adapted from Tom Drummond
CONTENTS:
Adding/subtracting
Counting activities
Counting Cards (cards with dots on grid, with numeral or without)
Large group: Can tell in large group who’s not doing it right
Individual
Envisioning activities
Estimation
Graphing
Invariance activities
Patterns
Sorting and classifying (5 years +)
Word problems
Adding/subtracting
(1) Blonks

Our numeral system is “Base 10” (minutes & hours are “base 60”)

Create “Blonk” place value

Blonk = 4; “Base 4” numbers

“1, 2, 3, *blonk*” – have the kids take cubes from the right side and put the number of cubes of “blonk” onto the left side

After kids get “6” they can get “ten” (end of 1 st grade / 7 years)
(2) Wood nails in a bag

Count into cups of 10 each, plus extra laid out on paper
(3) Addition and subtraction

Using counters & cups, do addition & subtraction (with Blonk board)

Shows “10” and “carrying,” etc
Counting activities
(1) Count everything all the time! (verbal counting)
(2) Use your fingers for counting / count real things while pointing at them.
(3) Don’t forget verbal counting down – eating, downstairs, kids leaving
(4) Subitizing – flash cards/sets instant set naming (up to 7 or 8 mostly 0-4, some 5-6)
Counting Cards (cards with dots on grid, with numeral or without)
(5) Matching (2 sets)
(6) Hide numeral and ask “How many?” or “Say it fast.”
Math Activities – p. 1 of 6

(7) Put in order/ine up (deal 1 deck out to group, work together to line up)
(8) Play “go fish.”
(9) Play “find the neighbor”
(10) Place them on the table
(11) Find a neighbor (2 and 4 are neighbors of 3)
(12) Goal is to get rid of all cards
(13) Pick random card & make it with counters
(14) “Memory”
(15) Give 2 cards, “find the one in between” -- find from laid out cards: face up or upside-down (if you find it upside down you are the “Magician”)
Large group: Can tell in large group who’s not doing it right
(16) Pendulum counting: 1, 2, 3, 4 (clap while saying 4)

Count a number each time pendulum switches direction

See “Order of Cues”: (1) “My turn,” (2) “Let’s do it together,” (3) “You do it,” (4) “Let’s whisper together” (& clap), (5) “Mouth the words” (& clap), (6) “No words (& clap).

Do once every 2-3 months at most
(17) Elevator game: Hap Palmer’s “Feel of Music” tape – chromatic scale up to 13
(18) Book: One Was Johnny, by Maurice Sendak
(19) Set tag: (1) paper, (2) have kids set up their “board” with groups of counters, (3) say “touch 1”
(0, 2, 3, 4)
(20) Die toss: make foam dice with random dots – roll die, everyone names together (every 2 weeks)
(21) Bowl toss: (1) shake items in a bowl, (2) toss on table, (3)“Say it fast!” – 1-4 things (every 2 wks)
(22) Counting songs
(23) Counting people
(24) Making sets
Individual
(25) Finger “counting on”: start with one hand (1, 2, 3), count on next hand (4, 5, 6) – try to get kid to say “4”
(26) Peg pull: (for kids who aren’t “getting” counting

Set up boards – fill all holes

Pull out all pegs on board and say #s as you add them back on

Say, “How many is that?” (Kid says total #.)

Etc
(27) Playdough squish: show 3 playdough towers (etc); say & squish in sequence: 1, 2, 3
Math Activities – p. 2 of 6

Envisioning
(1) Through the Wall – envisioning

Set up 5 things in a row. “Here are 5 things.”

Use small piece of cardboard to block some

Say, “You can see [#].”

“and behind the wall is…” – kids have opportunity to chime in if they want to/can

“[#!]” & move wall.
(2) Hand game – envisioning

Get out # of objects & put in your hands

Can use colorful pompoms
1.
Open first hand
2.
Kids say # there
3.
Kids say “and”
4.
Open hand
5.
Kids say # there
6.
Move 1 to the other hand
7.
Repeat
8.
Go from 4+0, 3+1, 2+2, 1+3, 0+4 (with # kid is working on)
(3) Lift the bowl

Same strategy as “Hand game” but with bowl/workspace setup

Say # on top of bowl

Kids say “and”

Reveal and say # under bowl

For older kids (vertical addition), draw 2 + 2 = 4 setup (2 above 2, line under, then 4) – but draw an upside down bowl over the # that is hiding.
Estimation
(1) Estimation graphing
1.
Flash object on tray under towel
2.
Ask for guesses
3.
Graph each guess (felt board with felt numerals for grid and felt squares per guess
4.
Talk about amount that got the most and least guesses
5.
Count actual
6.
Talk about close guesses being great “estimations”
7.
Take off 1 at a time to put away & subtract 1 at a time out loud
(2) Estimating tens

Bags A, B and C have <10, 10 or >10 items – ask “which has 10?”

After they are good at 10, ask, “How many 10s do you think are in here?” (with 20, 30, +)
Math Activities – p. 3 of 6

Graphing
(1) Graphing demonstration

Use a bunch of objects and split into 2 groups (in 2 lines)

Add a line parallel to show which there is more of

Ask questions to point out differences
(2) Opinion poll

“yes” paper and “no” paper

Line up to graph persons’ names

Ask questions to point out differences
(3) Graphing items

Table graph mat for kids to use themselves (grid) – we’ll make this out of black vinyl
(4) Calendar – opening routine – done routinely, brief & upbeat (only as long as kids are interested)
A.
The name of the month is
B.
Letters with sounds: teacher says a sound then points to the letters to ask, “Is this it?” & kids say yes or no
C.
Pattern pieces in envelopes (in order)
1.
“Ooh what’s the next picture in the mystery envelope?”
2.
Go through whole month with one pattern + pattern clapping.
3.
Reveal next from mystery envelope (in order) and put on paperclip (next space)
D.
Days of the week
1.
“Uh-oh, today is not ___, it’s ___.” Or “Today is ___.” Move the card that says “today.”
2.
Sing song of days of the week
3.
“What number is this?” (date)
4.
Count from Sunday and turn over today’s # and say it
5.
Count again to peek to what tomorrow is
E.
Graph weather each day – point out different counts – until teacher decides it’s time to start fresh.
Invariance activities
(1) Circumference-to-height ratios:

Wrap yarn around A and compare that to the height of A: head, body, bottles, etc

Notice that perception of AROUND seems smaller compared to HEIGHT but not necessarily true
(2) Volume of cylinders made from same area

Prediction/expectation (usually): “Two shapes (cylinders) made from the same sized piece of
 paper will hold the same amount.”
Experiment: o Use 5” x 8” paper (or similar) o Make a tall/thin cylinder (8 “ height, 5” circumference) o Fill with dry peas (or similar)
Math Activities – p. 4 of 6

o Place a short/wide cylinder (5” height, 8” circumference) o Place short cylinder over (around) tall cylinder o Can ask for prediction – “What will happen when I take out the tall cylinder? Will the peas fill up the short cylinder? Or will there be too many or not enough? (Can chart the predictions.) o Lift tall cylinder out from within the short cylinder o Show the children that the peas don’t fill up this shorter cylinder

Outcome: “Two cylinders made from the same surface area do not have the same volume.”

Math: o Volume = height x pi x radius x radius; surface area = height x 2 x pi x radius; o Pi = approximately 3.14 o Radius = ½ of diameter (diameter = across the base (circle) of the cylinder)
Patterns
(1) Pattern clapping – don’t change the pattern during session; can change words or action
(2) A B A B A B / AA BB AA BB / AA B AA B AA B / ABC ABC ABC
(3) Pattern strip – 1 pattern each side with cover (folded and taped construction paper)

Change the pattern for the 2 nd side

Don’t change the shapes

Make sure they’re big enough

Pull out to reveal one more at a time

Kids say all together as they see it

They can guess the next one
Sorting and classifying (5 years +)

Sorting: action, moving things, no-language

Classifying: naming, language

Have the kids name the groups… name them after they are all sorted.

Attributes can include what it is used for, not just what it is or what it looks like.

How to sort:
(1) Empty onto table a box of real stuff with common attributes (subsets possible)
(2) Can you tell me something about these?
(3) Kids say “all _[_A]__”
(4) “Are they all __[some other subset attribute]__, or just some of them?”
(5) Pick example and say, “What kind is this?”
(6) Answer “[B]” – creates category
(7) “Can you find other ones link that?”
(8) “Let’s put all the [B]’s in a group.”
(9) “These are all __[B]__, __ [C]__, __[D]__.”

Walkabouts – plan, do, represent; collect & sort; rubbings & sort
Math Activities – p. 5 of 6


Color-shape matrix: 5 shapes, in 3 colors (lines across by shape, lines down by color)
(1) Lay down shapes in order by color
(2) Name each one as you go (in order)
(3) Hide one and have them guess which
Word problems
(1) “Johnny was 5 on his last birthday. Show how many candles he had on his cake.” Hold up 5 fingers or put 5 “candles” on workspace.
(2) Eyes in the dark:

Black paper for each kid

“Once upon a time there was a boy who went to bed… and it was so dark… scared…”

“suddenly he saw a pair of eyes!”

Put 2 googly eyes on paper

“Then 2 more!” (add 2 more eyes)

Count, “2, 4 – four eyes!”

The boy says, “Go away!” and one pair goes away at a time (count it down).
(3) Make that number

Roll numeral die (0-5 or 5-10 -- numeral cue)

Kids put # on sheet with 10 blank spaces, then go again

“What do we have to do to make 7 from 8?”

“Take one away!”

Start with 0-5, then move when ready.
(4) Cover-up

5 year olds

Strip with 5 counters/dots

Cover some of them

Say, “3 and 2 is 3, 4, 5”
(5) Listen & count

Roll dice that has option of + or – = “put” or “take away”

Ring bell # of times

Kids put/take that number on/off workspace
(6) Book: “Blueberries for Sal” – place counters in cups along with little girl placing blueberries in bucket – or use blueberries, cheerios, etc and cups, and copy little girl putting blueberries in bucket and in mouth
Math Activities – p. 6 of 6