What's My Equation?

Materials
Overview • Dice
Students roll dice and secretly
create mixed operations equations,
challenging other students to
uncover the expression that
matches their result.

Big Ideas
Operations

Directions
1. Have each group roll some dice (3 to 5) then line up the dice next to each other in any
order.
2. Each student secretly creates an addition and subtraction sentence out of the numbers
and finds their result.
3. One at a time, each student says the sum of their question while the other students to try
to figure out what set of operations they used to make it.

Key Questions
• What strategy did you use to make your number?
• What strategy did you use to determine the operations used by the other students?
• Are there multiple ways to get the same answer?

Supporting Learners Extensions and Variations

• Provide students with counters to
assist with their calculations.
• Begin with only two dice to limit the
possible answers to only addition or
subtraction of the two values.
• Repeat the activity using only
multiplication and division.
• Repeat the activity allowing students
to use any operations.
• Play with five dice to make longer
equations.