November
Box
1st Grade
In first grade we have been working on building number sense and
basic computation with addition and subtraction. Below are some
activities to help with these skills. Most of this month’s activities
are related to number sense because we are building a foundation from
which to expand our mathematical understanding. These activities are
designed to help your student be more prepared for concepts to come
and vary in difficulty level to accommodate a variety of learning
needs. Please have your child talk about what they have learned in
class and assist them as needed. All thinking and work should be
recorded in your Math Box Journal using words, pictures and/or
numbers. One of our goals is to increase each child’s ability to
communicate his/her thinking and by doing this in math journals, your
child is getting vital practice. Please review this piece with your
child, ask questions to help with ideas about what could be recorded,
etc.
Keep in mind you don’t have to do these activities in order.
Please feel free to make up your own math games or do computer math
games, but record these as well. Try to do four a week and send the
Math Box Journal to school each Monday to get credit. Journals will be
sent home again each Monday, so the rotation will go from Monday to
Monday. A new packet (like this) will come home again at the
beginning of December and each month following.
Remember, we would like your honest feedback. If an activity
doesn’t make sense or you have suggestions (or you absolutely love one
in particular!)...PLEASE let us know. We will make adjustments on
future math homework based on your feedback.
Number Sense
1. Take a “house walk” and write down the numbers for the following
items, add them together and see what you get!
-the number of shoes in your room/closet and the number of shoes
in someone else’s
room/closet.
-the number of spoons and the number of forks in the kitchen.
- the number of tooth brushes in your house and the number of
tubes of toothpaste.
-the number of door knobs (did you count both sides of the door?)
and the number of doors
in your house.
2. Make the number generators or number cubes in your math box.
Remember that opposite sides of a number cube add to the number seven,
so one would be across from six, two across from five, can you think
of the last one? Make one number cube with dots and one with written
numerals.
3. Cut out your number cards. Look at the numbers and keep them to
use them to help you add. Think of as many combinations that will make
each or at least some of the following numbers: 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12,
14, and 15.
4. Count as high as you can. Can you count by 2’s? 3’s? 4’s? 5’s?
10’s? Look at the hundreds chart if you need help. Create a song up to
help you remember them.
5. Flip through the newspaper and see what kinds of numbers you
notice. What is the biggest number you can find? What is the
smallest number? What number do you see most often?
6. Go on a fall walk. Gather leaves from different trees. Count the
leaves. Sort them by size, shape, and color. Can you think of any
other ways to sort the leaves?
7. Trace your right hand on paper. The thumb will be first. Draw a
ring on the 4th finger, a band-aid on the 2nd, a bug on the 1st, a
smiley face on the 5th, and a heart on the 3rd.
8. Using your beans and two counting cups, take out 10 beans and think
of all the different combinations you could add together to make the
number 10.
9. Play concentration with your number cards and number words.
Carefully cut out the cards, mix them up and place them face down on
the table. Pick up two cards to see if they match. If they do, you
keep those two cards and play again. If they don’t it’s your
partner’s turn. The one with the most matches wins.
10. Play the Rotten Apple game with an adult. You'll need 11 counters.
10 counters need to be the same and the 11th one needs to be
different. With a partner, take turns removing either 1 or 2 objects
at a time until only 1 is left (the object that's different which is
called the Rotten Apple). The winner is the one who didn't have to
take the Rotten Apple counter. What's your strategy for winning the
game each time? Record your strategy in your Math Box Journal.
11. Practice writing your numbers 1-10 on your writing board! See if
you can make the numbers 1-10 out of tooth picks (you shouldn’t break
any of them!) What do the numbers look like?
12. Write down the telephone numbers of 4 friends. Circle all the
number 2’s in red. Draw a blue line under the 9’s. Color the 4’s
green. Put a purple dot on the 8’s. Draw a yellow sun on the 6’s.
Write the 0’s in black.
13. Play Compare with your number cards. Start by dealing out all of
the cards to the 2 players. Place your stack of cards facedown in
front of you. At the same time, both of you turn over the top card in
your stack. Look at the numbers. If your number is larger, you say,
"Me!" If the two cards are the same, turn over the next card. Keep
turning over cards. Each time, say "Me!" if your number is larger. The
game is over when you have both turned over all the cards in your
stack. To extend this activity, try saying "Me!" if you have the
smaller number.
14. Look at the bag of beans, try to decide which kind of bean has the
most. Estimate how many of each kind there are in your bag. Sort the
beans. Count each kind. Which had the least? Which had the most?
Where your estimations close?
15. Look in your closet and count your shoes. Now, look in your
mom’s, dad’s, brother’s or sister’s closet and without counting,
decide if that person has more or less shoes than you. How did you
make that decision?
16. Play “How Many Am I Hiding” by choosing a number of beans (5, 6,
7 or more) and having someone hide some of the beans under a hand and
show the remaining beans. You guess how many are “hiding”. Play this
10 times or more. If you get really fast at guessing, add another bean
to the total beans and play with that number. Keep track of the
numbers on your Math Box Journal (i.e. make a t-chart showing :
Hiding/Showing... and then write the combinations).
Algebraic Sense
17. Create an ABC pattern using any items in your Math Box or at home.
What color/shape/object will the 9th, 11th, 14th and 23rd object be if
you were to continue the pattern?
18. Create an AAB pattern using any items in your Math Box or at home.
What color/shape/object will the 7th, 10th, 16th and 27rd object be if
you were to continue the pattern?
19. Create an ABB pattern using any items in your Math Box or at home.
What color/shape/object will the 12th, 19th, 25th and 31st object be if
you were to continue the pattern?
Probability & Statistics
20. Roll your die 10 times and record the number your roll each time.
How many times did you roll a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6? (You might keep
track by recording each number listed and using tally marks.) Repeat
this activity. If you were to repeat it a 3rd time, do you think you
would be more likely to roll a number over 5 or under five? Why?
Geometric Sense
21. Go on a shape walk, what are some of the different shapes you can
find in your house? What is the most common shape? Which shape did
you see the least? Are there some things in your house made up of
more than one type of shape?
22. Look around your house and find objects that are the following
shapes: square, circle, oval, rectangle, triangle, rhombus (diamond),
hexagon (6 sided shape), and trapezoid. Draw pictures (with labels) of
each item you find.
23. Use toothpicks and try to make the following shapes: square,
triangle, rhombus (diamond), rectangle, trapezoid and hexagon. You
might use the pattern blocks paper shapes to help you.
Measurement
24. Choose two empty containers. Find out which holds more water. Draw
a picture of the two containers you used, write what you did and what
you found out in your Math Box Journal.
25. Find things around your house to measure using your hands and
feet. Record in your Math Box Journal what you measured, how long it
was, and what you measured with (your hands or feet).
26. Find a pencil from your house to use. Find 3 things in your house
that are the same length as the pencil, 3 things that are longer than
your pencil, and 3 things that are shorter than your pencil. Do the
same things using a toothpick from you Math Box. Record your findings
in your Math Box Journal.
Problem Solving
27. You have a friend over for a play date and your mom is serving
pizza for lunch. The pizza has 8 pieces. How many should you each get
if you are to have an equal number of slices? Show your thinking about
how your solved the problem using pictures, numbers or words in your
Math Box Journal.
28. You are playing a card game with a friend and you both need the
same number of cards. There are 22 cards in the deck. How many cards
should each of you have before you begin to play? Will there be any
extra cards? Show your thinking about how your solved the problem
using pictures, numbers or words in your Math Box Journal.
Communication
29. Write a story about yourself using as many numbers as possible.
Include as many as the following ideas as possible (and any others you
may think of): the number of letters in your name, your age, phone
number, birthdate, grade, height, weight, house/apartment number, the
number of brothers and/or sisters you have, etc.