One of the Best Math Teaching Tools I Rely On

What can you use to teach children not only numbers but also how to add, subtract, count mixed coins, understand numbers in base 10 and more? It's one of my favorite math teaching tools: a simple 100 chart!

 

I've used 100 chart mystery pictures to help my students learn numbers to 100 for a LONG time... since the mid 90's, but this year I've come to see more and more possibilities. Download a blank 100 chart AND a mystery picture in this FREE resource, then keep reading to learn new ways to use them!

Counting

What do you do when your students can count to 20, but can't consistently count beyond that? You count to 100 while looking at each number you say, to support their developing number sense! You can count to 100 with Jack Hartman, in more than one way, or with Finny the Shark in Super Simple Songs. Do your students prefer a hip hop beat? Try Harry Kindergarten I Can Count to 100! Give your students a blank 100 chart (like the one in the free resource listed above) and have them stand up, move their bodies, and point to the numbers along with one of these songs. This is a great time to walk around and evaluate how well each student is doing, and to help them get back on track if they're struggling.

The next logical step is to take away the music video and have students point and count to 100 without the visual and audio support. Can they do it? They know how to count to 100! Not quite? Keep practicing, they'll get there!

Recognizing and identifying the numbers

 Even if students can count to 100 while pointing to each number, do they REALLY know the numbers, or just rote order? We can find out by mixing it up! This is when I start using 100 chart mystery pictures, like the one featured in the free resource above, with my students. I do this in 2 very different and distinct formats: pocket hundred charts and printed hundreds charts.

Hundreds chart mystery pictures used to only be printables, a mystery to discover by coloring by number, like these images below (yes, there are a kazillion):

 

When I started making hundreds chart mystery pictures very few of them were differentiated. Sometimes I could find them with a choice of a numbered or completely blank 100 chart, but even that wasn't a guarantee - so I started making my own, with options for students with various skill levels. Almost all of my printable 100s charts come in 3 versions:

 

    Level A: fewer squares to identify and color, larger text, and the numbers usually in order. 

    Level B: 100 squares to identify and color on a pre-numbered chart. Number clues in random 

    order.

    Level C: 100 squares to identify and color on a completely blank chart, with number clues in 

    random order.

My students loved them, and so did other teachers, so I made 100 charts for a LOT of themes! (These aren't all of them).

Later I realized that 100 charts are also wonderful for other skills besides numbers - but I'll get to that!

My real brainstorm invention was:Pocket hundreds chart mystery pictures

Pocket 100 charts have one incredibly important feature that printed mystery pictures don't have: they can be a small group activity! I believe I was the first person to make these awesome math centers! See how they work in this short video pin!

 

Hundreds pocket charts are awesome for a hands on learning center, and I LOVE that students can work in small groups and help each other to solve them. Pocket chart versions are also great for those students who don't like coloring, or don't have the fine motor strength to complete a whole page of coloring. It's wonderful to listen to students try to guess what the mystery picture is as they work, and if anyone puts a card in the wrong pocket its an easy fix - unlike trying to get colored pencil off the printed page on the worksheet versions! 

The more I used my 100s pocket charts, the more I realized how many ways I could use the larger space for each number that the pocket chart provides:

• whole class or small group instruction focused on different features of numbers to 100. (count by 10s' or 5's, looking at decades such as all the teen numbers or all the 30's)
  
• Numbers represented by base 10 blocks
• Numbers represented in expanded form
• Numbers represented by mixed coins
• Numbers represented by addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
• Mixed review of lots of math skills in a bingo format,
  
• Why stop with numbers? Mystery pictures can be used to color by letter, or by sight word! 

Let's explore some of these ideas further:

Numbers in base 10

Like so many skills, this one takes some practice to master, so why not practice in a fun way that our students will enjoy - as a mystery picture!

Have you seen a numbers in base 10 printable 100 chart? There's so little room in each square, so the only way to make one would be to have clues on multiple extra pages. If you need 4 pages per student for a printed version, and have 22 students, that's 88 sheets of paper for ONE math assignment. What if you could let every student for years use it, and only needed about 10 pages? So much better!

To make my hundreds pocket charts I've sorted my cards by the color they need to be so I can print them out on card stock, then trim them with a paper cutter. Boom! Math center I can use for years! (This set makes a cockatoo).

 

Expanded form

I love how quickly students usually catch on to expanded form - I usually chant the problem and solution, ie: fifty plus one is fifty one - so I've only made a few charts as expanded form so far. LMK if you need one for a theme I haven't covered yet, I love to hear your requests!

Did you find yourself wondering what the picture would be when you saw this video? Your students will be intrigued too, and keep working to find out!

Counting mixed coins

Can we be real for a minute? Counting mixed coins is hard for kids! They have to identify the coins, know their value, and be able to count by 25, 10, 5 and 1 from any number, and switch between those counting forms. If you've taught this skill you know how hard it can be for many students! This year I'm using my hundreds chart to support counting coins.

 

How? A 100 chart makes an awesome visual support! You'll still need to teach the value of each coin, but try also counting by each amount on the 100 chart. Your students already count by 1's, so that's a breeze. What do they notice when they count by 5's (or nickels)? Try putting nickels on the 5s and 10s as they count, to reinforce the connection. What about dimes? When they count by 10s the next number is always directly below the previous one... does it work if you count on from 25? What about from 36? Do you always just go down one space on the hundreds chart to add 10? Can you count by 10s starting at any number now? Quarters are also fairly easy - they just have to learn and remember 25, 50, 75, one dollar. Not sure what I mean? Check out this short video!

Once students can count the coins separately, start combining them! I know a lot of people start with pennies and nickels because it's easy for students to count by 1's and 5's, but I prefer to start with quarters because I want my students to always start counting from the coin with the most value. Once they can count quarters and dimes, I add in nickels, then pennies.

Wait - what about counting change? Can the 100 chart help with that? Yes! This short YouTube video shows you how! 

 

I LOVE using a 100 chart to support math learning, and I hope you've found a few new ideas about how you can use them too! Next week I'll cover EVEN MORE ways to use them - I hope you'll subscribe so you get notified when it posts. Thanks for joining me, have an awesome week!

 

 

Paula

 

Nine things you need to know about N

Number 1: Nutcrackers

Since I'm writing this post in late November, it's a great time to think about holiday decorations and activities, and nutcrackers come to mind!  The nutcracker art project I'm showing here was all about cutting and pasting and shapes.  As you can see we've used a variety of rectangles and some circles to create our nutcrackers, and then decorated them with markers.  One of the lovely things about doing this project in my preschool was that the children could do it 2 or 3 years in a row, with different results that showed off their improved scissor and drawing skills.

Number 2: Names!

Learning their name is a big deal for a child - being able to identify it, read it, and write the letters is something that takes a long time, but since their name is THE most important word in the whole world, it never gets old!  For our snowmen names we cut out circles (one for each letter plus one for the head) and glued them down, wrote one letter on each circle, and decorated the snowman.  We did a similar project with green triangles that stacked to make a Christmas tree - but you could also practice writing it with different pens, pencils and markers, stamp it, find the letters on a cereal box, etc, the possibilities are endless!

Number 3 and 4: Nests and Narwhals

Yes, I really did teach the kiddos about narwhals.  It's easy to find a short video on YouTube about them, and then to talk about how awesome they are!  The hand prints were inspired by these from Red Ted Art - she has SO many awesome ideas, you should definitely check out her blog!

The first nest was inspired by this one from Crystal and Co. but I later modified it by printing the side of a hand from the tip of the pinkie finger to the wrist, and I think it looks more nest like this way.

Number 5: Nuts

Clearly this isn't a good activity if you have a child with nut allergies.  For those of you who can use nuts in the classroom, I found a bag of mixed nuts in the shell one December, used it for sensory play for a while, then later was still able to shell and eat the nuts.  This was one of my first sensory bins to put together, and because the nut shells felt very wood-y, I included other wood like craft supplies: clothes pins, corks and popsicle sticks.  They started out all sorted in small boxes (as you can see) and were used in various ways.  I initially put them out with cardboard tubes, and the children slid them down, discovering that the nuts rolled and the sticks and clothes pins just slid down.  Unfortunately some of the children decided the cardboard tubes made good arm cannons, so I decided to cut holes in a box and secure the tubes in the box for more purposeful play. (Yes, that's Paula talk for let's not pretend to kill each other.)  Sometimes we dumped the nuts down the tubes, sometimes we sorted, sometimes they ended up in the toy farm. Overall it was a good introduction to sensory bins for both me and the children, as we all learned something.

 

Number 6: Numbers

Sure, your child can count to 10, or maybe 20, isn't that everything they need to know about numbers?  Well, no.  Once children have the counting sequence memorized it's time to start counting objects.  Can they point to one object as they say each number?  Do they know to stop counting when they run out of objects to count?  Can they read the numbers and show you the correct number of fingers (apples, erasers, legos, etc.) to match the numeral?  This Christmas themed counting activity covers numerals and number words up to 20, and is a fun way to practice numbers. 

As they get a little bigger, you'll want your children to learn your phone number.  I've found that chanting it together regularly makes it so much easier to remember!  When my boys were little we'd recite our address and phone number every time we pulled into the driveway, and they had it memorized just in time for us to move to a new address. (You win some, you lose some)!

Number 7: Letter Nn crafts, of course!

For the uppercase letter N, I put out number stickers and challenged the children to put them on their letter in number order. The lowercase n was on either black paper, and decorated with stars to represent the night sky.

 

Number 8: Noise

The good news is, you don't even have to plan for this activity, chances are that your little one(s) will make plenty of noise anyway!  This is a good week to provide musical instruments (outside is really best) or to have your child make their own noise makers.  Not into noise?  Substitute in Nature - there is always something to explore and discover outside!

 

Number 9: Nine little reindeer song

I wrote this counting rhyme several years ago, perhaps your littles will enjoy singing it with me!

That's it for this week!  See you next time for the letter Oo.  Until then, have a lovely week, a delicious Thanksgiving, and stay safe!  

Paula

Math Fun with Tiny Notebooks

 

I've always had a few children who are fascinated by teeny tiny things, and you probably have too.  There's something about looking for and playing with super small - or super large - things that seems to feed a need in children.  Today I'm going to share a really inexpensive way to use things you might otherwise throw away to engage your kiddos in math. 

Here's what you'll need: whole, half, or quarter sheets of white and colored paper.  I used copy paper, but whatever you have around is great.  You also need a stapler, scissors or a paper cutter, and tiny stickers.  (Look at the stickers, you probably get them in the mail on free address labels that ask you for a donation to whichever fundraiser bought your mailing information.  I get a lot of them, so I cut off the address and save the stickers.  *** This part is important!  Do not separate all the stickers, there need to be at least 2 of them on each piece of paper for the children to peel the stickers from the backing paper.  Trust me, you don't want to deal with individual stickers. ***)

Next you'll cut the colorful and the white paper to the same size.  I made full sheets, half sheets and quarter sheets - and the half and quarter sheets were some I "saved" from copier errors that didn't take up the full page.

Staple the papers into booklets, and fold them.  You now have teeny tiny notebooks, which my students LOVE!  You can use these just as they are - I've made these available along with pencils and magnifying glasses for outside play, and saw some amazing drawings of the tiny critters that live on our playground. 

For a super simple math game with fine motor development, try offering a dice, pencil, stickers and notebook.  This one was made with quarter sheets of paper, so they're very little!  Just right for rolling a dice, showing the number with stickers, and writing the corresponding numeral.

Maybe your kiddos are ready for some early addition practice.  Use two dice, and a slightly larger notebook.  (I used a half sheet of paper notebook.) 

The notebook I made with a full sheet of paper is great for larger stickers, or more information.  Here I'm using it for basic addition sentences.

Have you used tiny notebooks or address label stickers with your children?  I'd love to hear of other uses - share your tips and tricks in the comments!

Five Little Penguins, a counting story

Do you love penguins?  These clip art penguins from Sonya Dehart Design were so darned cute, I had to make something fun with them!

Here's what I put together:

Five little penguins went out to play
On a snowy winter day.
The ice was cold and the clouds were gray,
So one little penguin waddled away.

Four little penguins...
Three little penguins...
Two little penguins...
One little penguin...

No little penguins went out to play
On a snowy winter day.
The sun came out and the clouds blew away,
So five little penguins came back to play!

I made a read aloud book of the poem, with numerals and number words on each page, so young kiddos learning their numbers will really benefit from the book.  The count down poem format really lends itself to flannel board or chalk board display, so there are five little penguin manipulatives to act it out.  Way back when I taught first grade, I used a count down poem and manipulatives like these to introduce subtraction: I displayed the pictures, and wrote the subtraction sentences next to them as we reread the rhyme.  This method really helped children see that counting down is the same thing as subtracting 1.

My favorite part of this set though is the finger puppets I made to act it out as a finger play!

I can't wait to use these with the kiddos!