Combing Like Terms Uno

This year I am taking on Algebra 2 Common Core! Much like the rest of the state, I have no idea what to expect. But, I did have an idea that I needed to know the algebra skills of my incoming students. My first unit was a hodgepodge of Algebra 1 Common Core topics. I really liked the introduction/review topics in the Common Core Algebra II textbook written by Kirk Weiler at eMathInstruction. Through this textbook, we reviewed algebraic properties, linear equations, basic exponents, multiplying polynomials, and algebraic expressions.

I am constantly on Pinterest, and so I thought I could find some review activities that would make the transition back to school and math class a little easier. And, I wanted my students to love coming to class! Through Pinterest, I found a link to Tara Maynard's blog and her Like Terms Uno activity. 

I wanted to take her idea and make it my own. So, I bought two packs of index cards from the dollar store and cut them all in half. I think I had about 50 cards to a deck. I have thirty students in my first period class, so I needed at least six decks to have groups of five. I kept the basic colors - red, blue, green, and yellow. I also kept Reverse, Skip, Draw Two, and Wild cards as per the original game. However, instead of numbers, each card had a term - constant, x, x^2, x^2y, y, y^2, xy^2 - all with different integer coefficients (both positive and negative). Part of a deck is shown below. I must have written UNO over 300 times!

To play, students are dealt 5-7 cards depending on the group size. Flip the card at the top of the deck and let the game begin! Let the students decide who goes first or use who's birthday is the closest or something along those lines. During each turn, students either put down a similar color or like term to the top card. If they have neither, they can use a wild card or pick from the deck until they can put a card down. When a student gets down to one card, they must yell, "UNO!", as per the rules of the game or they cannot win. If the deck is out before the came ends, students can reshuffle the discard pile minus the top card and keep playing. The first student to get rid of all his or her cards is the winner and has the right to brag!

Some students liked the game and others couldn't have cared less. I found it successful enough to hear student's exclaim phrases like, "You can't play that because x^2y and xy^2 are not like terms," or ask each other questions like "Does the negative matter?" I think it lead to great group discussions as well as forced students to check each other and make sure the rules were being followed. Students can be very competitive and that makes for great activities! If I make new decks, I think I would include fraction coefficients and maybe an added rule where if a student places on like term on another, they must write down the sum of the combined terms.

Please feel free to ask any questions and be sure to check out the sites and blogs I linked to on this post. There's a lot of great math ed out there, so please keep writing!

Miss Schuck