Kids love hands-on activities. They also love working together. So as often as I can, I try to combine the two when creating new lessons that weave in solid math concepts.

That’s the idea behind my K-2 and 3- 5 Equation Cards. The Common Core Standards in Mathematics has a heavy emphasis in the elementary grades on the concept of equality in equations. As we know, too many kids think the equal sign means and the answer is… So I created a set of cards that helps reinforce the idea of balance.

The cards are super easy to use. Each card represents one expression. Simply pair students up then hand them one of the expression cards. Their job is to solve the expression then find the other pair of students that has the matching expression. These expressions are then placed in the pocket chart on either side of the equal sign creating an equation that clearly shows both sides balancing.

The K-2 set focuses on beginning addition and subtraction.

The 3-5 set focuses on addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and, for the older students, order of operations.

I also include blank cards in the sets. Kids love it when they get the opportunity to create their own expression cards that will be used later by the class. It’s a great motivator! Assign pairs of students a number (two pairs per number) and have them create an expression which they write on the card. The activity gets played the same way but this time all the expressions have been generated by the students!

The best part is each set is only $1. Just laminate the cards and use them over and over!

Other super fun activities that kids love are the STEAM and Family Math Night Collaborative Projects that I usually do at a Family Math Night event. These activities can easily be done in the classroom. Since there are 16 of these hands-on projects, I decided to bundle them. It’s a $15 savings. You can check the bundle out here or click the image below. Of course, each project can also be purchased separately.

I hope you have an opportunity to try one of the activities in your classroom. If you do, I’d love to hear how it goes!

And, finally, this is the time of year when schools begin planning their Family Math Night event. As always, if you have questions about how we can help you host a Nifty Numbers, Math Medley, or Gellin’ with Geometry event, please do not hesitate to contact me or visit our website.