BOOKS AND GAMES THAT HELP KIDS LEARN MATH!

Because math concepts tend to be abstract in nature and the traditional methods of teaching math facts are boring and ineffective, introducing interactive math activities will increase the learning and retention of math facts. Students will be eager to participate in these fun-filled games and projects.

COUNTING GAME: A counting lesson might begin with a circle game similar to Duck-Duck-Goose. The students sit in a circle on the floor then one students stands behind a sitting classmate and begins counting each of their classmates in turn until they reach ten. All the students can assist in the counting. When the standing student reaches their tenth classmate the tenth classmates stands and chases the counting student around the circle attempting to tag them before they return to the place of the chasing student.

JELLYBEAN STORY: Students learn through exciting fairy tales and stories. Fun characters come to life for the students, bringing the numbers and math facts to the real world. The following tale is an example of the kind of story that can be used.

“It’s my job, said the jellybean queen, to divide the jellybeans equally among the subjects of Numeria. This bag of jellybeans is for you two girls. Be sure to share them equally.”

“But how can we be sure to share them equally between us?” Chali asked.
“Oh,” the kindly queen said, “That is easily accomplished. Watch. . . . There are six jellybeans in the sack . . . .here is one for you, Chali, and one for you Stephanie, another one for you Chali, and another one for you Stephanie, one more for you Chali, and one more for you Stephanie . . . as you see we now have two piles of jellybeans with 3 in each. It’s as simple as that!” The girls smiled at each other.

The queen was so busy she asked the girls to help her. For the rest of the day, Chali and Stephanie busily counted and divided jellybeans.”
This story could easily be modified to teach subtraction. The students could take turns eating one or two jellybeans.

After illustrating this story on the chalkboard I went outside and hid several piles of "jellybeans" around the room. Whenever a pile is found, the student must divide them equally.

GUESS WHICH NUMBER: You can follow up this activity with a 100 board. Look for number patterns of odd and even. The students will discover that evens end with 2,4,6,8,0 and odds end with 1,3,5,7,9. Call out random numbers and the students can jump up and down for even numbers and hop on one foot for odd numbers.

BIG BALL MATH: requires the teacher to section off a ball into spaces with a marker. Each space houses a math problem (add, subtract, multiply, divide, etc). The children toss the ball to each other, and when they catch it, they answer the problem under their right thumb. For young children the problem can be as simple as identifying numbers or shapes, and for older children a way of practicing multiplication or division facts.

NUMBER LINE GAME: Using a number line system of number placemats across the floor, the team may deduct the answer by acting out the problem. For example. 2 + 3 = 5
Team A organize themselves by standing on number mats on the floor. One stands on zero (0), while the rest stand in order from 1, 2, 3 4 and so on. For the problem 2+3, the person standing at zero may first take two steps on the first two mats and then jump another 3 mats indicating an increase of 3 in the problem to land at mat 5.

SKIP JUMP MATH: Using lighter colored vinyl, cut out shapes, (circle, square, rectangle, triangle, pentagon) number them with a marker, and tape them to the floor. The students jump from shape to shape, saying each number as they land. The children can skip count by 2's, 3's, 4’s,etc. They can jump in ascending or descending order. They can jump on even or odd numbers only. They can jump on circles only, or squares only.

BOOK SUGGESTIONS:

“Making Math Meaningful” by Nettie Fabrie, Wim Gottenbos, and Jamie York. A Scource Book for Teaching Math in Grades One through Five

“String, Straightedge and Shadow” by Julia E. Diggins. Using only three simple tools - the string, the straightedge, and the shadow - men discovered the basic principles and constructions of elementary geometry more than two thousand years ago. This book reveals how these discoveries were made and shows how they were related to the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece.

“Moving through all Seven Days” by Kathy Stemke

“Jump into Math” by Rae Pica. The activities in each chapter are organized by level of difficulty, and each one incorporates fun, exciting math experiences with movement.

“Learn to Count 1-10 with Professor Hoot” author, artist: Eugene Ruble.

“Shaping up the Year” author: Tracey M. Cox, artist: Samantha Bell. Uniquely illustrated with cut out art. Teaches shapes, colors, and counting with activity pages, too.

Kathy's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.htmlhttp://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.htmlhttp://kathystemke.weebly.comFollow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemkeFollow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile

GREAT MATH GAMES SITES!

Some of these games have versions that are appropriate for many differing levels. Check them out.

Math Mayhem: Basic Facts Add, Subtract, Multiply or Divide

TimezAttack Basic Facts Multiplication (You have to download this one and provide an e-mail address. The basic version is free and the kids really seem to like it.)

Spacey Math: Basic Facts Add, Subtract, Multiply or Divide

Math Arcade at FunBrain: Math Skills all grade levels

Two Minute Warning: Multiply

Primary Games: Lots of Pre-k through 4th games

Cool Math Games

Math Playground

Harcourt Math Games (This one isn't as "arcade" oriented but I like they way it uses the math vocabulary in the problems.)

A Plus Math Games


Kathy Stemke's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html
http://kathystemke.weebly.com

GREAT MATH GAMES WILL HELP MAKE MATH FUN

CHECK OUT THESE GREAT ARTICLES!
The following article includes great games for practicing multiplication skills.

HeliumHaving fun with numbers

HeliumHomeschool unit study - beginning money and economics

http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html
http://kathystemke.weebly.com

Music, Movement, Phonics, Math

Music and movement are essential ingredients in any preschool classroom. Studies have shown that children retain more information when they use more of their senses in learning. By adding music and movement to the learning process children become more engaged, have more fun, and retain much more.

MUSIC APPRECIATION AND EXPLORATION

Staple a scarf onto a wooden dowel to create a flag. Create clear boundaries and rules for this movement exploration activity to keep your classroom safe. I like to tell each student that there is a bubble around him or her that cannot be broken. Anyone who breaks someone's bubble will have to take a rest. Play slow classical music and watch the graceful fluttering of the flags. Change to fast marching music and watch the sharp percussive movements emerge.

SMALL GROUP FLAG ROUTINES

After exploring some movements that can be done with a flag, divide the class into small groups and ask them to create a short routine. If space is a problem, this activity can be done outside and then one group at a time can do their routine in the classroom. A typical routine might be:
8 counts of giant arm circles
8 walks in a circle with the flag held out to the side
8 counts of circles overhead (helicopter)
8 counts of flags high, flags low

MUSICAL CONSONANTS IN ACTION
Using the tune, "You're Happy and You Know It," practice consonant sounds with movement.

If you’re happy and you know it,
Bounce around "b" "b"
If you're happy and you know it,
Bounce around “b” “b”
If you're happy and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it,
Bounce around “b” “b”.

Creep along “c” “c”...
Dance with me “d” “d”...
Flap your arms “f” “f”...
Gallop now “g” “g”...
Hop along “f” “f”...
Jump so high “j” “j”...
Kick the air “k” “k”...
Laugh out loud “l” “l”...
March in place “m” “m”...
Nod your head “n” “n”...
Pull a rope “p” “p”...
Run in place “r” “r”...
Slide with me “s” “s”...
Tap your feet “t” “t”...
Vacuum now “v” “v”...
Walk around “w” “w”...
Yawn right now “y” “y”...
Zip your coat “z” “z”...

MATH SHAPES SONG

With masking tape, make a giant circle, square, triangle, and rectangle on the floor. As the kids sing the "Shape Song" a small group jumps inside the shape they're singing about. Everyone can draw the shape with his or her finger in the air. Make sure all the children get a chance to jump inside the shapes.

Tune: "Farmer in the Dell"

A circle's like a ball,
A circle's like a ball,
Round and round
It never stops.
A circle's like a ball!

A square is like a box,
A square is like a box,
It has four sides,
They are the same.
A square is like a box!

A triangle has 3 sides,
A triangle has 3 sides,
Up the mountain,
Down, and back.
A triangle has 3 sides!

A rectangle has 4 sides,
A rectangle has 4 sides,
Two are long, and
Two are short.
A rectangle has 4 sides!

The more music and movement you can incorporate into preschool activities the more fun and success the children will have in learning and retaining the material that they are taught.

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Kathy Stemke’s Website

Have Fun with Puppets!

Use your puppet station to teach reading, creative writing, math, geography, art, science and even proper behavior and social skills. Incorporate great books and creative activities to keep learning fun!

1.Little Red Hen

a. BEHAVIOR- Share stories about helping others- what are situations where you could help someone-how does it make you feel?

b. SCIENCE- (Book Idea- “Bread Comes to Life: A Garden of Wheat and a Loaf to Eat” by George Levenson) What do you need to grow wheat- how does it turn into bread? Grind up some wheat into flour. Draw a chart of the sequence from the planting of the seed to the baking of the bread. Make bread.

2. Baby Hippo

a. GEOGRAPHY/SCIENCE-Where is Africa- what kind of habitat does a hippo live in? How long do they live? What do hippos eat? (Book Idea- “One Hippo Hops” by Jane Yolen and “Fun with African Stencils” by Sue Brooks)

b. ART- Make a class book of African animals with stencils.

c. CREATIVE WRITNG/STORYTELLING- The baby hippo is coming to your house for the weekend. What will you do with her/him- what games will you teach her -what will you feed her- how does she make you laugh?

3. Pizza Pie

a. SCIENCE- You open up a pizzeria for a specific animal, keeping in mind, their behavior and habitats. Draw the pizzeria and the menu. What would an emperor penguin want on its pizza and what would the restaurant be made of? (Book Idea-“Tacky the Penguin” by Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger) Use this read along book with its CD at your listening center before you have puppet time.

b. MATH-With a large poster board circle (the pizza) cut it in half - 2 semicircles, cut those in half 9great introduction to fractions)

4. Aquarium

a. Science -Fish- How do they breath? Why are they covered with scales? (Book Idea- “What is it Like to be a Fish?” By Wendy Pfeffer and “My Visit to the Aquarium” by Aliki)

b. creative writing/drawing- if you were a fish what part of the ocean would you swim in- would there be a shipwreck- would you have a hide-away in seaweed or a coral reef- what other sea creatures would you see- starfish -jellyfish- what would you dream of at night? (illustrate)

5. Norman

a. CREATIVE WRITING/DRAWING- Norman is expanding his mind, learning new things, and working on his circus act. Do you have a pet that you can imagine having a different life? Perhaps a cat, which could purr so beautifully she becomes an opera singer. Invent an animal if you don't have one, like a dog that loves to cook or a fish that does ballet. How about an iguana that stars in a SCI-Fi movie? Describe this creature’s daily activity from dawn to dusk.

b. MATH shapes can be found all over the circus. (Book Idea-“Circus Shapes” by Stuart Murphy and Edward Miller)

Kathy Stemke on Education Tipster
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USING UNIFIX CUBES

Preparation: Glue uppercase and lowercase letters and digits 0-9 (or more) to each cube and cover with clear nail polish for durability. Make several sets of each. Make sets of opposite words, rhyming words, sight words and punctuation cubes.
1. These are great for practicing the alphabet. You can link them together using all uppercase, all lowercase or uppercase A-lowercase a.
2. Put each child’s name in a zip lock bag for name practice.
3. You can build words with them.
4. They are great for word families too. Have (a-t) linked together and ask what letter can go in front to make a word.
5. Link together word opposites like, big-small, or long-short.
6. Link together words that rhyme like red-bed, or tall-fall.
7. Practice reading sight words that are on the cubes. Make a tower of correct and incorrect words. Try again on the incorrect words. Try to make a giant tower with all the sight words correct.
8. Build sentences with word and punctuation cubes.
9. Have the children cover the outline of a large letter on an 8”-11” paper.
10. Count the red cubes.
11. Great for measuring objects. How many cubes long is your pencil?
12. You can make color patterns for the children to copy. Example: Red, red, blue, blue, red, red, blue, blue. As students are creating patterns using connecting cubes, teachers can ask them to describe different patterns that they find in different sequences of cubes. Have the children create and describe their own patterns.
13. Practice ordering numbers 0-9.
14. Link the even numbers together. Link the odd numbers together.
15. Start with one cube, next to it put two cubes, then three cubes. (This works best when you make towers that lay flat on their backs)
16. Race to Make a Staircase- Object of the game is to build a staircase. (1 tower of 1 unifix cube, a tower of 2, a tower of 3, ...until a tower of 6. You stand them next to eachother so they look like stairs. This is a partner game. Player 1 rolls the dice and builds a tower of that many cubes. Player 2 does the same. They keep going until someone comletes a staircase of 6. If a player rolls a number they already have, they lose that turn.
17. Race to Make 30. Similar object--using unifix cubes, make a long tower of 30. Each player rolls the dice and adds that number of cubes to the tower. This tower has to stay flat on the ground. Keep going until 30. Partner game.
18. Practice adding or subtracting with the cubes.
A. The teacher will give each child 2 unifix cubes.
B. The teacher will ask the students to write down how many unifix cubes they have on paper (2).
C. The students should then write a + sign below the number 2, like this:

+2
+

D. The teacher will then pass out 3 more unifix cubes to each student.
E. The students will be asked to write down how many unifix cubes they were just given. They should write this number below the number 2 that they just wrote, so that it looks like this:

+2
+3

F. Students should now draw a line under their 3.
G. Now the students should count how many unifix cubes they have together and write this number just below the 3, like this:

+2
+3
----
+5

MATH DOUBLE TALK

Try this fun rhyme to teach adding doubles. Kids love to say it like a rap song.

1 plus 1 is 2 That's so true, I said 2.
2 plus 2 is 4 Yes, that's more, I said 4.
3 plus 3 is 6 That's the mix,I said 6.
4 plus 4 is 8 Don't be late, I said 8.
5 plus 5 is 10 Come on men, I said 10.
6 plus 6 is 12 It's time to shelve the number 12.
7 plus 7 is 14 Don't be mean, it's 14.
8 plus 8 is 16 It's so keen, It's 16.
9 plus 9 is 18 Have you seen? It's 18.
10 plus 10 is 20 Come rhyme with me, up to 20.

MATH AND MOVEMENT

Games are a great way to include all learning styles and reach every student in your class. Enthusiasm is contagious! When I introduce a new math game to my students with excitement and joy in my voice, they respond in kind.

MATH AND MOVEMENT Coming from an elementary, as well as physical education background, I not only use conventional math games, but I also use math games that involve large motor skills. Instead of insisting that kids stay in their seats, they get to jump and hop as they learn math. Young children love to move, so when you combine math and movement, you are sure to have a winner!

BEACH BALL MATH requires the teacher to section off a ball into squares with a marker. Each square houses a math problem (add, subtract, multiply, divide, etc). The children toss the ball to each other, and when they catch it, they answer the problem under their right thumb. For young children the problem can be as simple as identifying numbers or shapes, and for older children a way of practicing multiplication or division facts.

MATH TOSS is a favorite game for all ages. The teacher paints and numbers shapes on a large foam board. In each shape, they cut holes big enough for a small beanbag to fit through. Being sure not to cover the holes, they then glue or staple the board to a large cardboard box. The children toss two beanbags into the holes and either add, subtract or multiply the numbers together. Use your imagination with the older students and have them square the numbers first and then add them together.

SKIP JUMP MATH is a favorite game for young children. Using lighter colored vinyl, cut out shapes, number them with marker, and tape them to the floor. The students jump from shape to shape, saying each number as they land. The children can skip count by 1's, 2's, 3's,etc. They can jump in ascending or descending order. Skip jumping is a great way to introduce multiplication.

Use your creativity! Any of these games can be modified to fit all age groups or concepts that you are teaching (even phonics or sight words). Create your own games using the kid's favorite activities. It could be anything from "soccer math" to "math bingo." I hope that I have sparked your imagination, so that you will invent innovative and exciting games for your students. Have fun! I know your students will.