1 2 3 Come Do Some Nice Dice Activities With Me!

MY Y5'S LOVED playing with dice.   I did all sorts of fun activities with them to help reinforce math concepts with numbers 1 to 6, so I decided to design a dice packet complete with cards and activities. Click on the link to view/download this fun packet. Dice Activities That Teach Math Skills.

Dice are a wonderful vehicle for teaching your kiddo's to subitize.  Subitizing, was coined in 1949 by E.L. Kaufman. The term is derived from the Latin adjective subitus which means "sudden".  A person who has affectively mastered this skill immediately knows how many items there are, without having to stop and count them. 

According to studies most people can subitize up to 10.  Dominoes are also a fun way to get subitizing practice in.  Click on the link for my Dominoe Math Packet.

With that in mind, I thought it would be helpful to have a set of big dice flashcards to use for practice.  Print, laminate & trim the cards and fasten them together with a split ring.  Flash a card and have children call out that number.  To whole-group assess, flash a card and have children silently hold up that many fingers.  You can tell at a glance who is having difficulty.

The packet includes a set of large teacher dice cards, a smaller set for students to sequence, + a mini set so you can play a whole-group game of "Show Me What I Need To Make __________."  Teacher holds up her big card and asks children to show them what they need to make another number.  i.e. I hold up the #2 dice, and ask children to show me what other dice they need to make the sum of 5.  They would hopefully show me the #3 card. 

I've also included math symbol cards, so students can make equations, a bookmark you can use as a whole-group assessment game, a roll & dot dice game, 2 trace-write and match worksheets, + a What's Missing? activity. 

Laminate a set of bookmarks and use them for another math dice activity.   Review the numbers orally and have children point to that number and count with you.  You can count from a certain number up to 6 or even count backwards. 

Make extra copies of the medium-sized cards so students can play a Memory Match game. They can match the dice to the number box, or the number word, or all three.  I've also included a cover so students can sequence the cards and make an Itty Bitty booklet.  There's a separate set of dice-number-number word cards to print, laminate and cut into puzzles too.

These are a wonderful whole-group assessment tool too.  Give students one M&MM (mighty math marker) to move to whatever number is called out.  After glancing around, jot down names of children and the numbers they are having problems identifying.  I used sticky notes and a clipboard. After the game, students can eat their candy. 

Children can also practice one-to-one correspondence, by having them place however many pony beads or other small items, onto the square that will match the number amount on the dice picture.   Click on the link to view/download the Dice Math Packet. 

As far as dice are concerned, I really like the large foam dice that they sell at The Dollar store.  They are easy for little ones to hold, don't fly on the floor as much, and are blessedly quiet!  If your Dollar Store doesn't have them, you can also purchase them from Oriental Trading.  They are only $4 for a dozen.  They come in an assortment of rainbow colors, so i also used them for patterning.

Another quiet way I had my students "roll dice" was to recycle those mini water bottles.  I'd toss two dice inside, fill with water and a bit of glitter and glue the caps shut with Gorilla Glue.

Students enjoyed shaking up the dice and then peeking on the bottom to see what their numbers were.  Use a drop of food coloring or a pinch of plastic seasonal confetti, for extra pizzazz or to make special ones for Halloween, Valentine's Day etc.

I wanted to include a photo here, so I Googled waterbottle dice and found a teacher who also uses them, over at Kids Count.  Shari has some math FREEBIES using dice as well.  Click on the link to check out her wonderful creativity. 

As mentioned yesterday, some clever person has come up with a little dice INSIDE a larger dice. Woo hoo for creativity.  I'm sure they'll be a hit with your kiddo's.  You can get a pack of 8 for only $2.28 from Pure Fun or $2.69 from On The Fly Supply.

One of my favorite ways to review the numbers on a dice was with a "magic trick".  I'd use a big foam dice and choose a child.  They'd come up to the front of the class, look at the dice and choose a number they wanted to show the other children. 

I reminded the class NOT to shout out the answer, or they'd ruin the trick.  Carefully, so they didn't reveal the face of the dice and the number to me, they'd keep it facing the class and hold it above their head.  I stood behind the child so I could see the number on the back of the dice.  I'd pretend to be "reading" their minds and then ask: "Are you looking at the number 3?" 

I also had a dice and would show them that number.  To their utter amazement they were looking at that number!  "Do it again!  Do it again!" could be heard, as well as, "How did you do that?"  I did not reveal the answer to the trick 'til I was done using this as a number review game.  I told my students I'd let them know the answer, when everyone could recognize numbers 1 to 6, then they could practice and do the trick for their families.  

One of the parents of my Y5's told me at conferences that her son Garret couldn't wait to find out.  She asked about the trick, so  I showed her and shared the secret.  Karen taught high school math and wondered how she could do it with her students.  I told her to use it as a math problem.  Demonstrate the trick and then have students try and figure out how it was mathematically done.  She reported back that it was a HUGE success, and has used it every year! 

The secret?  The front and back numbers of a dice, when added together, will always-equal 7, so if you are looking at the number 5, your students will be looking at the number 2.  Cool huh?   I hope you have as much fun with this as I do. 

I found this photo of a tot with a jumbo dice and thought that would be a really fun size for this activity.  Even after searching, I could not find a source to buy just one jumbo dice.  I found really humongous "cheese" ones with green dots (Go Packers!), but nothing this size.  Anyone out there know?  You can leave a comment here, or shoot me an e-mail: diane@teachwithme.com

Thanks for visiting today.  I design and blog daily, so I hope you can stop by again tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES.  You can PIN anything from my site.  Just think how much easier our lives would be, if more people made the time to share. 

To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button on the burgundy menu bar.   If you'd like to take a peek at all of the wonderfully educational items I pin, click on the heart button to the right of the blog.

"I am learning all of the time.  My tombstone will be my diploma." -Eartha Kitt

1-2 3 Come Do Some Skelton Activities With Me!

Since it's October, it seemed fitting to plug in a few skeletons, so I was diddling around with the idea of making a math packet around the play on words "Numb Skulls." 

If you don't do Halloween-themed things, the skulls are perfect for a pirate theme too, or perhaps you can use them as centers when your kiddo's study about bones and the human body.

I think your students will enjoy rolling 2 dice to make additon or subtraction equations on their "Numb Skull" and then solving them.  They write in their answer and color that many teeth. 

Students can play independently or with a partner.   Once I started designing with the skulls, more ideas kept popping into my brain, 'til I had a whopping 46-page Numb Skull packet that covers a variety of Common Core State Standards!

Lots of the items are very versatile.  The number cards with number words, can be cut into puzzles, or run off so students can make an Itty Bitty Counting booklet, which is a nice activity for your Daily 5 word work.

You can also use them for a Memory Match game, or to play "I Have; Who Has?"  Add the "Kaboom!" bomb cards to make things more exciting. 

The packet includes:                                                            A Numb Skull slider, where students trace the numbers from 0-30, or insert a skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, or 10's number strip. 

There's also a slider for counting backwards from 10 to 0 and 20 to 0.

I've included several games as well. There's A Numb Skull addition and subtraction game, plus  a Count to 100 Numb Skull game, where students add the dice that they roll and then  X-off that many skulls 'til they have added their way to 100.

Skull number cards from 0-120 also provide options for even more games.  Since the numbers are at the top of the skull, play a game of "What number am I thinking of?"

Students choose a card and then give classmates clues.  i.e. "My number is odd. It's greater than 20, but less than 27.  When you add 11 and 10 together, you'll know my number.

I've also included matching math symbol cards, so students can make equations. Use the blank skull cards to program with whatever, or to make groups/sets for the equations students create.

There are some Trace and Write the numbers from 0-120 worksheets, as well as quite a few What's Missing worksheets for numbers 0-120, plus all of the skip counted numbers.

There are several puzzles that you can use in a variety of ways, as well as Odd Todd and Even Steven skeleton sorting mats.  When students have completed whatever you deem appropriate, give them a certificate of praise for a job well done.

Click on the link to view/download the Numb Skull Math packet. 

Since I get quite a few requests for telling time activities, I decided to whip together a Numb Skull clock and a few telling time to the hour and half hour games too.

This packet includes analog as well as digital time cards that you can use as flashcards, or to play games with.   Click on the link to view/down load the It's Numb Skull Time packet.

Well that's it for today; thanks for visiting.  I'm off to take a drive in the country with my hubby. 

The fall colors have peaked and a windy afternoon with a bit of rain, threatens their ability to cling onto branches for too much longer. 

Even though it's a bit chilly, a nice cup of apple cider at our farmer's market will warm things up.                                                                                      Wishing you a lovely day.

"One man who has a mind and knows it, can always beat ten men who haven't and don't." -George Bernard Shaw