The Simplest of Things

Well, we've finally finished up our units on double digit addition and subtraction with regrouping (a HUGE part of 2nd grade math) - YAY! Here is one of our math anchor charts:

Common core has actually made teaching regrouping just that much easier, as students are really delving deep and making their own understanding and connections. I love having "math talks" in the classroom and hearing students explain their thinking and reasoning. We are always discussing various strategies, and it's fun to see students hear other kids and how they may have solved a problem in a different way. 

Anyway, we've started our unit on place value to 1,000, and our lesson yesterday was focused on having students find number patterns and skip count by 5's, 10's, and 100's. At the end of our lesson time, we played a little game. First, I had a 5's/10's/100's spinner on the board. 

After having a kiddo come up and spin the spinner, I would make up a number pattern based on what the spinner showed. The students would then have to either continue the number pattern or find the missing number. They would write their answer in shaving cream on their desk, and then they'd discuss with a partner and justify their answers (love that my 2nd graders are using that word and know what it means!). 

 Such a simple activity I know, but it was motivating, fun, engaging, and it got the students talking and discussing. Sometimes we as teachers need to remember that it can be the simplest of things that can be the most effective. :-)

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Free Pumpkin Thief 1 Before and 1 After Game

Happy Thursday! We our taking our sweeties to the Pumpkin Patch today - so excited! I just love going to the pumpkin patch, and taking the students and seeing their joy and excitement makes it so fun. We have a great day ahead!

Anyway, here is a math game freebie! 

This game is to be used for helping students practice 1 more and 1 less (1 before and 1 after) with a hundreds chart.

To play, each student will place his/her chip on "Start." They will take turns flipping a red/yellow counter. If the counter lands on red, the player will move 1 spot. If he/she lands on yellow, the player will move 2 spots. For whatever number the player lands on, he/she must say the number before and the number after, and the other player should check his/her answer. If a player lands on "Splat", he/she loses his/her her turn (I tell them that means they dropped their pumpkin). If they land on a "Hidden Passage" spot, they get to take the shortcut down the arrow. The first person to make it to the square marked "Finish" is the winner (we always go over good sportsmanship in our classroom).

Hope you can use this game in your classroom or with a small group of kiddos! It's a fun way to practice those math skills. :-) To download, click HERE, or click the picture below. Enjoy!

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2 Dice Adding and Graphing Game

We just started our graphig unit with EnVision this week, and I created a game that students can use for practice (I threw in some addition practice as well, because goodness knows they can always improve). This does print on big 11 x 17 paper. To play, each student gets a gameboard and recording sheet. Students take turns rolling 2 dice. They will then record the addition sentence for the dice rolled below the correct sum on the graph below (2 + 2 under the 4, etc). Students continue until one of their columns is full. Whoever can reach the finish line, or the bottom of one of the columns first, is the winner! Students then work on graphing their results and answering questions about their graph. Enjoy if you can use this activity! Just click on either picture below, or you can click HERE to download from TpT. Happy Hump Day! I'm feeling a little bit of spring fever with this beautiful weather we're having, and it took everything in me today to not stare longingly out the window all afternoon. :-)

 

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New TpT Product - Spring Butterfly Math Pack

I just posted a new product on TpT - come visit my store to see it! This math pack is $2.50 and includes Catching Butterflies (using double 10-frames - this game is also available for free both on my website and on TpT), Basic Butterfly Addition and Subtraction (game board with basic facts), Subtraction Butterfly Bump, and Addition Butterfly Memory. Directions are included on the activities, but they are pretty standard and straight forward. Enjoy and click the link to preview it: Spring Butterfly Math Pack

 

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3 Leaf Clover Shamrock Fun - Adding 3 Numbers

My kiddos can always use practice with basic skills, and adding 3 numbers (really adding in general) is one of those basic skills that they could use practice with. This game will give my students the chance to not only practice adding, but also the chance to use the strategies they've learned. AND, it's seasonal as St. Patrick's Day is next weekend. These days we'll take it however we can get it. ;-)

To play, students will face a partner. He/she will roll a die 3 times and record the numbers rolled on the shamrock leaves. He/she will use the addition strategies we've learned to find the sum. The student will write the sum on the clover's leaves, and he/she will fill out the number sentence below. Whoever has the greater sum can put a star/smiley face next to his/her clover. If you can use the game, feel free to click the picture to download, and if you are able to, please leave me some bloggy love. :-)  Happy Friday!!!

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Springin' Into Adding and Subtracting 10's Game

I think I've said before that our new common core aligned math curriculum is a bit tough this year. Next year will be better, but this year has been slightly difficult due to the switch (our students just don't have the background knowledge needed yet). However, we're hanging in there, and I am impressed with some of the strategies my students have picked up. One of the strategies enVision teaches our students to use is to be able to use mental math to add and subtract 10's from a given 2-digit number. We've taught the kids how to do this by skip counting on/back by 10's, we've taught them using place value blocks/cube towers/ten frames, and we've taught them by using the hundreds chart. Students are realizing that this strategy makes computation easier and faster!

I created this game for students to practice this strategy in order to increase their computational fluency. It will be going in the math center after introducing and practicing with it! Students should be able to solve the problems using mental math (of course they can get manipulatives if they need/request), but I am also having them write the problems on scrap paper so I can see how they're doing with it. To play, students place their game markers on start. They will then flip a colored counter/chip. If it lands on red, they will move forward 1 spot. If it lands on yellow, they can move 2 spots. The students must solve the problems for whatever spaces they land on. The first one to the end is the winner! If a student lands on a space that has a ZOOM arrow, he/she can cross the arrow over to the space on the other side. Enjoy the free printable game, and if you have time, please leave me some bloggie love if you download (just click the picture)! :-)

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Using Double 10 Frames Game

This will be a super short posting tonight, as I'm exhausted! :-) This game is called Using Double 10-Frames. To play this math game, each student gets a recording sheet. The students roll either a 6 or 9 sided die two times and create a number sentence. They draw chips or dots on the 10 frames, and whoever has the higher sum is the winner! I created this game as an extension game for our math series, and I also used it for centers. Click the link below the picture to download!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Using-Double-10-Frames-Game

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