Annual MathDice Tournament Celebrates Math Skills!

Carmen Delacruz, Elementary Math Specialist
Arlington County, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Since its inception in 2004, the Arlington MathDice Tournament has been a huge hit among 5th graders! As the county's Elementary Math Specialist, I am ecstatic to have recently hosted our sixth annual MathDice Tournament at Barrett Elementary School!

During the tournament, students compete to generate equations using basic operations and powers that get as close as possible to a target number. These students are thrilled to have the opportunity to display their mathematical skills to their friends and families!

Dedicated students prepare for eight weeks leading up to the tournament under the supervision of their MathDice coach. With the tireless support of enthusiastic Math Coaches and school staff, students participate in regular practice sessions before, during, and after school which include special MathDice Challenges provided by ThinkFun. After several weeks of practice, a mini tournament is held at each school to determine the six members of the MathDice team who will represent their school at the tournament.

The day of the tournament is filled with enthusiasm for mathematics! The buzzing audience is filled with students, parents, siblings, and teachers eager to cheer on their team. The tournament is judged and refereed by representatives from Arlington elementary schools, and staff from ThinkFun and Arlington County attend to facilitate the competition and show their support.

In 2004, the year of the first tournament, I became involved with MathDice while working as a Math Coach at Claremont Elementary. At 8 months pregnant with doctor's orders to stay in bed, I still felt the need to support my students through this unique learning experience and must admit I continued to help the team practice! The students were very proud of their participation and thrilled to share their adventure with the school community. The following year I volunteered to host the event and worked closely with ThinkFun to prepare my students for the tournament.

In 2006, we found ourselves at an important crossroads, unsure as to whether or not to continue this annual tournament. Having seen firsthand the importance of the MathDice Tournament to the students, I shared with both ThinkFun and the Math Office Supervisor that students county-wide were anxiously awaiting this once-in-a-lifetime event, and we could not let them down. The decision was made to make the tournament an Arlington tradition, and it has been ever since!

In the years that followed, more and more schools became involved, and for the first time this year we had teams representing all 22 Arlington elementary schools participate! The energy for the 2010 tournament is already brewing, and both the students and I can not wait!