ready to move onto a whole class competitive activity called Spoons.  I was so excited to try this after I read it on This website.  It was a lot to create the activity.  In total, it is only 6 questions with 6 answers plus I added some incorrect solutions.  However, it took some time to get everything ready.  I put 4 of the same problem on one page and printed those out and cut them out.  Students worked in groups of four, so I clipped them together.  I have one class of 18 and one class of 29.  I did this yesterday with my small class and it went well.  I am a bit nervous to do it in my big class, but I will.  So, it was a lot of printing, cutting, and paperclipping for the problems.  Then, for the answers, I did 8 of each answer, cut them out, glued them to a big index card, and brought them to the library to get laminated - love laminating!  ***Be sure you don't have any mistakes or typos before you laminate.  I did, it is a bummer.

I had the kids move into groups and use a little table in the middle to put all the answer cards on, face down and off to work they went.  It was competitive, it was crazy, but they had fun.  It took about 20 minutes to do the 6 questions.

Here is the activity: Spoons - Rational Expression

Oh, and I added this in the directions of the activity, you may want to add a picture of a spoon to the back of the index card before you laminate it.  I wish I had.  I explained the whole game and we played it and class time was almost up and a student said, "But, wait, we didn't get to play spoons yet."  Hmmmm.

By the way, when I was talking to my colleagues about doing this, I was surprised how many people have never heard of the real spoons game.  I think we need to play it!