Snow Globe Domino Math Sorts

Do your students love snow globes? Let's take that love and use it for a cute, fun math center!

This snow globe math activity uses dominoes, which are an amazing manipulative for math facts. Each domino is a visual representation of a math fact. Dominoes are also a great way to demonstrate flip flop facts, aka the commutative property of addition!

Your students will use dominoes in these center activities to solve and sort addition and subtraction number models. Add the two sets of dots to find the sum, or subtract them to find the difference.  This center takes it a step further, as your students will then sort the sums and differences onto odd and even snow globes.

There are two formats: file folder and pocket chart. The download includes labels and sorting mats for your file folders plus header labels for the pocket chart.

Need an accountability piece? Your students can write 4 even models and 4 odd models on the recording sheets that are also included.

Because... who doesn't love a snow globe, right? ;)

Click here or on the picture to learn more!

For more ideas for winter math with dominoes, visit this post!

Christmas Patchwork! A Creative Twist On Color by Code Subtraction

I love color by code math activities, and we all know that our students do, too. I mean, coloring, right? What more could a kid ask for?

Personally, what I don't love is the less than satisfying cookie cutter results. Plus, let's be honest, we know that some of our students are either peeking around to duplicate what everyone else's picture looks like or just coloring the picture to make it make sense. Pumpkins are orange and candy canes are red and white, right?

Well, not necessarily. Take a look at these Winter Patchwork activities. They're a creative twist on color by code math activities!

Whether it's played as a game with a partner or small group or independently, the math part is just basic fact practice: use two dice, roll and add or roll and subtract, according to the directions on the page.

So, what's the twist? Your students make their own choices of the colors they use!  A space labeled four could be colored pink, or green, or red, or any color ... and the next space labeled four could be a completely different color!  Giving choices means more confidence, more creativity, and more engagement - each work of art will be unique!

The same page can turn out completely different!

Patchwork math pages are a great opportunity to integrate art and math. Here are a few ideas for you to try.

* Take a few moments to talk about color choices before your students begin their patchwork page. Introduce art concepts like primary and secondary colors.  A color wheel (there are lots online) is a great tool for introducing complementary colors. Discuss the possibilities and encourage your students to commit to a set of colors before they start to roll and add or roll and subtract.

* Some students might like to try a page using just one color, but with a variety of shades, like lime green to pine green with everything in between!

* Of course, it's also fun to let your students create a crazy quilt of colors! Add an interesting challenge.  Can they complete the picture with no two spaces of the same color bordering each other?


Here's another twist that Patchwork math provides. It's not just a one time activity. 

*  You can laminate the finished pages to create addition and subtraction practice games for your December math centers. Put them into your centers with dice and some of those cute mini-erasers you've been collecting. Your students can play Bump, or Roll, Add/Subtract, Cover.  Student ownership means that motivation will be high!

*  Your students can cut out the shapes for a colorful display for a holiday bulletin board.  They'll also make a beautiful display on your classroom windows - they'll glow like stained glass when the sun shines through them.  The variety of colors will make your display unique and beautiful!


Would you like to try a free Christmas Patchwork page? This one will be especially fun if your students spend December looking for That Crazy Elf!  Just click to get your free download!

Happy Teaching!   

Addition & Subtraction Puzzles Freebie!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Hope you're all well! We had a gorgeous weekend here, but kind of crazy, too ... it was in the 70's Friday and yesterday, chillier today, and might even go down into the 30's overnight. Time for winter PJ's and a cup of hot chocolate tonight!

I'm working on some renovations over at my TpT store ... we will still be open during construction! :)
Some of the freebies that have been there in the past will now be permanently shifted here, which should be handy-dandy for you, dear followers! Maybe you'll even come across one that you've missed in the past!

Here's the first! If your kiddos could use some extra practice with related addition and subtraction facts, you'll like this easy-prep set of two puzzles. Just cut the squares apart and put each puzzle in a separate storage container.

     

Click here or on the cover to download yours at Google Drive!

Have a great week!
Happy Teaching!

Let's Examine the Facts About This Math Freebie!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Well, the original plan for this little freebie was to tell you about it here before Valentines Day. Oops.
Hopefully some of you may have already seen it at Teaching Blog Roundup earlier this month or on TPT's Facebook page this week and gotten it there.

The good news is that it's not just for Valentines Day! In fact, the only allusion to V Day, and it's a pretty subtle one, is that these numerical expressions center on the number 14. This resource started out all pink and full of hearts, but then I decided it would be more practical to keep it neutral, so that you'll be able to use this set whenever the need arises in your curriculum.

Love the glittery clips from Glitter Meets Glue Designs!


The set includes two levels. Here are the facts for grades 1-2...

...and here's the page for grades 2-3.

Your students will cut, solve, and sort the facts, or you can print the fact cards and recording page

on cardstock and laminate for center or small group use.

Click here to get this math freebie my TPT store!

If you like this set, you'll also like my "Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?" resources, available for kindergarten through third grade. Each of these sets is designed for testing the truth of numerical expressions for the standards for that grade.

Click on any of the sets to see the details!

Have you visited these great sites for more freebies? 

      

 

Happy Teaching!

String of Lights Games Giveaway!

Hello, Teaching Friends!

Busy, busy, busy December days! How can you keep one set of elves busy and learning while you take some other elves aside to do some glittering, painting, and all that other holiday bling-ing?

Here's a set of math games that might come to your rescue!

There are three games in this set: subtraction, addition, and addition with an odd/even sum sort. They're to be played by two or three players. The novel twist here is that each game has two ways to win, which will keep your little mathematicians computing, strategizing, engaged longer! Print up lots, because they'll want to keep switching partners to play again and again!

Click here or on the cover to see more at my TPT store.

Would you like to win a set of "String of Lights"?  Be one of the first ten to pin this resource (thank you!) and leave a comment below. Please be sure to include your email in your comment, so I can send your free set out to you.


Happy Teaching!

Snow Globe Freebie Update!

Hello, Teaching Friends!

I spent a bit of time today looking through some of my favorite freebies from the past. When I came to Snow Globe Addition Fact Sort, I realized that it would be a snap to update this resource to include a subtraction solve-and-sort, too, so ...  ta daahhhh! Here it is!

You can download it free from my Teachers Pay Teachers store! 

Have a great week ... Happy Teaching!

Patchwork Pumpkin Math Freebie ... Subtraction

Hi, Teaching Friends!


Pumpkin days are here in all their glory! Here's a subtraction game freebie that will also bring a bit of October art into your classroom décor.

Players roll two dice, subtract the smaller from the larger, and color a space with the answer. Since each player has is or her own board, the first to color the whole pumpkin is the winner. Challenging
your students to make their pumpkins colorful will make them great for display ...

... either backed with construction paper...

...or taped to your classroom window with the light shining through.

Another idea is to choose the most neatly colored pumpkins (a bit of competition always motivates neater work, right?), laminate them, and put them in math centers as game boards. Instead of coloring the spaces, players could cover them or circle them. Using games that you and your classmates have created always adds some extra motivation and fun! 

Click to download your subtraction pumpkin freebie!    

Happy Teaching!

Subtraction Freebie!

Hello, Everyone!

Well, it's definitely spring in New Jersey - 85 degrees yesterday and close to 80 again today! Daffodils, crocuses, singing birds, magnolia blossoms, and poppin' up perennials are filling our yard and gardens...glorious!!

Is spring fever hitting your classroom? There's nothing quite like trying to teach math to a group of little ones fresh from a half hour of recess on the playground in spring. I know, it's sooo good for their little bodies and brains, but sometimes it can make getting the academic focus back a bit of a challenge!

Hopefully, this easy prep one page subtraction bump game will come in handy to help you get those spring fever brains back on track.

* This math free freebie was updated  in 3/22 and now includes the original version you see pictured below as well as the same game with less color (less colored ink!), plus a font that you may prefer for your little learners.

Click now to enjoy your freebie!

If you're looking for more math games to keep your students' addition and subtraction skills sharp this spring, here are a few you'll like!

         

Happy Teaching!