Figure Me Out Beginning of the Year Math

With Open House coming up this week, I thought I'd tell you a little about the work I chose to display.

One assignment I gave the kids at the very beginning of the year was to incorporate numbers into a page about their own lives.  Although I've seen this sort of assignment called "Math About Me" elsewhere, I added another layer to the page of birth dates, shoe sizes and number of pets. 

I challenged my fourth graders to create an equation for each number on their page.  I started out VERY simple: 200+1=201, my room number.  I told students "If you remember how to do expanded form, you can."  Of course, this was the simplest sort, but it gave them confidence on that second day of school!

 On the other hand, on my example I included a couple of fraction questions (one simple that many kids were able to figure out, and one that none of them were able to figure out).  There were 3 out of the 8 equations in my sample that I thought would be too hard for them at this point in the year, because I got to promise them, "By the end of the year you'll all be able to figure these out."  I made it a mystery and they were all begging to let them see the answers, haha. 

I required an addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division equation, and they were in fact all able to do it!  I told them I would allow them to use between 2 and 4 numbers per equation.  This way I laid the gauntlet down for problems more interesting than 5+5=10, but not the super annoying 1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1=10, haha.  

These equations were each written on small sticky notes that fit right over the answers.  The result:  anyone walking through the hall can see the topic (My age) the equation (8-3+5) and try to solve it before peeking at the answer.  I think parents would enjoy looking for their child's work (the self portrait in the center is a hint that didn't take up too much time from the actual math learning). 

Do you use a Math About Me activity with your students at the beginning of the year?  Do you think having them come up with equations would work (and if so what age do you teach?)  

Update:  If you like this activity, Figure Me Out is now available for purchase in my TPT store, Amber Thomas's Classroom Favorites!  

The worksheet, a student checklist that you can use as a grading rubric, 2 pages of instructions, and even 10 pages that you can edit (to include your own shoe size, birthday and so on) and use as a sample poster are included in the product.