Math Families

As the first week came to a close and we have begun our second week, the kiddos have done a great job of becoming more and more familiar with classroom routines.  They're working much more independently as things start to "click" for them.

We've been working together to learn and understand how numbers can be "built" and "taken apart".  We have a special time during the day called Math Families when we work on a multitude of number sense activities.  During this time, the kiddos are using their hands and using higher-order thinking skills to find all possible combinations of a given number.  Eventually, as they learn what each component of Math Families entails, they will be working independently at their own pace to build and break apart a number which suits each of them.  (For instance, some may be ready to do combinations of 10.  Some may need to stick with 5.  That's ok!) After a student completes an activity, they check in with an adult, who in turn initials their Math Families sheet, and the student moves on to the next activity.

When all activities are complete, the student moves on to the next number and the process repeats.  (5 moves on to 6, or 10 moves on to 11, etc.)

Here are the activities:
(We began with the number 5 to model whole-group)

1. Dappy Shake-Up Game: Students use two-toned counters to find all combinations of a given number by skaking the counters up in their hands and gently letting them fall to the table.  They record the combination on a sheet of paper by drawing the counters as they fall and writing an addition sentence to match (i.e. red + yellow = 5, if they are working on the number 5.

2. Build-it and Graph-it: Students use cubes to build cube trains for the given number and draw this on grid paper.  After they have all combinations, they write in the addition sentence to match.

3. Build-it on Mats: Students use a variety of manipulatives (beans, small beads, pipe cleaners, toy cars, etc.) and themed mats (trees, flowers, watermelon slices, birthday cakes, roads, etc.) to build all combinations for the given number.

4. Ten frame Combo Book: Students use dot stampers (like BINGO stampers) to make all combinations of the given number.  At the bottom of the book, there is space for the addition sentence.  Sense a theme here? :)

5. Hiding Game: Students find a partner.  Depending on which number the student is working on, the partner counts out that number of small cubes and hides some in each hand behind his/her back.  The partner then holds out one hand for the student to count, and the student must guess how many are hiding.  This repeats until all combinations are found.

6. Name All Combinations: Students say all combinations of their given number to an adult. (i.e. 5+0=5, 4+1=5, etc.)

Here are some shots of the kiddos building the combinations of 5 with mats and manipulatives.  They loved this activity!

Up next: Writer's Workshop!

Until next time,

Mrs. H