Family Math Hour

 

Thanks for the great support for family math hour last Friday.  The students had a great time.  If you weren't able to make it, the games and directions come home in your child's backpack.  I have more copies if the games did not make it home!  We played three games.

Addition Four in a Row: This game looks like a simple game to practice addition but watch out....this little game is jam packed with opportunities for strategy play.  Students not only practice basic addition facts but also are working with missing number equations as they plan for their next move.  Play this game with caution, these first graders have been known to be three steps ahead of their opponent.

Hundreds Board Tic Tac Toe: In class, we have been working hard on place value concepts.  One tool we have been using is the hundreds chart.  In this game, the hundreds chart is the game board.  Students choose 2 playing cards and make two digit numbers.  For example, if you choose a 4 and 7, you can make 47 and 74.  Then the player puts a marker on both numbers.  Students get practice manipulating numbers in the tens place and ones place.  They are also learning the placement of numbers on a hundreds chart.  If this game is not challenging enough, use a blank hundreds board.  Finding the number placement is more difficult that way!

Sergeant: This game is a fun way to practice missing addends.  You need three players.  Two players duel while the third is the Sergeant.  The two players each hold a card up to their foreheads without looking at their own card.  The Sergeant tells the players the sum of the two numbers.  The first player to correctly identify the card he/she is holding wins the round.  This is also a great game for intermediate students, just use multiplication instead of addition.

The last five minutes of math hour the students showed their special grown ups some of the math apps on their ipads.  It is amazing how many engaging and fun math games are available!  Check out some of our awesome math apps.