Cuisenaire Rods in the Classroom

Hi Friends! I'm excited to be stepping aside today and letting my good friend Sally DeCost from Elementary Matters take the lead.  She has a great post about using Cuisenair Rods for addition and subtraction practice. I hope you enjoy reading her post!  Be sure to visit her blog when you are finished here! 

Hi!  I'm Sally from Elementary Matters!  I'm thrilled to be guest posting for Teach the Math!

Brain Research tells us that being physically involved with the learning process helps learning. It also suggests that use of color helps make connections.  Teachers know that kids (and adults) tend to key into color, and children love to use manipulatives!




With Cuisenaire Rods (see picture) the white rod, the smallest, is one cubic centimeter.  (This is the same size as a standard base ten block.) The longest rod is orange.  When the children put the rods by length, they make a colorful "staircase".   (See picture.)

The children can then assign values to each rod by color based upon the relationship of the other rods.

Wouldn't your
students love to dig into these?  Mine do!

The first few times the children use the Cuisenaire Rods, they should be given opportunities to figure out the value of each color.
Once they've mastered that (and it doesn't take long!), they're ready to combine the Cuisenaire Rods to create addition and subtraction facts.


I like to start with sets of ten, since our number system is based on ten.  It's good for them to know those combinations of ten!

Since the orange rod has a value of 10, this picture shows 9 + 1 = 10.   It also shows 1 + 9 = 10.  It also shows 10 - 1 = 9 as well as 10 - 9 = 1.

What fact family do these blocks show?  7 + 3 = 10, 3 + 7 = 10, 10 - 7 = 3, and 10 - 3 = 7.  

This one shows 6 + 6 = 12 and 12 - 6 = 6.

The Cuisenaire Rods can also be used for multiple addends or even multiplication. This could be 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12 or 3 x 4 = 12.

When it comes to storage, the containers the rods come in are tricky for the kids to put away.  I put my Cuisenaire Rods into a container much easier for little hands.

I made these center sheets for the students.  I prefer the children work with partners on activities like this since the conversations they have help the learning.  If you run these off back to back, you can make two sided, half size papers. Click on the image on the left to download the file.



For a whole set of sheets like this (For families 6 - 20), click here:

I've also found a link for online Cuisenaire Rods!

I hope your students enjoy learning math facts with Cuisenaire Rods as much as mine do!

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!

100 Followers and Counting!

Imagine my surprise when I noticed my number of blog followers had exceeded the century mark! Wow! 100 followers in just over a month!  You guys are super!  Thanks so much for the comments and notes of encouragement!

To thank you, I have created a little prize for the occasion.  It is a quick and simple activity that is easy to implement in your classroom but packs a punch in helping to nurture a child's conceptual understanding of numbers. 

I have used Today's Number as a math journaling activity, a morning math rountine, and as a way for students to communicate their understanding about numbers. 

You have probably seen this used in many different ways before.  Lately, I have noticed a couple of versions floating around on Pinterest.  So you might say this is Pinterest inspired.  I've included a number sheet to post with ideas for representing the number, and a sheet for students to record their own representations. 

I hope you enjoy using it and thanks for being such sweet followers!  Feel free to pin this and share the printable with friends! Click the picture below to grab your copy.

 

Hip, Hip, Hooray! - 15 days of K

If you have not discovered Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives Blog, you will want to hop on over and check it out!  She is hosting a big event celebrating her move back to Kindergarten! 

During the first 15 days of June, she has a new guest blogger each day.   I have not missed a day checking in to see who is guest blogging for her.  Everyday is a surprise!

However, today was no surprise to me!   Her guest blogger for Day 12 is none other than...ME!  Check out the cute button she made for the occasion! You can click on it to go directly to today's post.  I wrote about the importance of asking good questions.  I believe you have to ask great questions to get great answers!

I was thrilled to celebrate with Mary considering all the time I have spent in a Kindergarten classroom.  I know how excited she must be.  Hop over and check out today's post and grab the free Question Ring I included just for her blog readers!

I hope you will download it and that you will enjoy using in your classroom!  And be sure to pin it or like it so that your friends can grab a copy too.  Enjoy!

Bloggers Best Math Freebies!