Math Computation Practice

In one of my recent guest posts, I wrote about the value of playing games in Math and how games were a great tool for building strategies for mathematical computation. Encouraging kids to play games is not a difficult task, and a child's natural curiosity and competitive spirit keeps them focused on the task and their interest high. If you want to check out the post, visit A Differentiated Kindergarten. Marsha will be glad you stopped by.

The beauty of playing games in math is that everyone loves to play them. When students get to play games over and over, they begin to think critically about strategies that help them win. And when those strategies involve mathematical computations, it is win-win for both students and teachers.  My students always enjoyed Math Workshop when I included a regular rotation of their favorite math games.

One of the games I frequently used was Four in a Row. It's an old favorite of mine and one that my students really enjoyed playing. I created a Four in a Row game package that includes a set of 10 different gameboards. They focus on number recognition, counting up, counting down, skip counting, and addition & subtraction. They provide great practice for students and only require a couple of dot cubes and some counters (aka: dice & chips). 


These games are super easy to make, manage, and store. You simply print and laminate them and they are ready to use! You can find them here for just $2.00 for all 10 gameboards! If you want to try a few of these games out before you buy, you can download a free preview which includes three games to get you started.

If you do not regularly include games as part of your math curriculum, you should give them a try. You will be amazed at the student gains. In fact, you are likely to see greater enthusiasm for math (which is always good) and fewer behavioral problems during small group time (which is also always good)! Thanks for reading along and keep on teaching the math!

A visit from Grade School Giggles!

I love it when friends stop by!  And today you will get to meet my friend April Nolan from Grade School Giggles. Welcome, April!  She has a fun math game to share with us!  I know you will love it!  


Hi! I'm April from Grade School Giggles and I'm thrilled to be guest blogging for Dr. Penny today. Her blog focuses on math, which is one of my favorite subjects. Building strong foundations in math is essential if we want our students to be successful. So, I wanted to share a way that I help my students have fun learning math.


Students love playing and teachers love engaged students. Games are a great way to create a classroom where students are actively and passionately learning. After a skill has been taught and modeled, games are a great way to practice the skill to gain fluency.

   

I especially love games that require minimal prep time and don't have a ton of pieces to keep up with. One of the favorite games in my classroom is 4 in a Row. There are a lot of versions of this game out there. This one uses two dice and practices addition facts with sums to twelve. You can grab a copy by clicking on the picture. It includes the directions and game board. You just need to add the dice.


I hope your students like this game as much as mine do. If you want to check out more of my freebies and classroom ideas please stop Grade School Giggles. I'd love to see you there.

Raki's Rad Resources Review!

Hi All! I'm so excited to be participating in the big Blog Swap & Hop!  You will love Heidi Raki, who will be my guest today; and I am excited to be featured over at Marsha McGuire's super blog A Differentiated Kindergarten!  So when you have read the great ideas that Heidi posted, head on over to check out my post!  Also notice there is a blog hop linky directly below so you can check out all the Top Teacher bloggers who are participating in the hop!  Happy Blog Hopping!

Hello! I am Heidi Raki of Raki's Rad Resources, and I am super excited to be joining Dr. Penny here on Teach the Math today. Each week on my blog, I do a Wednesday Website suggestion, and so I have compiled a list of great websites that you can use when teaching math to grades K-2. I am so excited to have the opportunity to share some of them with you today!

Here are some great sites that cover a variety of teaching concepts:

1.  Virtual Manipulatives:  Every math manipulative that you have (or should have) in the kit that comes with your math series can be found in virtual form on this website. In addition, there are new, different ways to manipulate these manipulatives that I have found only here. 

For example, this site allows you to subtract with base ten blocks, and the blocks that are "taken away" truly go away. In addition to base ten blocks, there are also number lines, clocks, money, tangrams, pattern blocks and more. It works fabulously with a projector and an interactive board, but is just as much fun at a single computer during centers.

2.  Cool Math:  This site has so many games, it's crazy. While not every game is completely educational, most are at least logic building games. The best games for the classroom are the number games and the logic games. 

Many of these games start out in my classroom as a teaching game, and then the kids like them so much, that they become a reward for completing quality work early or having a great behavior day.

3.  HSP Math:  This site was developed by Harcourt School Publishers, so if you have a Harcourt math series at your school, it will align very well with your texts. However, no matter what your math adoption, the lessons and games are amazing reinforcements for the kids. My kids this year particularly loved the measurement games.

4.  Oswego Math Games:  These games were created by a school district for their students. The games are fabulous for working on a variety of math concepts, mainly focusing on computation, but also focuses on fractions, percentages, time and number sequences. 

My absolute favorite game on this site is Math Magician, which has made all the difference when my students (and my personal son) were practicing fast facts.

5.  ABCYa:  This site is sorted by grade level, and although they have letter and reading related games, the number games are the best part of the site. There are lots of connect the dot types of activities, as well as hundred's chart activities and games that focus specifically on addition and subtraction. 

One of my kids' favorite activities from ABCYa this year was Base 10 Bingo, which was great, because it gave them a chance to practice counting base ten blocks and matching the amounts to their corresponding numbers.

I hope some of these websites will give you some ideas for websites that will help enhance your math instruction next year and for years to come. I'd like to say thank you to Dr. Penny for giving me the opportunity to guest blog here today. I'd be honored if you stopped by Raki's Rad Resources for more ideas you can use in your classroom, including weekly website suggestions.

Biographical information:

Heidi Raki teaches at an International School in Casablanca, Morocco. In addition to being a teacher, she is also a mother of 3 young boys and the author of the blog Raki's Rad Resources. She believes in using quality teaching strategies and quality resources to create quality teaching moments that will resonate with her children, increasing understanding and a love of the learning experience. Feel free visit her blog at www.rakisradresources.com 

Thank you, Heidi Raki for the great post and for leading us to some great interactive websites!  Now head over to A Differentiated Kindergarten and check out my post and grab the free math game I created just for you!