Here is a super easy activity to do with student who are learning multiplication. I use patterned paper or wrapping paper cut into 8.5 x 11. I place them in sheet protectors and students use wet erase markers to circle groups of a given number. In this example, groups of 4 are being circled. Then students write the equation. An example could be: 4 x 8 = 32. This is a great activity for younger students who are learning to…
Partners traced each other’s feet. Then we used Unifix cubes to determine the area. (Partial squares got a little tricky but we did a little fraction work.) Then table teams grouped their Unifix into tens and ones for some place value practice. The kids LOVED that they got to take off their shoes. (Okay, there was one who wasn’t so keen on it…and there were a lot of laces that needed to be tied before recess!)
Okay, that was fun! I handed my group of kindergartners and first graders tape measures (the non-metal kind) and told them they could measure whatever they wanted. What a hit! On so many levels. First, I showed them how they could measure how far they jumped. After being stuck inside all day due to rain, this was the perfect way to get them to move around a bit and still sneak in some great math. Once I showed them how…
caption id=”attachment_1503″ align=”alignleft” width=”300″ caption=”First Graders practice writing equations”][/caption]Without a doubt, my absolute favorite teaching tool is the individual white board. Way back when the earth was still cooling and I had just started my teaching career, I laminated white poster board and cut them apart to make my own super cheap version. Today I have a little more money, so I have my own commercial set of 30. And they get used A LOT. Why do I like white…
Part of figuring out how to help kids grow up comfortable with math, is to understand what math is. If you ask a group of first graders to describe math, the responses are very similar. Math is adding and taking away. Older elementary students will add multiplying and dividing. When prodded to include more, there are often long pauses followed by kids giving the same answer but in a different way. Rarely does anyone describe math as shapes or patterns…