Trotting through a math lesson

Mike Swanson

Students in a second-grade class at College View Elementary School

Tuesday huddled in a corner, trying to solve subtraction problems

without classmates’ help.

While playing a dice game called Turkey Trot, which teacher Jill

Schulten uses to help children subtract in their heads, 7-year-old

Brooke Ventzos modified her game plan midway through to avoid hearing

Abigail Anthony’s answers.

Abigail, also 7, tried as best as she could to peek over Brooke’s

shoulder as Brooke rolled, but couldn’t spot the result before Brooke

announced “four,” and showed Abigail a six and two with a grin.

Abigail approved, but said she still preferred to come up with all of

the answers herself.

“It’s because I know the answers so very quickly,” Abigail said.

Children rotated stations after 15-minute stints, moving in groups

among three addition and subtraction games that didn’t require

pencils and paper, then going to their desks to solve more difficult

problems alone.

“This is a great way to put some fun into math while also teaching

them to learn the answers to simple problems off the top of their

heads,” Schulten said. “Once they have the simple stuff down, they’re

more prepared for the longer problems on paper.”

Karen Alonso, 8, presided over her game of Turkey Trot much like

Abigail did, often shouting 7-year-old Ryan Taylor and 8-year-old

Bryan Heredia’s answers before they had a chance.

“Sometimes we answer,” Bryan said. “You just weren’t here when we

were answering.”

Once Karen reached the center station, doing longer subtraction

problems on paper, she struggled a lot more, which she said she

didn’t mind.

“All those games are too easy,” Karen said. “They’re fun to play,

but they should be harder. I like doing these most because I learn

more and get more smarter.”

Gavin Ryan, 7, preferred a game called Hundreds, in which a

teacher’s aide laid out nine cards numbered from 30 to 70 and

required the children to make matches numbering 100.

“I like big numbers,” Gavin said while playing Turkey Trot with

8-year-old Allen Doung. “This dice stuff would be better if we got to

add instead of subtract. Adding’s fun. Subtracting’s boring.”

Seven-year-old Kolby Bingham found nothing boring about his game

of Turkey Trot with Ashley Rivera, 7. Kolby’s rotation cycle took him

from doing individual, long subtraction problems to the dice game,

which he obviously appreciated.

Kolby muttered to himself while working out problems at his desk,

but once he reached the carpet and started making progress toward the

Turkey Trot finish line, the mumbling ceased. Nothing excited him

more than when Ashley’s game piece ended up on the back of his, when

they occupied the same space.

“We meet again,” Kolby yelled after it happened for the second

time. “Why do you suffer me so.”

* MIKE SWANSON covers education and crime. He can be reached at

(949) 494-4321, (714) 965-7177 or [email protected].