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!

No Snow? No Problem! Snowy Classroom Activities

Just ask any kid - snow is the BEST! But depending on where you live, you may have students who never have ... and maybe never will ... experience all the fun that comes with a snowy day!

Well, you have the power to change that! Even if you can't take a class trip to the snowy mountains of Switzerland, here are some ideas for bringing snowy learning fun into your classroom... even if you teach in the tropics!

First up is the classic snowball fight game. 

This game has so many elements that kiddos love ...

*   Sitting on top of their desks

*   Ripping paper 

*   Crumpling paper

*   Throwing paper (or anything!)

You can find lots of variations on this by checking Google or YouTube, but here's the one that worked well with my first graders.

Have your students sit in two rows facing each other, or sit in a circle, either on the floor or sitting on top of their desks. Give each child a recording page (blank paper folded into 8 boxes works just fine) and a smaller paper (about 1/2 of a page is a good size - big enough for them to write on and still be able to have fun crumpling into a snowball).

Decide on your topic. We used this most often to build math fact fluency, so the topic might be sums of ten, subtraction within 20, doubles facts, etc.

How to play: Have your students write the equation (without the answer) on their small "snow paper" and crumple it to make a "snowball". Wait for the countdown... "3,2,1 - snowball fight!"  After all the snowballs have been thrown out into the middle of the group, send them out to each get one snowball (using teacherly tricks to maintain order as needed 😅). They write the equation on their recording page, solve it, crumple again, and get ready for round two!

TEACHING TIP: We all have students who have trouble getting started. Support them by generating a few examples together and displaying them on your whiteboard or interactive board. Encourage them to come up with their own equations, but leave the support visible for any students that might need it!

Next idea! Have you taken your class on a virtual field trip? 

What a great way to get some unique snow experiences! Try one of these snowy expeditions!

From Sesame Street kids, here's some up close and personal sledding fun! This would be a great opportunity for a mini-lesson about verbs.

Not exactly a field trip, but here's a walk in a snowy Canadian forest. Personally, I'd rather pick this lovely YouTube video than the classic fireplace one to use during a quiet reading or writing session.  

Here's the third idea to bring snowy fun into your teaching!

Books! Readalouds are an awesome way to get immersed in a snowy landscape! Books by Jan Brett are my personal favorite for this. I love the way her illustrations in books like The Mitten and The Hat draw you right into the snowy drifts.

Looking for non-fiction? My hands-down favorite is Snowflake Bentley, a Caldecott Award winner by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. It's the life story of the man who first photographed snowflakes. Some of William Bentley's actual photos are even included! My first graders absolutely loved this book. It's a great segue into teaching about perseverance and determination.

Search Amazon here for pages and pages of books about snow!

Do you need a book for shared reading? Here's a free book for K-1. Patterned text, strong picture/text match, and lots of high frequency words make Hey, Mr. Snowman a fun choice!

ESL / ELL teachers are finding this free book to be a good vocabulary builder for their students.

After you enjoy Hey, Mr. Snowman! together, you might enjoy using the activities in this set.

Lots of activities to extend the snowy learning fun!

The last suggestion for incorporating snow into your curriculum won't take even one extra minute from your busy day!

You're probably already using math games in your math centers and math tubs, so why not use games with snowy themes?

This game need absolutely NO PREP! The snowflake is from Dollar Tree, but you can just enlarge and print a copy. Then just add dominos. Click here to read about FIVE different ways to use this game, and to link to my friend Anne's blog where she's kindly provided more extensions with ten frames and higher numbers.

I have many (many, many 😊) winter activities in my TPT store - see them all here.

Here are three of my favorites!

 

Keep that snowflake fun going in your classroom, and you'll keep your students happily learning this winter!

Happy Teaching!

Gobble Gobble! Thanksgiving Addition Freebie!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Gardens need weeding, houses need cleaning, teaching resources need revising! Recently I've been working a lot on looking through some of my resources created in previous years and giving them mini-makeovers - fonts, graphics, and more!

This little set of nine Thanksgiving math games needed quite a makeover. In fact, it kind of turned into a do-over!

I love games that require our students to do MORE thinking. Solve-and-sort games are a good example of that. Solve-and-sorts are games where students think (for instance, add three numbers) and then think again (determine whether the sum of the three numbers is more or less than ten).


Here's an example of a Turkey in the Pot solve-and-sort for representations of even numbers.

Players take turns determining the number that the picture represents and then deciding whether the number is even. If it is even, the card goes into the turkey pot. If it's not even, the player keeps the card. When all of the cards have been used, the player who is left with the most cards wins the game.


* In its earlier version, each game had 16 cards.  What was I thinking???  There are now 32 cards for each game - more opportunities for practice, and now suitable for use with more players, making these games even better for your math centers and small groups.


The nine games in this set address these skills:

* Addition facts through ten
* Subtraction facts through ten
* Comparing numbers
* Combinations of ten
* Recognizing odd and even numbers
* Counting by fives
* Representing numbers as tens and ones
* Three addends

You can see the whole set of Turkey in the Pot games here.

If you already own this set, please take a moment to log into your TpT account, go to your "My Purchases" page, and download the update (at no charge, of course!)

Would you like to try a free game for sums of ten? Here you go!

Happy Teaching!

More Math and Deeper Thinking with Clip Away Cards - A Giveaway!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Recently I shared with you two sets of free clip cards, and some thoughts about why clip cards are a great addition to your classroom.

If your students love clip cards but you're looking for something a bit different ...
TA DAAAAAH!!

Let me introduce you to Clip Away Cards!

This post includes affiliate links.

If you are already using this set of 120 math riddle cards...

... or the same riddles in poster format ...

... then you'll already know that each card has a multi-step riddle whose answer is a number from one through 100.  They're a fun addition to your calendar time and great for spiraled review all year!  Here's what a few customers said about the riddle cards.

Most of the riddles in these sets are pretty much identical. Here's a card from the first set.

Here's what the same riddle looks like as a Clip Away Card.

As you can see, students will solve the riddles on the clip cards independently, using one clue at a time to eliminate options and then clip (or "clip away") the numbers with a mini-clothespin or a binder clip (check out these cute smiley face ones!)  as they eliminate them. The answer is the number that has not been clipped when all others have been clipped away.


The amount of math and reasoning is the same in both sets, but the Clip Away Cards allow your students more independence through offering the support of answer options being provided. If your students take standardized tests (boo!), you can use these cards to model the importance of reading the question all the way though before deciding on an answer.


These sets are great companion resources. Use the original riddle card set or the poster set to teach the processes of attending to key details, making inferences, and eliminating the answers that don't fit. Then bring out the Clip Away Cards and use them for...

*  Math center activities. Put the all cards in a basket, or join sets of ten on rings.
*  Morning warm-ups or exit cards
*  Parent volunteers or tutors.  Great for filling those extra moments when there's not enough time to  start something new.
*  Math interventionists.  To bring an added level of rigor to your practice of operations and place  value.
*  Family Math Night. Set up a station with a few cards to keep parents actively engaged in solving these with their children.

Would you like to win a set of these Clip Away Cards before they're even posted in my store?

I'd love to choose a few winners! The requirement for entering is super simple - no following anything, just one simple question to answer!  I'd really appreciate it if you'd share this giveaway with your friends.  Thanks!

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Winter Place Value Freebie!

Do you use clip cards?  They're always a popular and versatile math practice activity for little learners.

     * As a teacher of struggling first graders for more than ten years, I particularly value clip cards for their easy differentiation. Supplying three possible answers offers more support and makes the task just a bit easier than coming up with an answer with no support given.

     * Clip cards are also an easy tool to prepare and use in centers. Just print, snip, and you're ready to go! 

     * They're easy to make self-checking by using a sharpie pen to put a dot by the correct answer on the back of each card. Faster feedback and greater independence for your students, and no papers for you to correct!

     * A little more work on strengthening the pincer grip is never a bad thing! Try using clothespins or mini-binder clips to have your students build small motor skills while they're showing the correct answer.
   

Here's your winter math freebie! This set of math clip cards is a fun way to practice first grade and second grade place value, specifically with subtracting multiples of ten from two digit numbers. Click here to get your set!

This set of clip cards is also included in this larger math resource pack, Winter Math Games for First Grade and Second Grade.

Enjoy your freebie!

Easy Prep Spring and Summer Math Game Freebies!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

The Great Divide is showing up all over social media ... teachers with flipflops enjoying a lemonade, teachers still knee deep in the great push to complete end-of-year assessments and paperwork while still teaching and trying to keep kiddos motivated.

No matter where you are in this annual teaching saga, I figure it's about time to share a few freebies from one of my favorite recent teaching resources. After all, those of you already enjoying vacation will be heading back while it's still summer, right? And who couldn't use a few new easy prep games at one of the busiest times of the year?


                                             

Here's a closer look at Lilypad Leap, one of the two games in this free pack. As you can see, there's a higher level of instant recall of addition and subtraction facts needed for success in this game. (I'm kinda sneaky and even a bit obsessive that way - I like to keep the kiddos on their toes!)

Here's why you'll love these games!

* They're great for end-of-year review in first grade or beginning-of-year startup in second. Of course, you'll find lots of use for them in year-round schools or summer school, too!

* They are truly easy prep - there are no cards to print and cut, and each game is just one page!

* They are not just pencil and paper work, which means higher engagement from your students and no papers for you to mark!

* They are versatile! Each game comes in both full color and blackline. You can have your kiddos color the blackline as an ink-saving alternative. Or, print them in color to use in your math centers and then send home copies of the blackline as part of your summer learning packet!

* They are games, which means they're hidden learning that your students will want to do again and again!


Click here to download your free games!

If you like these games and are interested in the full set of 30 Spring Into Summer Partner Games for addition, subtraction, place value, and geometry, you can find it here.

Happy Teaching!

Snowflake Math with Dominoes

Snowy days are here! Today I'd like to share a low-prep but effective way to do some snowflake math with dominoes.

No matter if your thoughts about snow are love it, hate it or somewhere in the middle, we know that our kiddos are C-R-A-Z-Y for the white stuff!  Connecting snow with learning is definitely a win-win situation!

When I saw these foam snowflakes at the dollar store, my brain started whirling like the snowflakes in a snowglobe!

The six sides of a snowflake make an easy match-up for lots of math practice. For this addition and subtraction activity, you'll need a snowflake for each player plus some dominoes to share. The game works well with two players, but if you have enough dominoes, it would be good for a small group activity, too. I used a Sharpie to label each of the points one through six, and then put a zero in the center.

To play, scatter all of the dominoes face down between the players. Then take turns turning over one domino. Add or subtract the numbers on it to make one of the numbers on the snowflake.  If you can make one of the numbers, put the domino on that branch of your snowflake. If there's already a domino on that number, put the domino to the side and it's on to the other player's turn. The exception is zero. Whenever a player subtracts to make zero, he or she puts that domino on the zero, continuing to add to the stack whenever a sum or difference of zero is made.

In this picture, my granddaughter, who is becoming quite a practiced hand model ;) , has used 6-1 to cover five, 4+0 to cover four (might also have been 4-0), and 5-3 to cover two.










There are two ways to win: Be the first player to either cover all of the numbers around the tips of the snowflake OR stack three dominoes on zero. I love games with two ways to win - it opens up so many more possibilities for strategic thinking and keeps your students very involved in the game!


There are lots of easy ways to scale this game up or down to meet your students' needs:

* For the youngest learners, use dice instead of dominoes and get some quick practice in subitizing. Just leave the zero out of the center and roll one die. A great big foam die adds extra fun to this version!

* Sort through your dominoes to turn this into an addition game. Look for dominoes that total six or  less for this version. (Have your students do the sorting to put even more math practice into this activity!)  Now they'll use only addition to find the sums one through six.

* For subtraction using dice, roll two dice and subtract. For this version, label only the tips of the snowflake, using the numbers zero through five.

* Working on the addition doubles strategy? Label your branches 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12. Roll one die, double the number, and cover it.



One word of advice: these dollar store snowflakes are the right choice for price but definitely on the flimsy side. At craft stores, you can find much sturdier versions that will be more durable... and we all know that counts for a lot in the classroom! And of course you could always have your students draw snowflakes, or use paper copies to work on.

I love this activity, because there are so many ways to switch things up to adapt it to your students' current needs! Looking for even more ways to extend this activity?  Click here to head to Anne Gardner's Educational Resources, where you can find these free templates for snowflakes and cubes for higher numbers!

Keep the snowy math learning going with this free set of four winter math games for first grade! Each game is just one page, with no cards to prepare or to lose. Click here to get this set free at my TPT store!

Happy Teaching!

Place Value Penguins

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Got to teach the place value... got to love the penguins!  

Just when you need it, here's a set of eleven activities for first grade place value.

This set includes ten center games and activities, plus a set of 29 cards for "I Have... Who Has...?"

Sorry for the fuzzy image here, but you can see it more clearly in the preview download at TpT.

Here's what one buyer said about this set:

"This product was jam-packed with absolutely everything I needed to make addition fun for my first grade classroom. There were so many choices of activities and the games provided were perfect for differentiating instruction at multiple levels. Loved the creativity and thought put into this excellent classroom resource that I will use year and year again."

This set will be a great addition to your winter math centers - and just think how nicely it will fit in for those of you who use a penguin theme in January!

Click here or on any of the pictures to see it in my store. I'd love to hear what you think about it!



Happy Teaching!

120 Third Grade Math Riddles - Free Sample!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

If you're a regular visitor here, you know how much I love using riddles in teaching. In addition to their ability to hold kids' attention and keep them begging for more (and who doesn't want to hear the words, "More math! More math!" ???), riddles are a great way to...

* review vocabulary
* model identifying key details
* model inferring and drawing conclusions
* refine listening skills

* encourage critical thinking skills

So, in addition to being lots of fun, these fun math riddles are a great match for your standards, too!


Today's freebie is designed for use in third grade, but would also be great for math coaches and tutors. It's a set of twelve riddle cards for third grade math skills. Take a peek!

Click here or on the image above to get your free sample set!

The complete set includes a riddle for every number from one to 120, along with an answer key to make this set perfect for independent use in math centers. If you'd like the complete set, which also comes with a solve-and-color activity, printable number grid game, and suggestions for use, click here or on the picture below to see it at my TPT store.

Happy Teaching!

Pirate Riddles with Two-Digit Numbers - Aye, Me Mateys!

Hi, Teaching Friends!


I love creating resources that sneak a lot of learning into a bit of fun. Games, riddles, puzzles, ... learning in a fun package!

So, here's a taste of some more of that kind of learning. These riddles for two-digit numbers are elimination puzzles. Your students will read 4 or 5 clues and compare the answers to a set of nine numbers, crossing out the relevant numbers. The number that's left at the end is the Pirate's Secret Treasure Number.



                                        

Here are a few examples of the kinds of math riddles your students will be solving.

"It's not greater than 7+19."

"It's not an odd number."

"It's not 41+ 22 or 51 + 32."

"It's not half of 100."

"It's not a number that you can make using only nickels."

"It's not a number with two different digits."

Lots of math skills, critical thinking, and variation in levels of difficulty.  There are 24 cards in all, plus a student response page with answer key. 

Use them as task cards for math centers, for early finishers, or as bell ringers. These cards are great to use for a skills rotation (Scoot!), with your students moving around the classroom either alone or with a partner, solving as they go. Or just put one of the riddles up on your doc camera when you have a few minutes - a super sponge activity, packed with lots of Common Core content practice!

Click here to see this set at my Teachers Pay Teachers store!


Would you like to try a sample? Just click on this cover and enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Teaching!