The mini-activities are not organized by content, so you'll need to spend time reviewing the activities before using them in the classroom. Luckily, as you progress from one planet to the next, you'll find that the activities demand increasingly advanced skills. You could use the game as a pre-assessment in the beginning of the year, and then as a mid-year and final assessment. Kids should work independently, but they can take turns and share devices since the game accommodates multiple users. Have kids complete one set of planet activities at a time. Use the Math Facts activities for building fluency in addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.
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5th Grade Math Planet – Fun Math Game Curriculum for Kids is a comprehensive practice tool with more than 30 levels of games and plenty of math fact drills. The mini-activities range in theme and include challenges that require kids to identify rational numbers and equivalent fractions on a number line, compare numbers, multiply, divide, partition shapes, calculate elapsed time, add and subtract angles, and more. Kids earn coins and stars for correct answers, and as they progress, the activities become more difficult. The Math Facts problems are typical drills that require speed and accuracy. Kids can choose to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. The Skill Tracker feature provides a graphical display of kids' performance in specific content areas such as parts and wholes, add and subtract fractions, place values in decimals, and much more.
The game accommodates multiple player profiles, making it easy to share devices in the classroom. The Android version offers free, limited gameplay for grades 2 through 8. Addtional grade-level curriculum can be purchased.
The game addresses several Common Core standards and teaches kids about multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, angles, shapes, place value, elapsed time, and number sense. Kids can access mini-activities that cover a range of topics within each "Planet," and they must complete a level within a planet to get to the next level. Difficulty increases as kids play, even within a single mini-activity. For example, in a number line activity, kids start by identifying individual fractions. Then, they identify equivalent fractions and sums of fractions on the number line. In the Math Fact section, kids focus on building fact fluency. They choose a mathematical operation and then try to complete drills as quickly and accurately as possible. Kids don't receive feedback for incorrect answers; adding more features for feedback and progress tracking by a teacher or parent would add even more value to this worthwhile tool. Ultimately, this app is best suited to targeted practice rather than full curriculum support.