Start your year with the joy of Fun Math Games for the entire family. To help you do this we are offering a Gift of Learning Special that allows individuals to purchase Family Game Sets at a reduced cost. Both the Regular Family Game Set and the Premier Family Game Set are on sale at:

SPECIAL OFFER LINK: GIFT OF LEARNING

This Special is valid through January 26, 2022

MP 3-Part Staff Development Series

This past fall the Pentathlon Institute offered a customized MP Workshop Series to teachers in Beavercreek City School District, near Dayton, OH. The first workshop was November 19 and focused on Logical & Scientific Reasoning. The second in the series, on December 17 dealt with Number Sense and Computational Reasoning. The last in the series, which will be conducted on January 28, 2022, will feature Geometric and Spatial Reasoning. All 4 Math Pentathlon Divisions will be offered. Teachers or Coaches can still register for this last workshop using the following LINK.  

Schools/districts can also contact the Pentathlon Institute if they are interested in offering their own customized Math Pentathlon Workshops.

In-Person MP Workshops

There were several MP In-Person Workshops conducted this past Fall 2021 in our Michigan Center. The MP Hosting Tournament Sites of Bloomfield Hills SD, Walled Lake Consolidated Schools, and Rochester Community Schools offered In-Person Workshops the first week of October. On Saturday, November 8, an All-Day Math Pentathlon Training was offered in Texas by Austin ISD at their Science Center. It was a blast being back face-to-face with so many wonderful and dedicated MP parents, teachers, and coaches!

Online MP Workshops in January

Starting in September 2021 and continuing through the end of January 2022 the Pentathlon Institute has offered numerous On-line Workshops. Be the first to know about our workshops by signing up for Workshop Notifications or check online at: Online Workshops.

Online Instructional Videos

These videos are beneficial for adults working with students in the club, classroom, or home settings. In addition to learning the 5 games the viewer will benefit from:

• More in-depth understanding of the games and instructional strategies;
• Sequencing the Math Pentathlon Program using The Teaching Guides that provide effective and detailed guidance to adults who are teaching the Math Pentathlon Program;
• Curricular activities from Adventures in Problem Solving Book I (K-3) that connect the games with classroom instruction and club use;
• Related assessments from Investigations Binder I (K-3) that provide a deeper and creative focus into the multiple strategies of each game;
• Special pricing on the Instructional Videos is offered when renting the full set of videos.

Div I:  https://vimeo.com/ondemand/divisionivideos

Div II:  https://vimeo.com/ondemand/divisioniivideos

Div III:  https://vimeo.com/ondemand/divisioniiivideos

Div IV - available February 2022

When parents register their child online, they MUST choose a game to monitor.  This way all parents are aware of the critical need for volunteers and the need to be present to help in some way.  ONLY THE COACH can make modifications to Game Monitors to ensure the school/club quota is met.  As in the past, MAKE sure that your GMs are equally distributed across each of the 5 MP Games.

If Parent is Paying for Pentathletes' Registration: Parents register their Pentathlete online and email their Official Tournament Ticket to their Coach. This allows the coach to view and verify the Pentathlete Registrations and Parent Game Monitor assignments. Coaches can easily change Game Monitor assignments by emailing the Pentathlon Institute. 

If School is Paying for Pentathletes' Registrations: The School/Club Contact Designee will request a code for their parents to use when registering online to bypass payment. This replaces all previous formats. The SCD will be able to see who is registered and what game the parent has signed up to monitor from their group in real-time. To request a Code fill out the brief application found at: https://forms.gle/cNtSj5msusTqCgn99

More Game Monitor info including requirements can be found  HERE.

TOP TOURNAMENT PRIORITY:

GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP

In order to prepare your  Pentathlete for a National Mathematics Pentathlon Academic Tournament, Coaches and Parents need to make all participants knowledgeable of the  Pentathlete   Code of Conduct and review the Participation Guidelines and Game Highlight Sheets.

Good Sportsmanship and Character Development are top priorities of the Math Pentathlon Program. For each Division Level, the first Common Rule in our Highlights is the Pentathlete Code of Conduct which is stated below.

Pentathlete Code of Conduct

A Pentathlete is to treat adults and fellow Pentathletes with courtesy and respect and play by the rules that they know to be true. The Tournament Director will handle any infractions of this rule. Such infractions can result in loss of game (0 points) or be required to leave the Tournament Site.

We highly stress that you teach your students how to win and lose with dignity.  During club/classroom use, we suggest that students shake hands both before and after each game as we do at every Math Pentathlon Tournaments. While learning the games, highlight the importance of Teamwork. This spirit is seen so many times throughout Tournament Season when Pentathletes who did not receive medals, still enthusiastically applaud the efforts of their school team members that did. Once students can lose gracefully and win respectfully, they gain self-esteem as well as the virtues of patience, cooperation, and integrity.  Practice positive use of our tournament challenge system with first, second, and third opinions to teach them how to be respectful with adults and one's peers, while at the same time learning how to stand up for oneself.

PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES: Pentathlete Preparation Link

2022 TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHTS

The National Mathematics Pentathlon Academic Tournament Highlights are summaries of each game's most important rules.  Each Highlight Sheet is divided into 3 sections: Game Basics, Game Specific Rules, and Challenges. Each year any updates/changes in MP Rules are highlighted in red and are especially pertinent for National Tournament use. For each Division, there is also a Common Rules page that describes rules that apply to all of the 5 games. Link to Highlights

SPECIAL OFFER  

HOME PRACTICE OF GAMES

Just as with music recitals and other such competitive events, it is very helpful to practice the MP Games at home. This provides BOTH Pentathletes and parents the opportunity to practice ALL 5 MP Games with their child.  Link to Family Game Sets

MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION

When making your yearly donations, please consider including the Pentathlon Institute, a Not-for-Profit Educational Organization. Funds raised through donations assist the Pentathlon Institute's efforts to help Pentathletes. Anything you can do to help is greatly appreciated.   Fed. I.D.# 38-1645063 501(c) 3-5071

Link to DONATE

STRATEGY LESSONS TO HELP YOUR  

PENTATHLETES PREPARE FOR TOURNAMENT 

Adventures in Problem Solving Books 1 & 2, as well as Investigation Exercises Books 1 & 2, provide critical activities and exercises for students to be successful with the MP Games. Some of these have been highlighted for each Division Level.

DIVISION 1 

SHAPE-UP

Adventures in PS Bk 1:    Activity III (pp. 14, 16-19) - MATCH MY SHAPE WORKSHEETS:  These sheets help students identify either small-to-large OR large-to-small versions of the same-shape, different size that relate to the goal of Shape-Up.

NOTE: For each shape on the Shape-Up Gameboard make sure that students discover ALL winning positions.

Investigation Exercises Bk 1:    IT'S YOUR MOVE - ROLL A WIN, ROLL A WIN 2, & ROLL A WIN 3 (pp. 9-11):  For each portion of the Shape-Up Gameboard, students analyze how to land on the Target Shapes.

HEX-A-GONE

These lessons help students deal with End-of Game scenarios.

Adventures in PS Bk 1:    Activity X (pp. 178, 186-188) - TRIPLE HEX and TETRAHEX: Using the same rules, but fewer blocks, students use these smaller boards to explore End-of Game strategies.

Investigation Exercises Bk 1:    GO FOR A WIN AND CAN YOU WIN? (pp. 9-10):  Students investigate 2-Hexagon regions to analyze better choices.

DIVISION 2

RAMROD

Adventures in PS Bk 1:  Activity 7 (p. 154) - COMPLEMENTS OF VALUES IN THE PURPLE-PLAYING AREA OF GAMEBOARD:  After learning the numeric values of the rods (Act. 3) as well as the rectangular values in the purple-playing area (Act. 5), students explore and learn the various combinations of exactly 2 rods that form Captures to significantly enhance strategic thinking about Ramrod.

Investigation Exercises Bk 1:  RAMROD COMBOS (pp. 3-6):  Students experience algebraic thinking using the missing addend form of subtraction while reinforcing Ramrod Capture combinations.

FIAR

Adventures in PS Bk 1:  Activity V (p. 120-121) - 4 CHIP LINE GAME: This game helps students with

horizontal and vertical movement, an essential skill in FIAR.

NOTE: Make sure that when teaching the game of FIAR that you first play the game WITHOUT the

Blocking-Chip feature, i.e. you still use the chips but ignore the stickers on chips as blockers.

Investigation Exercises Bk 1:  IT'S YOUR MOVE 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 (pp. 3-7): Use these sheets to analyze the best moves in mid-game scenarios.

DIVISION 3

STARS & BARS

Adventures in PS Bk 2:  Activity XI-XIV (pp. 207-212) - PROGRESSIVE LEAD-INS TO STARS & BARS:     After learning how the cards differ from one another according to the 4 critical attributes (Activities II, IV, and V), students learn these essential games that incrementally teach the game of Stars & Bars. These simpler versions of Stars and Bars teach how to both score and maximize the game's scoring system.

Investigation Exercises Bk 2:  MAX A SCORE 1 and 2 (pp. 19-20):     These exercises simulate mid-game scenarios of Stars & Bars and help students practice maximizing their scores.

FAB-A-DIFFY

Investigation Exercises Bk 2:    HOW THE BARS WERE MADE? (pp. 3-6): These worksheets investigate equivalence among the fraction strips. This critical skill is essential since the game does not allow for paper/pencil calculations and students must understand how to conceptually convert from non-equivalent to equivalent terms.

DIVISION 4

FRACTION PINBALL

Adventures in PS Bk 2:    Activity IV (pp. 191 and 193-195) - FRACTION PINBALL WIZARD 1, 2, and 3:     To practice an important Fraction Pinball skill, students investigate these worksheets to find connected fraction pathways that are converted to decimal form for the greatest and least sums.

NOTE: Do this Activity in conjunction with the Know Your Machine Worksheet (see pp. 13-14) of the Division 4 Teaching Guide.

Investigation Exercises Bk 2:   4 Tilt (pp. 3-4): Both of these worksheets represent mid-game scenarios on the Fraction Pinball Gameboard where students investigate the best pathway to arrive at a winning score.

PRIME GOLD

Investigation Exercises Bk 2:  CONJECTURING FOR GOLD (pp. 19-22):  Pentathletes sometimes do not take advantage of an important Prime Gold Rule referred to as Goldbach's Conjecture. While using this game rule, students can form a number sentence that results in an even value greater than 6. Rather than just placing 1 chip on the board per turn, this rule allows players to place 2 chips to cover 2 prime number values. These exercises provide many examples of game scenarios to help Pentathletes implement this critical game rule.

REGISTRATION FOR

NATIONAL MATHEMATICS PENTATHLON ACADEMIC TOURNAMENTS

Tournaments are limited by space.

 We take registrations on a first-come-first-serve basis. 

Please check with your School Contact Designee for

Registration Directions.  

Tournament fee is 

NON-REFUNDABLE & NO SUBSTITUTIONS

$42 Regular Registration ~ Sept 1 - March 10

$58 Late Registration ~ After March 10 

No Registrations allowed ~ 10 Days Prior to Tournament

LINKS to 2022

NATIONAL MATHEMATICS PENTATHLON ACADEMIC TOURNAMENT

DATES & REGISTRATION

INDIANA/OHIO

MICHIGAN/OHIO

TEXAS CENTRAL (Austin & Surrounding Area)

TEXAS NORTH (DFW & Surrounding Area)