Number sense involves being flexible and fluid with numbers. We’re always hearing about how important it is for our students to have good number sense, but do you really understand what that means for your students? In this post, I’ve outlined the aspects of early number sense and tips on how to support your learners in the classroom. Subitizing Subitizing is the ability to see small amounts without having to count. For example, many students can quickly recognize 3 objects sitting in a group, or the number of dots on a
10 Ways to Teach Children Numbers
Kindergarten often begins with teaching students to recognize numbers. Here are 10 effective ways to teach them to your students! Number Books Have students create their own number books. Creating a book of their own will give them ownership of something that they can “read” again and again to help them learn their numbers. Provide pages that include the numerals you are working on. Allow the students to create the set using bingo dabbers, stickers, or pictures. Click Here to download this free number book! Number Bingo Bingo is a classic,
5 Activities to do with Rekenreks
Are you interested in using rekenreks with your students, but you’re not sure how? A few years ago, I was in the same boat. I had been to a math training that used rekereks and I couldn’t wait to use them in my classroom. I made a class set out of cardboard and proudly brought them to school. Except I had no idea what to do with them! I had learned a game or two, but needed guidance with how to teach my students about them. In this post, I’ll show
3 Ways to Improve Number Sense
Do you have students who are struggling in math because of under-developed number sense? Do your students lack a solid understanding of how numbers work? In this post, I will share 3 things you can do to help these students increase and improve their number sense. Teach with Problem Solving It is critical that as teachers, we shift from the traditional practice of modeling “how to do math.” Mathematics instruction is much more effective when we use a problem-based approach (Van De Walle & Loven). Allowing students to struggle with
Apple Math and Science
I love fall! Nothing says fall to me like some delicious warm apple cider or baked apples with cinnamon and sugar. Yum! Here in Virginia, we are surrounded by apple orchards…so we make a big deal of out apple season ’round these parts! Here are some of the fun apple activities we did last week! Apple Juice vs. Apple Cider Taste Test Do you know the difference between apple juice and apple cider? Apple cider is just apple juice that has not been filtered and pasteurized. It contains more of
Kindergarten Measurement Activities
Hello there friends! I hope you’ve had a fantastic weekend! Mine lasted four days because of a snow storm on Thursday and Friday. PLEASE, no more snow! I am so ready for spring that I feel physical anger every time I glance at the snow outside. Slight exaggeration, but I am over it. I want it to be HOT. 90 degrees is fine with me. Anyhow, today’s post is all about teaching measurement in kindergarten. We just finished up this unit, so I thought I would share some of my
DIY Rekenreks
I’m excited to be sharing an easy project with you today–one of my favorite math tools: rekenreks! I don’t know about you, but I love to use rekenreks in my classroom. If you’ve never heard of rekenreks before, you will! These arithmetic racks consist of two strings, with a row of beads on each string. Each row is traditionally made up of five red beads and five white beads, but you can use any two colors you like. They are great for helping students to understand number concepts such as