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Random number generated math questions for use as printouts only.
The Words - Who, what, where, and why this was made - even how you can use it...
The Screenshots - Is this worth downloading? What's it going to look like... Show me.
AddSubGreaterLess - Addition, Subtraction, Greater-than-Less-than... the very first layout.Download the file - last updated 06.04.21.AddSubOnly - I think you'll figure out the rest. Turn negative numbers on or off.
180Subt - 180 questions in 4 columns of 45. Turn negative numbers on or off.
180AddSubt - Random addition and subtraction mixed. Turn negative numbers on or off.
180AddMult - All addition or all Multiplication
180Div - Turn remainders on or off.
First, the legal mumbo jumbo...
This spreadsheet is 2003-2006 copyright Kevin Gelaude, but is offered
free of charge for personal and both public and private school use as long
as it is not sold for money and is distributed intact ie.: this message
is intact and the math formulae aren't FUBAR'd - if you need a fresh copy,
see contact info at bottom. I offer this spreadsheet "as is" and
take no legal responsibility for the effects of it's use including, but
not limited to, divisions by zero (use a minimum divisor of at least 1...)
and brain-sprains brought on by over-ambitious spreadsheet modifiers.
Donations
If you find this spreadsheet useful, send a donation of a $5 bill wrapped
in paper in an envelope when you get my address through my contact info
at the bottom (address at time of this writing: 3660 River Road, Chemainus
BC CANADA V0R 1K4).
User notes
Spreadsheets have pseudo-random number generators - and that's exactly
it - they're pseudo. I find that Min-Max spreads of 25-30 or less
can be what I call 'chunky' - you can get fairly high repeats of numbers.
In a row of 10 questions I've had 3 occurences of one number and 2 of another.
In spite of that, on the 180 question layouts, the extra repetition makes
for better memorization of basic math facts.
Each layout is stored on a separate worksheet - in Excel these tabs are displayed across the bottom of the screen with names like "AddSubOnly" or "180Subt". Click on the tab name to display the layout.
If you get lost in the immense empty space of a worksheet, press Ctrl-Home (might be Apple+Home on Mac's) to return to the upper left corner of the worksheet where the Control Panel is located. Use the Control Panel at the top of each worksheet to change the settings for that worksheet only. Each time you enter a number, the worksheet recalculates or generates a new set of random numbers, so don't be surprised when the whole page seems to move after pressing Enter.
The subtraction and division math questions have formulae in some of the seemingly blank spaces above below and beside each question - the font color has been set to white. If you are modifying a layout, be careful not to overwrite these cells.
If you need more vertical space under the math questions for doing calculations, the safest and easiest way is to increase the line height
If you want to modify a layout, the safe way to do so is to add a new worksheet to this workbook and copy an existing layout into it - this way you've still got the original layout intact.
The "180Div" layout has a field on the Control Panel that requires you to specify whether you are using the spreadsheet in Windows or on a Mac; the two operating systems use different extended character codes for the division sign. If neither entering a "w" or an "m" gives you a division symbol, enter any other letter and it will give you a "/" for the division sign.
On each worksheet, the Print Area is already set for the math questions only - the Control Panels don't show up on printouts. Simply click on the Printer icon near the top of the spreadsheet window for hardcopy.
Setting up a layout to allow students to complete the math drill onscreen would be fairly tricky as each time they enter an answer, all of the questions change... including completed ones... not to say that it couldn't be done, but it would require some good macro programming.
The story behind this spreadsheet
My wife was homeschooling our daughter and she quickly got tired of
scribbling up math drills. So she asked me to dredge up my spreadsheet
skills and put something together for her… What follows on the attached
worksheets is the result of far more hours than I had planned, never mind
imagined.
I wanted the drill sheets to do a week's (or most of a week's) worth of exercises - I hate wasting paper - hence the name and date fields at the top of each section on the first three layouts.
I wanted it to be scaleable or able to grow with her abilities and not have to be completely reprogrammed - I hate having to re-build things for relatively small changes in scale. I was a CA student in Vancouver BC for a couple of years and one of the partners liked "what-if" spreadsheets... I got really good at them after a while.
Then my wife wanted multiplication and division added. OK, I've always relished a challenging puzzle... hmmm... let's add a choice for remainders on the divisions too...
Then when we public schooled our daughter (she detested the isolation - first child and the only child in neighbourhood at the end of a no-thru road; not to mention that she thought the combination of mom AND teacher was somebody that deserved about four times as much rebellion and resistance. OK, we give...) her teacher saw one of my printouts and asked if I could enlarge the font and... was there any way she could get a copy of the spreadsheet?
Anyway, I figured other homeschoolers and teachers would appreciate it as well, so here it is, warts and all. The really important instructions are found at the top of each worksheet. Mess with any cells other than the red font ones at your own risk.
Kevin Gelaude
March 22, 2006 Chemainus, BC
I can probably be reached at kevlin@shaw.ca, 250.416.0565 or drop my
name into an internet phone book searching British Columbia Canada - just
about all the Gelaude's in BC are my immediate family.
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