Teaching Roman Numerals: Super Bowl Provides Perfect Opportunity

Whether it's a match between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers, or any other teams, the Super Bowl sparks students' interest. 2011's bout is Super Bowl XLV (45). Since this number is flashed all over television, it's easy to capture the students' attention and use it as a springboard for teaching Roman numeral basics in elementary and middle school.

Uses

Although we use Arabic numerals, Roman numerals still need to be recognized, as they are used for such things as events, book chapters, outlines, clocks and watches, monarchs and popes, and dates of films. Crossword-puzzle enthusiasts are often called upon to answer questions related to Roman numerals.

Symbols

There are seven basic Roman numeral symbols:
I = 1
V = 5
X = 10
L = 50
C = 100
D = 500
M = 1000
A bar placed over the symbol increases its value by 1,000.

Rules

The letters are strung together and their values are generally added together, one digit at a time.
Examples:
MCCLV = 1000 + 100 + 100 + 50 + 5 = 1,255
MMXI = 1000 + 1000 + 10 + 1 = 2011
LXII = 50 + 10 + 1 + 1 = 62

Exception

When a lesser symbol is to the left of a greater symbol, you must subtract. In the number XC, the symbol for 10 (X) precedes the symbol for 100 (C), so subtract 10 from 100; the result is 90.
Examples:
CD = 500 - 100 = 400
IV = 5 - 1 = 4
XIX = 10 + (10 - 1) = 19
MCMXLIX = 1000 + (1000 - 100) + (50 - 10) +10 - 1) = 1,949
Notice that this exception applies to numbers rooted from 4's and 9's: 4, 9, 14, 19, 40, 90, and so on.

Alert

A common error with students is that they try to use a symbol more than 3 times in a row. A Roman numeral can't be repeated more than three times consecutively. The Roman numeral for 40 is not XXXX-in that case, X is repeated more than 3 times-but rather the Roman numeral for 40 is XL (50 - 10).

Aids

Click here for a Roman Numeral Converter. You can convert Roman numerals to Arabic numbers and vice-versa.

Click here for a Roman Numerals Chart.

Games

Roman Matching Game: Players are asked to drag the Roman numerals to the correct Arabic matches.

EduFunZone's Roman Numeral Game: This game has an auditory feature as well. Players are given 4 choices to click and are asked questions such as, "Which is the Roman numeral for 1,000?" They are greeted with cheers if they select the correct answer...and "Boo" if they're don't.

Roman Sequence Game: Players are given 3 Roman numerals and must place them in order from smallest to largest.

Practice

Roman Numeral Challenge: Students are asked to convert Arabic numbers to Roman numerals or vice-versa. Each challenge has 3 levels-beginning, intermediate and advanced.

Black Dog's Roman Numeral Worksheets: There are 10 options for printing worksheets from each category: Roman to Arabic, Arabic to Roman, and Mixed. Answer keys are available.

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