Smooth Sailing
There’s nothing like a game to get students interested in learning.
I try to incorporate several subjects when I design a game so I get more “bang for my time-buck” so to speak.
Smooth Sailing does just that.
It involves the science of weather and the math concept of skip counting + those valuable life skills children learn when they play games with other classmates and learn patience and cooperation etc.
4 different game boards have students skip count by 2's, 3's, or 5's.
I’ve also included a board for counting by 1’s for younger students.
The object of the game, is to get a sailboat safely through the various weather to the port.
There are 24 different sailboats to choose from, directions for the various games and 2 certificates of praise.
Encourage older students to skip count as they move their sailboats around the board.
Laminate the game boards so you can use them each year, or run them off so students can trace the skip counted numbers, take the board home and play with their families to reinforce lessons.
Click on the link to view/download Smooth Sailing Weather-Skip Counting Science-Math Game
Happy sailing!
Be sure and pop in tomorrow for some more teaching tips!
I have quite a few shamrock themed activities for reading and writing, so I wanted to make sure that you had some for math as well.
Shake Your Shamrocks is a simple game to help your students review skip counting by 2’s 3’s and 5’s.
I’ve also made a game board for counting by 1’s for younger students. These games would be perfect any time, but a great addition to your St. Patrick’s Day activities.
The object of the game is to help the leprechaun get to his pot of gold by rolling a pair of dice and taking the face value of the number needed or adding and subtracting to get there.
For example, in order to move one space ahead, if you are skip counting by 3’s, you need to roll a 3, or a 2 and a 1 (add) or a 4 and a 1 (subtract) etc.
Encourage students to count out loud as they move their marker around the board. Plastic gold coins, shamrock erasers, and small rocks (Blarney Stones) make great markers.
If you are counting by 1’s, you play with only 1 dice. This game has a different set of rules, where students lose a turn, switch places with their partner and move backwards one space, depending on the roll of the die.
Click on the link to view/download Shake Your Shamrocks skip counting game.
Another game I think that your students will enjoy playing is Spin To Win-Dollar Holler where strategy counts or does it?
Children choose 1 of 3 columns, that they try and fill, in their quest to reach the amount of $1.00.
Includes a graphing extension. All games include a certificate of praise for participants as well as winners.
Click on the link to view/downoad Dollar Holler a fun game for St. Patrick's Day!
Coin Shamrocks makes a nice math center activity for March/St. Patrick’s Day. The object here is to identify the coins and figure out the total value that is displayed on each shamrock.
I’ve included an identification shamrock sample for each coin that will help students who still struggle with this concept.
Students can play independently or with a partner to see who can fill in their shamrock cards first. Students can use coin manipulatives as well as the little matching value cards to cover the shamrocks.
Includes a blank shamrock template to program your own coin cards + a certificate of praise. Click on the link to view/download Shamrock Coins
A wonderful little easy-reader booklet that involves both counting and coins is How Much Is This Shamrock?
It’s a terrific transition into a reading-writing block after students have completed the above math stations and is a nice Daily 5 activity for St. Patrick’s Day.
Students help the leprechaun purchase a variety of rainbow-colored shamrocks as they cut and glue the appropriate coins to the matching pages. Click on the link to view/download the shamrock coin booklet.
Finally, there are a variety of other shamrock counting booklets available as well. Simply click on the link to zoom to the Shamrock section and scroll down to download whatever fits your needs.
Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN away. I hope all your Irish eyes, are smiling during your St. Patty's Day activities.
"A child educated only at school, is an uneducated child." -George Santayana