Counting and cardinality seem like basic concepts but, chances are, your students have difficulty extending their mathematical thinking beyond the use of finger representation. In fact, children's math learning is accelerated when instruction incorporates both their fine- and gross-motor skills. Check out these engaging ways to advance a child's mathematical thinking with hands-on activities and exploring mathematical relationships.
Subitizing is such an important math skill for your students to master. Subitizing is the ability to instantly recognize the amount of objects without actually counting them. These Subitizing Apples Clip Cards are the perfect center activity where students take a quick look at the card then clip the correct number of seeds. Plus, it's self-checking, too!
Shop It!
Your students will love working with this Subitizing Ladybug Card Set. For this activity, quickly flash a card to your students and ask them how many dots they saw. This hands-on activity is a great way for students to learn how to add grouped objects and to sharpen their number sense. Students can also play the game of "war" to compare numbers by using the words greater than or less than.
Shop It!
Creating movement-based activities in the classroom helps students feel energized and learn concepts beyond paper and pencil. Your students will love using these subitizing floor mats to quickly identify patterns on a die and counters in a ten frame. I used these Bulk Centertime Seat Markers and a Silhouette Cameo 3 to create the subitizing floor mats. To play the game "hop to it", students will pick out a Number Bean Bag from a bucket and identify the number on the bean bag. Students will then hop to the Centertime Seat Marker that corresponds to the number on the bean bag.
Shop It!
Practice counting and comparing numbers with this hands-on, partner activity. Set a timer using a 30, 60, 90 or 120 Second Sand Timer. Students will race the clock to connect together as many Counting Monkeys as they can until the timer runs out. After the timer runs out, students will count how many monkeys they were able to hang and compare the two numbers using the vocabulary words greater than, less than, or equal to.
Shop It!
These Robot Dry Erase Ten Frames are a fun way to develop number sense and practice adding or subtracting using a ten frame! Have students roll a 6-Sided Dice in Dice or a 10-Sided Dice in Dice to add or subtract using a ten frame. Students can also use two Dotted Dice as well. After identifying the addition or subtraction problem from each dice, students will use a Dry Erase Marker to model their addition or subtraction problem on the robot dry erase ten frames. The best part is that these robot ten frame mats can easily be erased and reused using these adorable Plush Googly Eye Dry Erase Board Erasers!
Shop It!
Students will love using these Classic Dominoes when practicing addition. In this activity, students pick a domino and draw the dots on the recording sheet. After they draw the dots, have the students count the number of dots on each section of the domino and record the equation. You can grab this FREE domino addition printable here! If you decide to use the dominoes for subtraction, be sure to explain to your students that they must draw the dots of the larger number first. If you are looking for a wonderful book to pair with this activity, I recommend reading Domino Addition by Lynette Long.
Shop It!
Ready to sneak in some counting fun into your math lesson? This easy-to-put-together station will leave your kids having fun while practicing counting in no time! To create this station, use Paint Chip Supply Strips and a Sharpie® marker to write a series of numbers in sequential order with a missing number. Laminate each paint chip supply strip and provide your students with an Expo® Marker and a Mini Dry Erase Eraser to fill in the missing number. Another option is to use a Sharpie® marker to write a number on each paint chip supply strip and have your students use Jumbo Oval Counting Link Manipulatives to represent each number.
Shop It!
These Ten Frame Dominoes and Addition Dominoes Set allows your students to practice number sense, addition, and introduces place value while playing a fun and engaging math game! These adorable educational games are a sweet treat for math centers, partner work, or small group activities in the classroom!
Shop It!
Using number lines in the classroom is a perfect solution to help your younger students practice identifying whole numbers, counting, operations, and so much more! The Dry Erase Number Line Sheets are perfect for adding on and solving addition or subtraction problems. Simply have your students use an Expo® Marker to mark "hops" from a starting number to the number they are adding or subtracting. My students also love using the Wiener Dog Number Line Sliders for this same activity as well. These number lines are a must-have addition to math teaching aids, and they can be used to create fun math games centered around counting and strengthening number sense!
Shop It!
Create your own cool math games with the help of these DIY plastic bead slides that will support your students when counting or solving number operations. To create these bead slides, simply add two different colors of Opaque Pony Beads to these Pastel Pony Bead Bracelets. Students can easily move beads to model any addition or subtraction sentence, or when composing or decomposing numbers from 11-19. You can also create your own bead slides using Pony Beads and Lace It Up Tipped Bead Laces.
Shop It!
This Unifix Ten Frame Train Set will help your students develop a concrete understanding of the concept of ten and patterning with these connecting train cars. By filling the spaces and connecting the cars, children can see and feel "10 and some more," 20, 30, etc. Students can also use these Unifix Ten Frame Cards to draw a card, recognize the number of cubes shown in the ten frame, and model the number of unifix cubes in their ten frame train set.
Shop It!