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Hands-On Addition Activities

We have just begun our second week of addition in my class!  This is one of my favorite things to teach in math but, as any kindergarten teacher knows, it is far from easy.  These little ones just have such a hard time fully comprehending the concept.  So, to make it a little easier, I have found and created some activities that get the kiddoes actively engaged in hands-on addition.  Some of these are tried and true, and some I have just started doing this year.  Here are some of my favorites. . .

This is one of my students' absolute faves! The students get to roll 2 dice, 1 for the number of top teeth (the first addend) and the other for the bottom teeth (the second addend).  They then make an addition equation and write it on the bear's belly.  I put the bears in plastic page protectors so they can use dry erase markers to write the equations.  I also made a recording sheet for students to keep track of their equations and to have a product for feedback and to take home.  On the recording sheet they can draw the teeth in the mouths and then compose the equation.  This has worked great both as a whole group activity where I roll the dice and also as a small group activity during my math daily 5 rotations.

Here are some math journaling activities I am using this week during my math daily 5 small groups.  I am giving students some double-sided tokens to help them come up with the different groupings for the addends if they need it.  Each student gets one of the blocks of empty equations and glues it into their math journal.  Then they see if they can discover all of ways to make the given sum.  I have been really impressed with how well they have been able to do this so far!

I got the idea for this off of Pinterest. However, I again wanted to have a recording sheet for feedback and so they had a product to take home.  This activity works best for teaching different ways to make a sum.  Start out by giving students a predetermined number of double-sided tokens and the correlating recording sheet for that sum.  I made a sheet for each sum 6-10 and have been doing one sum a day.  The students toss the tokens and see how many land on red versus yellow sides.  The red-sided tokens go on one side of the ladybug and will be the first addend while the yellow-sided tokens will go on the other side of the ladybug and be the second addend.  They then create the equation at the bottom of the sheet.  I have again been putting the ladybug papers in a plastic page protector and letting them use dry erase markers to write the equations.  Then they can record the equation on the recording sheet.  Every time the students come up with a new way to create the sum, it becomes a row heading on the graph.  Each time the tokens land to make an equation they already have a heading for on their graph, they can color in a spot on the graph next to it and track how many times the tokens land a certain way.  I love when activities tie in more than one concept and get a lot of bang for their buck.  This one gets in graphing on top of addition and (depending on how much you want to incorporate into it) you could even bring in probability by looking at which configurations the tokens land in most often.  So far I have had this as a small group activity, but I could see it working in a whole group setting as well.

Years ago when one of our kindergarten teachers retired she left tons of these bottle caps with numbers written on them.  I figured she used them for number recognition activities and thought they might come in handy some day, so I put them in my closet and forgot about them.  Then a few weeks ago I was trying to find some manipulatives for addition and came across them again. . . this is the outcome.  Pretty simple; the kids pull 2 bottle caps out of a container and find the sum.  Of course, I made a recording sheet so they could log the equations they come up with.  My students have enjoyed this far more than I anticipated : )

Dice are such an easy way for students to practice adding.  I have been doing this for years and love it!  I put this dice sheet in plastic page protectors (in case you haven't noticed yet, I LOVE plastic page protectors!...my kids call it "magic paper")  and have the kids write with dry erase markers.  I usually do this whole group and roll gigantic dice.  The kids draw dots on their paper to match the roll and use each die as an addend to create an equation.  Sadly, I have not created a recording sheet for this yet.  Maybe it will come soon : )  This is such a fun way to practice addition though!

This is almost exactly like the dice activity except it uses dominoes.  I have created a recording sheet for this one though.  I usually have this set up as a small group activity.  

Here is another activity that brings in other math concepts.  I give the students a basket full of shape patterning blocks and this 2-sided sheet.  The front side of the sheet has equations where shapes are the addends.  They have to count the number of corners/vertices for each shape and find the sum of the vertices.  On the back of the sheet they can choose shapes to create their own vertices addition equations.  I have them trace the shape blocks into the empty addend spaces.  I have been assigning this as a small group activity and my kids have done awesome with it!

Okay, so these are my favorite hands-on addition activities.  Let me know what other ways you have come up with to teach addition to your kindergarteners or little ones.  Happy Adding!

Reading Instruction Layout

   So I guess for my first post I will start with the biggest component to my class...reading.  I really wanted to have my whole-group time leveled a little this year.  For whole-group, I have my kids split up into two groups (higher-achieving and lower-achieving), so I guess I should really call it large-group rather than whole-group.  I only have 6 kids in my lower achieving group because I want to be able to have a smaller student:teacher ratio with them.  While I am doing large-group with one, my second group is doing their first two rotations of Daily 5 small groups.  Then we switch and I do large-group with the second group while the first group does their first two rotations.  Then they all go to their last three rotations and I am free to pull kids or give feedback as they are working or whatever else I need to do while they're working.  During whole-group I do a combination of Wilson Fundations phonics (the reading program my school system is implementing for K-1 phonics and handwriting), Making Words, and cover whatever Language Arts skills I need to.  I have started using 'Daily 5' reading this year for my small groups and love it!  In case you haven't heard or don't know much about Daily 5 here is a link to more info on it.  http://www.thedailycafe.com/  It would behoove you to check it out.  I have my small groups a little more structured than the original Daily 5 plan sets it up though.
   My students are assigned to groups and they rotate to each group on a schedule that is the same every day.  I have alarms set on my phone and each time they hear an alarm go off they automatically begin cleaning up and go right to their next "rotation location" and begin working. 

   They have 15 minutes for each rotation.  Using the alarms makes the transitions seamless and I don't have to worry about which students have done which activities because of the schedule.  I know all of my students are doing each of the activities each day.  Another plus is that my teaching assistant is able to work with each child for 5 minutes every day.  My TA uses this time to read over their leveled readers with them or go over their personal sight word lists to practice and keep them updated or work with them on whatever I need her to.  My TA  pulls the students that are working in the Read to Self small group.  I have three students in each small group so that gives each kid 5 minutes with my TA, and 10 minutes to read quietly.  I am a little OCD (people that know me would say more than a little :) )  so I like to have everything consistent and planned out.  Here is a picture of my schedule.  I have it under a glass table top so that I can write on it using a dry erase or wet erase marker.

   The 5 small-groups are still pretty much the same as the layout of the original Daily 5 program.  I have Read to Self where my students each have a personal library of 5 books that they checkout from my class library every Monday.  These personal libraries are kept in magazine holders.  It's just what works easiest for me. 

   They choose a quiet spot in the room and get to sit on a throw pillow to read.  They also have two other options to include in their reading time.  They can use a whisper phone to read into so that they can hear themselves reading or they can choose a reading buddy (stuffed animal) to read to.  Whichever they choose the procedures are the same: stay in one place, read the whole time, and read quietly. 

   The second small group is Listen to Reading.  The students have choices to either listen to a story on the computer or listen to a book using a DVD player and some big books in my classroom. 
   The third small group is Word Work.  This group changes activities weekly, but the location is always the same.  They always sit on the green community carpet in the front of my room.  The activities I plan for this group are always hands-on with manipulatives.  For example, this week my students were playing KABOOM.  In this activity they have a jar full of popsicle sticks.  On each stick is written a sight word and there are a few sticks with the word KABOOM written on them.  Students take turns closing their eyes and choosing a stick from the jar.  If they can read the word they get to keep the stick.  If they cannot read the word they must put the stick back in the jar.  If they pull a stick with KABOOM on it they must put all of their sticks back in the jar.  When the alarm goes off to change rotations the students count their sticks and the one with the most sticks wins.  The students love it and they practice their sight words in a fun way. 

   The fourth small group is Read to Someone.  The students sit elbow to elbow and knee to knee (EEKK) with their groupmates and take turns reading to each other.  They must practice active listening when it is not their turn to read. 
   The fifth small group is Handwriting.  Since my school system uses Wilson Fundations for our K-1 phonics and handwriting program, this is the time where the students will independently practice their handwriting for Wilson.  This is one of those times that my Type A comes out and I might be a tad too scheduled.  On Mondays and Wednesdays the students trace the lowercase alphabet on a page I create using "Amazing Handwriting Worksheet Maker".  http://handwritingworksheets.com/flash/printdots/index.htm  It is free to use and I love it.  It is soooo easy to create any tracer page you desire.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays the students trace the uppercase alphabet using the same kind of tracer page.  To cut down on paper, I put copies of the tracer pages in plastic page protectors and have students trace with wet erase Vis-a-Vis markers.  They have to bring them to me to erase them so that I can check and make sure they were doing their personal best and give any necessary feedback.  On Fridays the students fill in a blank sheet with handwriting lines on it.  I use this as a weekly assessment of their handwriting progress.  The students complete the handwriting activities at their own seats. 
   The procedures that are outlined in the Daily 5 Program work really well with this group of kids I have right now.  They are simple and concise: Stay in one place, work the whole time, work quietly.  I also love how it teaches kids the '3 ways to read': read the words, read the pictures, retell a story you have heard.  I like how this really helps the students get into books without feeling like they aren't old enough or skilled enough.  In my experience it has shown them that everyone can enjoy books regardless of ability or age. 
  This is the first year I have my reading organized like this but I really like how it has worked out.  I hope this gives you some ideas you may find interesting.  I know this is a lot for one post, I promise my others will be shorter.  It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is.  If you need clarification on any of it don't hesitate to ask.

Just Beginning

This blog is just getting started.  Please be patient as I 'dig my heels in' and get everything set up : )