Making 5- Building a Strong Number Sense Foundation

To me, our math curriculum introduced ways to make 5 WAY TO EARLY.  I understand the reasoning though.  We want these students to be able to understand and manipulate numbers.   But I asked myself, "How do I get 2nd week of Kindergarten students to understand ways to make 5?"  So I have tried to teach this a few different ways over the years.  Last year I found a way to teach it that worked!!! We have just been through the second week of Kindergarten and I am proud to announce, my kiddos are well on their way to building a strong number sense foundation.

Day 1

Student supplies: 

• red and yellow chip counters (5 per child)   
• five frames (one per child)

Teacher supplies:

• chart paper and marker
• glue stick
• large paper five frames (6) already glued onto the chart ahead of time
• __   and  __ paper prompts (6) already glued onto the chart ahead of time
• 1.5" red and yellow circles (I bought a circle punch at Michaels that makes circles this size)

Procedure:  I have students use their five frames and show all 5 boxes filled with red counters.  From there I glue 5 red counters into the first 5 frame.  Below that (in the __ and __ prompt) I write 5 red and 0 yellow.  Then I have the students flip ONLY one counter to make it yellow.  I create the frame for 4 and 1 on my chart paper.  I continue this process for the rest of the ways to make 5.  (Note: After you do 3 and 2 if you move to the right for 2 and 3 students who are ready for it will be able to see the addends reversed.) 

Day 2:  

Student Supplies:

• five frames (one for each student)
• red and yellow counters (5 for each student)
• Making 5 mini-book
• scissors

Teacher Supplies: 

• Making 5 Anchor Chart (from the previous day)
• Making 5 mini-book 
• stapler

Procedure: 

1. Have students place 5 red counters on the five frame.  Keep the chart in front of the group and ask the students to tell you how many reds and yellows they used to make 5.  Repeat this process for all the different combinations of 5.  
2. Have students select 2 colors of crayons and color the apples on the Making 5 mini-book to show ways to make 5 that match each addition sentence.  (This mini-book is available with the word plus and the word and as alternatives to a plus sign.) 

Day 3:

Student supplies: 

• red and yellow chip counters (5 per child)   
• five frames (one per child)
• Robot Making 5 Center

Teacher supplies:

• Making 5 Anchor Chart
• Robot Making 5 Center

Procedure:

1. As a class review the anchor chart again, still with students being hands on with chips and five frames.
2. Introduce the Robot Making 5 Center- in this center students will match 5 frames with robots of different colors to the making five expressions (either 4 and 1, 4 plus 1 or 4+1).  You can differentiate the making five expressions depending on your students.  Recording sheets also come with this center.  
   

Please join my link-up and share up to three resources for teaching beginning number sense.   

  

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2016-2017 Classroom Pics

I've been working for the last two weeks on getting my classroom ready for the kiddos.  Tomorrow morning is meet and greet and I still have bins to put away and some thing to organize.  But here are pictures of my classroom so far.

Here is my word wall and writing center.  I love the banner look of the letters and the black against the blue.  On top of the writing center I have metal bins from Target with color words on them.  I put extra crayons in those so when a kid can't find a color, they can grab one from there.  The bin on the writing center is full of paper, stencils and picture dictionaries.  On the table itslef in binders are my science and social studies vocabulary cards.  I just put the card pages in plastic sleeves and the students can write about our current social studies or science topics.

On the left are numbers 1-20 and my book bins for Daily 5.  My Smart Board is in the middle and half of my calendar can be seen on the right.  I painted the calendar with magnetic primer and then a dark gray paint.  I covered up a kinds gross looking brown chalkboard.  My calendar (like a few other places in my classroom) is not finished yet.  More pictures to come!

Kerry

Kindergarten Dice Games All Year Long

A 5 Below just opened in my area. I found the coolest thing there. JUMBO DICE!!!!!!!!!!

There went my self control! But there are so many things you can do with dice ALL year long! So I convinced myself to grab a pair. Who knows, I may be back for more.

So here are some of the ways I plan to use these in my classroom this upcoming school year.

One of the biggest math concepts students will ever learn is an understanding of numbers; what they represent, and how to manipulate them. At the beginning of the year in Kindergarten I spend a lot of time making sure my students understand numbers. We do a lot of this with whole class games and then as the year goes on they also work on number sense a lot in math centers.

So picture this, it's the first week of school; there are procedures to teach, and students who can't focus for more than a minute at a time. So I take out one of the awesome dice. I have my class sit in a circle and we practice the procedure for the game. "We count the number on the top of the die and put our thumb in the air when we've counted it. No calling out, I want to make sure to give turns fairly." So then I watch; the kids who point to the dots and count them, the kids who are able to subitize already (look at a group of objects and know how many there are without counting.) I see some thumbs go up right away, I see others take their time. I keep a paper on a clipboard with each child's name. I watch and observe for a few rounds and then rate them 1-4 on how well they seem to be able to subitize. I vary the way I ask for the answer; I ask them to all whisper it to me (great way to make kiddos feel involved if there is not time to call one everyone, and let's be honest, there rarely is.) I have some students who seem to be struggling whisper in my ear, I have them all respond without talking and just putting up the right amount of fingers. My goal with this class game is muti-fold; teaching procedures, assessing who is a strong counter, who is able to subitize, and who is struggling with these concepts. We will play this game a lot; and I will from time to time explicitly talk about how I subitize (the number 3 on a die is always arranged the same way.)

When they get good at being able to subitize to 6 we bring in a second die. Kiddos start to do mental math as they look at a group of 3 dots on one and 2 dots on the other and create a group of 5. When we get a double I have them put their arms in the air and do a silent cheer. As the year goes on when we get a double we also talk about what happens when we add those two numbers together. One of the most challenging mathematical concepts for me to teach and my students to learn each year is comparing numbers. They need a lot of practice with the vocabulary and the concept. I bet you're thinking, hey, we could compare quantities with those new dice. :) I'm right there with ya! This will be very similar to the game at the beginning of the except we are using two dice and comparing. There are so many ways to simplify this or challenge your students with just two dice. 1. The teacher rolls 2 dice and ask the students which die has fewer, or more dots. 2. The teacher rolls one die and ask the students what numbers the other die would have to be to be fewer (or more). Then I would have students take turns rolling the second die until we came across a number we were looking for. (For example if I rolled a 4 and I asked for a quantity more than 4 the students would keep rolling until someone rolled a 5 or a 6. 3. The teachers rolls one die and have the students take turns rolling until they find the quantity one fewer and one more. I spoke briefly about addition a bit ago, but this is a great way to get the kiddos learning their addition facts fluently. For addition I would start off doing the game with them. For this game students all have a dry erase board and marker. I roll the two dice, students write the sum. As we get into addition more, students write the addition equation. Once a fair deal of my students are successful with writing the equations they get to do this as a center. (I remind them of how much I treasure these awesome dice and that they should not have pencil marks, or sticky hand prints on them.) Students will roll the dice and write the addition equation on their recording sheet.

And just when you thought, "I have to stop reading and get myself some dice, there's more. You can uses these for probability and graphing. The cool thing about rolling two dice is that statistically you will not roll a 2 or a 12 all that often. Your chances of rolling a 7 are far better. Once you have taught it, students can do this as a center on their own. They simply roll the two dice, find the sum and then color it in on their graph. They play until they have filled up one of the columns on the graph.

For these dice resources please click on any of the pictures above.

Numbers to 20

We just finished working on numbers 11-20.  Understanding that they are one group of ten and some ones and also being able to add for sums to 20.

For whole group I have been using EngageNY and pieces of GoMath.  I am a huge fan of EngageNY. With this program, students really get to be hands on with numbers and they develop strong number sense.  My absolute favorite thing about EngageNY unit 5- numbers to 20 is the idea of drawing a number in a ten frame pattern.  Here is what it looks like for a 17.  I love that it is such a quick sketch that students are not distracted by drawing ice cream cones, dinosaurs etc.  I have my students circle the groups of ten once they have finished drawing.

It didn't take long for my kiddos to understand numbers 11-20, so we moved into adding to 20.  My  class was strong in adding to 10, and adding to 19 seemed to go even easier thanks to drawing the 10 frame way.  I feel like this strategy is the best idea since sliced bread!  I did also let my kiddos use other strategies they were comfortable with to solve addition problems; using counters, number lines, fingers or just a strong memory of addition facts.

During small groups,  I had my highest group of kiddos working on this adding three numbers pack from Miss Giraffe.  I love that this pack explicitly taught adding two numbers to make a ten and then adding some more to make a teen number.  

   

My middle of the road kids and lower kids were working on developing an understanding of numbers 11-20 by adding 10+8 to get 18.  All my kiddos caught onto that rather quickly.  So these groups also started adding numbers to 19.  In small groups, these kids did lots of hands on with ten frames and counters.  They also did a fair deal of drawings in the ten frame way (like above.)

This awesome app from the National Council for Teaching Mathematics is a great resource for adding numbers past 10.  http://www.nctm.org/Classroom-Resources/Interactives/Ten-Frame/  After you move the chips to the ten frames you are instructed to make a group of ten.  (So you would drag 2 chips from the bottom ten frame to make a group of ten, have 6 left in the bottom to get 10+6=16.)

They also have a game for 5 frames and sums to 10- http://www.nctm.org/Classroom-Resources/Interactives/Five-Frame/

I have created a set of math journals to go with this unit.  Here is a look at them.

I hope you find these resources useful.  Please link up any resources below that you use to teach numbers 11-20.

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Spring Is Here!

More importantly for me, Spring Break is here!  I have just completed a pack of math and literacy centers that I love and am super excited to print, laminate and pop into a center in my own classroom.  Click on any of the picture below to be routed to my TPT store.

 ending sounds

finding the correct word by using the beginning, middle or ending sound

sorting by long vowel sounds

matching pictures and sentences (with a focus on -ing words)

using a number line to add

counting/ subitizing numbers 11-20

creating addition and subtraction sentences for number bonds (A simpler version of this is also included, where students find the matching number sentences.)

adding 10 and some more to create teen numbers

place value 

What are some of your favorite springtime classroom activities for the PK-2 classroom?  Feel free to add a link to an activity, TPT item or blog posts below.  

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100th Day

One of my favorite days of the school year is the 100th day!  Here are a few things we do in my classroom for the 100th day.

A 100th Day Tie FREEBIE.  Students draw 100 lines or polkadots on their tie.  These look absolutely adorable with our collared shirt school uniforms.

A 100 cup structure.  I gave the students a few different sized cups.  I can't recall where the large red cups and the mini-white cups came from, but the mini red cups can be found at Dollar Tree.  My students last year loved this so much  that I left it out as a play center the entire rest of the year.  

100th Day Hat- the students will place 10 stickers on a strip of paper and make 10 strips.  They will attach the strips to a sentence strip and have the strips dangle from the hat. 

Hundreds Chart Floor Puzzle- by Totally Sweet Math Centers by Tabitha. I LOVE this center!  The students get so much out of it and they love it!  Students are able to use their knowledge of number sense to put the pieces together.  If you notice the strategy in this picture, putting the tens place together as a guide.  What smart kids!

When I Am 100 Mini-Book- by Maria Manore Gavin.  Students read this predictable text and glue the word when into the booklet.  

What Does it Weigh?  Before the 100th day, ask parents to send in bags of 100 items.  Give the students a balance scale and have them compare the weights of the different items.  

What kinds of things do you do for the 100th day?  

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