WARMIN’ UP WINTER MATH

The New Year always signifies a fresh start in the classroom for me.  Not only am I looking to target those tricky standards the kids haven’t seen yet, but I am also working to weave in some spiral review that really challenges what my students already know.  I put together a quick collection of winter math ideas that tackles both of these objectives. Keep reading to learn more.

The curriculum tackles tackles everything from place value to fact families and missing addends during the next couple of months.  When forming ideas, I had to get creative and keep engagement high!  I tried to use oodles of different items and manipulatives to make activities that I was tossin’ at my crew game-like and fun. All of these games can be replicated with items you have hanging around the classroom and a bit of elbow grease on the computer.  If you are looking for them in a nice neat collection, check out my January Math Station Activities Collection.

This game is high-level, but with a mommy helper manning the station, I see this one as invaluable!  Partner up your students in a small group.  The pairs take turns rolling two 10-sided dice and hunt for a circle on the board that contains a number that is greater than the number they rolled.  (You can also change it up and have them look for a number that is less than . . . I’m all about options!)

Our babes are still really struggling with place value.  With this said, I tried to solve this problem by creating some basic place value ditties that will help ’em catch on . . . while having a bit of fun.  Wanna try this one?  Remove the face cards and tens from a deck of cards.  Students flip over any two cards to create a two digit number.  This number is then recorded in expanded and base ten form.  Easy peasy.

Our math program introduces 3-digit addition . . . GULP!!!  To ease the kiddos into the process, I created a fun snow-themed game to help them look for those easy “first adds.” Students simply roll two regular dice and record the numbers in a snowman.  Encourage them to “make a ten” or find the easy two numbers to add first and then solve.

We always need more practice with fact fluency.  All you need is a pile of dominoes.  Place these face down on the table of a small group.  Students select a domino, add the pips, and hunt for the snowman with the matching sum on his/her game card.  If they find the sum, they place the domino on top of that space.  If not, they return the domino to the pile.  Easy enough, right?

Counting on from any number (especially by tens) can be so tricky.  Visuals are CRITICAL.  With this said, try Stacking the Snowman when targeting this standard.  Students need a handful of mini marshmallows, a 100 or 120 chart, and dice (6 sided or 10 sided depending on the chart you use).  In this independent activity, students roll the dice to form a two digit number.  A marshmallow is placed on this number on the 100 chart . . . and then they count on by tens.  A second and third marshmallow are placed on the chart as they count on by tens, thus forming a snowman of sorts.  The work is then transferred to a recording sheet.  To keep engagement high, I let my kiddos eat their snowman after every 3-4 rounds. #marshmallowsarepowerful

Alright . . . so there you have it.  A handful of ideas to warm up your winter math curriculum.  If you are looking to jump right into these and a handful of other themed games with a click of a button, check out my January Math Activities & More Packet.  It even includes a free DOUBLES +1 Tune from Ron Brown’s Intelli-Tunes!  On that note, I am out.  Thanks for visiting my friends.  I hope to see you again soon.