1-2-3 Come Play Some Math Games With Me

Just when I think I'm ready to move on to another theme, my brain shifts into overdrive and I come up with yet another apple idea that I just have to putz with.  Thus the apple math mats came about. 

Who'd have thought they'd take 2 days to complete.  My husband always tells me that I have no concept of how much time will be involved when it comes to one of my projects.  I think it's the driven perfectionist in me that always has to have things "just so".  

Any hoo, I hope you and your kiddos enjoy this apple math game as much as I did making it.  You can make a class set of apple math mats to use each year, or have your students make their own.

This apple "craftivity" is a super-fun way to reinforce addition and/or subtraction, and if you teach older students, I've also included a template to make a multiplication apple game. 

To play, students roll a dice to see if they will work on their addition or subtraction skills.  If they roll an even number they will add and use that side of the apple mat.  (I made this side red.) 

If they roll an odd number, they'll flip the mat over and use the subtraction side, which is yellow. (Note how the leaves and center ovals have to do with addition or subtraction.)

For their 2nd roll, they toss two dice to determine their equation, which they jot down on their recording sheet. 

Students can either use the paper seed tiles, some sunflower seeds, or pom poms as manipulatives to show "how many" on their mat. 

If students are making their own apple mats, I'd suggest having them color and cut out the seed tiles. This way they can continue to reinforce lessons by playing at home.  The paper "seeds" are pictured in the photographs.

If you want to have students do this activity as a whole-group and use your laminated mats, I'd use sunflower birdseed.  (As you can see by the picture, the sunflower seeds are just the right size!) 

Make sure you explain to your kiddos that these are sunflower seeds and not apple seeds, as sunflower seeds are sold by the bag. Give each child their own Dixie cup full, or sprinkle them on a paper plate in the center of their table.

For more practice, make an extra set of apples and put the game in your independent math center, along with 14 black or brown pom poms in a Ziplock Baggie.  (I always add 2 extra pieces to my games incase a few get lost.  Saves a ton of time searching for materials to make more.)

Students place the correct amount of seeds on their mat according to the numbers that they roll with the dice. (See photographs.)

After they have written the equation down on their recording sheet, they count up the total number of seeds to solve the addition problem, and take away the appropriate amount, to solve the subtraction one. 

Once they have jotted down their answer, they clear off their mat, and begin the game again by rolling one dice.

To help reinforce greater and less than, have students use the math symbol ovals, and place the < or > oval in the middle of their apple mat, which will now cover the plus or minus oval. 

Have students write these equations down on their recording sheet as well.  Click on the link to view/download the Apple Math Mats packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  My grandson's up from his nap and it's time for a snack and stroller ride.  Have a blessed day!

"Learn as much as you can while you're young, since life becomes too busy later." -Dana Stewart Scott

1-2-3 Come Do A Few More Apple Activities With Me

Last week I celebrated apple week. blogging about all sorts of apple-themed activities.  I had a few more requests, and some miscellaneous apple things that I hadn't blogged about, so I thought I'd toss them all in this article. 

To see all of the apple FREEBIES on TeachWithMe click on the link to zip on over to that section of my site. There are over 100 apple-themed goodies to choose from!

Darcy, over in Washington, does a big apple unit with her 1st graders.  She said: "I love, love, love your flip for facts file folder idea. Do you have one for apples?"  Thanks for your e-mail Darcy.  You certainly made my day. :-)

I designed the flip for facts file folders, as a quick, easy and fun way to introduce younger students to doing research. The file folders are a nice pre-cursor to writing a report.  I didn't have one for apples, but was glad to whip one together. 

If anyone else out there in cyber space would like a file folder on another topic (maybe pumpkins?) feel free to shoot me an e-mail: diane@teachwithme.com and I'll add it to my "to do" list.

Click on the link to view/download the Flips For Apple Facts File Folder.  If you need some apple facts to share with your kiddos, click on the link for 125 Apple Facts!

I've also been working on seasonal sets of time cards.  Here's the apple set. Use them to review analog as well as digital time to the hour and half hour. (CCSS 1.MD.3a)  Great for pocket cards, an assessment tool, flashcards, games, and puzzles too.

The apple number word matching activity, is another quick and easy game.  This one will help your students identify numbers and their number word. 

Using a clothespin to clip to the correct answer, provides wonderful fine motor practice and helps strengthen finger muscles. So that students can self-check, mark an X in the correct spot on the back of the card.

Besides working on number words, I designed an apple color word matching game as well.  This reinforces the 3 colors of apples.

I think that patterning is so important to understanding all sorts of math concepts, so I designed an apple patterning activity as well.

Graphing is also something that I did every day with my Y5's. 

I decided to put a collection of 24 apple graphs together.  I think I covered  everything you could possibly want to graph about apples, but if I forgot something, shoot me an e-mail and I'll add it to the collection.  diane@teachwithme.com

Finally, while I was frogging around updating the apple graphing packet, I thought I'd make up some graph paper to do a "magic math" apple picture.

Read the directions to your students and have them color in the number grid appropriately.  If they've followed the directions correctly, an apple will be revealed. 

This is a quick, easy and fun way to teach, review and assess: number recognition, spatial directions, ordinal numbers, diagonal lines, plus listening and following directions. 

 I've also included a large numeric grid for the teacher to use in a "monkey see-monkey do" demonstration, as well as a completed grid showing the correctly colored apple. 

There are also posters to help explain ordinal numbers, left and right, as well as diagonal lines.  Click on the link to view/download the Magic Math Apple

Thanks for visiting today. It's a rainy, sleepy-kind-of day, so I think I'll just pass the time coloring, cutting and pasting; and there's nothing like getting on Pinterest to have the hours fly by.   So many ideas, so little time...

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters and create many ripples." ~ Mother Teresa

1-2-3 Come Do Some Whimsical Shape Activities With Me

Sometimes when I'm designing something, the initial idea comes from some clip art that I found.  I'll look at it and say: "This is so cute!  How can I use this to make something educational?"

Thus was the case with this whimsical boy and girl done in black and white.  I LOVE DJ Inkers graphics.  I've bought a lot of stuff on her site. You can click on her link to the left of my blog under "Other Resources" to check out the adorable goodies. 

By adding different shapes for the boy's and girl's mouths, I came up with the Shapely Mouth packet.  Use it to teach, review and assess shapes and shape words.

The packet includes:

• 12 large 8x10 posters of each shape.  Use these to make a border, bulletin board, or for large flashcards.  There's also a  large 8x10 "shapes" title poster to provide a caption for your grouping.
  

• 2 posters featuring all of the shapes on one page.  You can run these off and give each child a copy to refer to, or give them a manipulative and have them place it over the various shapes as you call them out. 
• This could also be done as an "I Spy" game where students would trace the shapes that are called out.  (A quick, easy and fun way to whole group assess.)
  

• 2 Boy & 2 Girl Face Mats for students to play the "Shapely Mouth" game.  I included lines above one set of head posters.  Laminate these.  Using dry erase markers, students write the name of the shape down for whatever word card was selected. 

• Run off the other set for students to keep.  Trim off the directions on the bottom.  Children use these to play the shape game at home.
  

• 12 mouth-shape pieces for manipulatives.  Laminate red or pink sheets of construction paper.  Trace the various shapes once, and then cut 3-6 shapes at a time. Store in Snack Baggies.  Run off the shape master for students to color, cut and use as manipulatives for their game.
  

• 12 word cards with no shapes. Use these if you want to whole-group assess your students knowledge of the names of the shapes.

• 12 word cards with shapes on them. Use these to help teach little ones the names of the shapes.
• They look at that card and then place the matching shape on their head mat.
  
•  

There are also 12 mini shapely mouth cards to use for Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?" games.

• Plus 2 trace and write shape booklets with 2 different covers.  Students trace and write the shape words, and then trace, draw and color the shapes. 
  

• Finally, there's a certificate of praise to help encourage your students and build their self-esteem.  There are 2 on a page for easy printing.
  

Click on the link to view/download the Shapely Mouth 2D Shapes Packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  Of course it's raining, because I watered my flowers early this morning.  The down pour did nothing to alleviate the humidity.  It's hot and muggy and a nice day to stay in the cool air-conditioning designing the day away with new FREEBIES. 

Feel free to send any special requests you may have to: diane@teachwithme.com   Wishing you a refreshing day!

"If you’ve told a child 100 times, then it is not the child who is a slow learner." -Unknown