Hands on Math

Learning math comes easily to students, or it is something that they struggle with.  This can be said for every subject, and it is something that we try and talk about so that way they know that they can get better at things that before they believed they weren't good at.

Math has always been my FAVORITE subject and comes easily to me.  Over the years I have worked with students who have struggled with math and couldn't understand what we were learning about.  Luckily I have been able to find ways to bring fun to math for my students!

Dice games are some of my favorite, and Kim Sutton has AMAZING games in her books!  I have been blessed to attend TWO of her workshops!! I would go every year if I could, because I always pick up new information!  Beam Me Up 10 is a great one because it forces students to work on their sums of 10.  I have a TON of dice in my classroom!  These ten sided dice are PERFECT for place value!!  My students love playing with them too, because they are new to them.  Plus they are great for expanded form.

These place value cards are another great Kim Sutton activity I picked up!!  They have been perfect for so many things.  I have been working with students on knowing the difference between even and odd, the ones, tens, and hundreds places, as well as ordering numbers.  Having students build numbers is a great way to see what they already know, and what they need help with.

We have been LOVING playing Bump games!!  These are an easy, no prep game where all you need are dice and marking chips.  Last year I didn't have these plastic pieces, so we colored paper and used cut up pieces of paper!  I have been having students practice their multiplication facts, even though they don't realize they are doing that.  They roll two dice, find the sum, and then use the counting rule on the board they have.  I have created boards for counting rules 2 through 10!!  I love that they have this opportunity to practice!

What is your favorite activity to help students understand math concepts!?!  What else would you like to see more of?!