1

High Yield Activity

MIAA 340
High Yield Activity
Teachers College of San Joaquin
March 1, 2015

2
MIAA 330: High Yield Activity
The high yield activity I chose to complete with groups of third, sixth, and eighth
grade students is one where students have to use clues to figure out a mystery number.
With the third and sixth grade students, I led them through guessing my mystery number
and then had them create their own clues for a number. For the eighth grade students, due
to lack of time, I just had them guess my number. With each of the groups I focused on
using vocabulary that they have been learning this year, with mixed results.
The third graders I worked with were in my own class, so I had the advantage of
knowing exactly what they have learned this year and what we are focusing on right now.
During the time most of the kids are at choir, I pulled a group of 3 students and led them
through figuring out 36. The hints I used were (1) It is an even, two digit number; (2) It is
between 10 and 29; (3) The last digit is 6; (4) It is a square number with the factor of 4.
With the exception of the first hint, after every hint the kids wrote down the numbers it
could be, narrowing it down each time. I helped them create the hints for the number they
chose (99) and we led the rest of the class through those hints. Their hints were very
similar to mine (an odd number, two digits, is a multiple of 3, the two digits are the same
number), even though I tried to get them to branch out more. While they were leading the
rest of the class, I had to take charge in writing the possible numbers on the board
because the rest of the class was having a difficult time at first. I think the biggest
difficulty was flipping their brains into a mode where they were only hearing hints for
one number, and not having to wade through to solve an equation. My next step will be to
do more activities like this where students are just thinking about numbers and not always
number manipulation.

3
High Yield Activity
I ran the sixth grade group quite similarly, where I had a group of 3 work with me,
and then create their own hints. They then, instead of working with the whole class, lead
a group of 5 other students to guess their hint. While working with the sixth graders, I
decided to have them guess a fraction instead of a whole number. The fraction was and
the clues were (1) It is a fraction less than 9/10; (2) It is greater than ; (3) The
denominator is one greater than the numerator; (4) If you double it, you will get 1 ; (5)
If you had this fraction of a dollar, you would have 75c. This was MUCH more difficult
than I anticipated. I had taught these students when they were in fourth grade, so I know
they (at one point) learned these terms and ideas, but they were completely stuck until we
got to the last hint. I think this might have been partly my fault as there are infinite
possibilities of fractions between and 9/10. It may have helped if I had narrowed it
down a bit more in the beginning. They chose a fraction when leading the class, and had
difficulty coming up with hints that were mathematically correct. For example, one
student said that their fraction was greater than 2/3 when their fraction was actually 2/4
(or ). If I were their teacher I would definitely consider reviewing the basics of
fractions, including equivalent fractions.
With the group of eighth grade students, I decided to go back to using whole
numbers, but with vocabulary that they had been learning and I led the whole group
instead of a small group. My mystery number was 6, and my hints included that it is the
square root of 36 and that it is the simplified equivalent of 30/5. This seemed to be quite
simple for most of the group, but a few students struggled. I had them discuss in their
table teams, and it was very clear that some students werent talking at all. If I were the
teacher, I would consider doing what I had with the other groups and have a small group

4
MIAA 330: High Yield Activity
(with some of the students who were doing less talking to give them the opportunity to
lead) work with me and then lead the class to find their own mystery number.
With each group I could see struggle, but also success. Most of the students were
very motivated and engaged, and the students who led the group were all very excited to
do so. With both the third and sixth graders, other students asked if they could give the
clues next. It was clear with each group that there were some students who struggled
more than others, but for the most part they were still focused and wanted to succeed. I
think this gives a great opportunity for students who may not always be eager to get up in
front of the class and take risks to do so, especially when supported by a team.