Skip to main content

Playing with Cards

Today I am sharing a quick little math group warm up with you. I love using playing cards, and so do my students. This pack is a set from a 500 game... the numbered cards go from 2-13 and Ace becomes one. To keep them tidy and organised, I like using one of the tiniest Sistema containers I can possibly get. A little bit more expensive than other storage systems, but they seem to be practically indestructible, come in great colours and when on sale they are way more affordable:
Sitting in a semi circle, I go round the circle giving the students cards, and they need to answer as quickly as they can. The questions vary: * What is your number (you can give them two cards to make a two digit number etc) *What comes before your number *What comes after your number Once they have a set (maybe 5-ish cards)... *Put your cards in order from smallest to biggest *Put your cards in order from biggest to smallest Swap sets between the children so they have a different set to work with. Next we switch into a bit of teamwork. I take a set of 1-13 cards and give them out to the children face down. We then need to work TOGETHER to put them in order (ascending or descending) and the children just love this.
Lastly we go to work on some strategy. It is important to note that we have done ALOT of work with manipulatives by now, and are trying to count forwards and backwards in our heads to solve number problems. I write the equation symbols out in the book, and the children take turns to fill in the numbers with playing cards. Then we use our strategy to solve the problem.
Last time we did this, the group asked to take the book and cards away to "play teacher" and practise by themselves! How cute!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Plague Upon All Your Houses

I find Math to be an absolute headache in terms of resource management. There is never enough resources, occasionally too many, and they are often in bad repair. This is why my next few posts are about Math resources. Enjoy! As I teach in NZ and follow the Numeracy Projects, place value houses are a common material to work with. I printed mine off A4 size from http://www.nzmaths.co.nz/sites/default/files/Numeracy/2007matmas/Bk4/MM%204_11.pdf . Each 'house' was copied onto a different coloured paper, and then cut out and laminated. I didn't cut them out again after laminating, as it made it easier to punch a hole in the corner and thread a ring through (are they 'magazine' rings?).  My awesome set can now hang from the wall if there is space. No more scrunching up in the bottom of a drawer! They are also really quick and easy to unclip and use, then pack up again. I started off using a whiteboard pen to write the digits directly onto the laminated charts

10 Alternatives to Plastic Counters

Shifting classrooms always requires a scramble to inventory current equipment and to replace those old regulars that you use a lot. I know that almost every classroom must need counters at some point in time! Having a range of alternatives can often pique children's interest, but can be a budgetary stretch at the same time. Here are 10 alternatives that I have rustled up with a minimum cost. 1. Smooth stones come ready made and freely available from your local beach or stony river. Small pebbles are perfect as game tokens, or collected for use in Math lessons. They look great with stickers and glitter glued on and are REALLY durable. However, they can be heavy when stored en masse. 2. Wooden shapes are available in packs of 12-20 from your local dollar shop. These are particularly awesome to use for number stories (i.e. 6 bumble bees were sitting on a flower and 3 flew back to the hive, how many were left?). They are more durable than paper cut outs, intriguing and reasonabl

Recycled Love...

I don't have a teachers desk in my class. The desk I had took up far too much space and was always a mess. So it went to another classroom. Often I regret it, but mostly I rejoice at the extra space. Now I no longer tell children to 'put it on my desk' to deal with later... things get done immediately. Less mess, less stress. I need a place to keep my stickers and stamps though. I recently cut up and cleaned a couple of recycled milk bottles. I chopped off the tops and added a gorgeous little strip of fabric tape and some labels. These are now pinned on the wall next to my IWB. You might notice that I keep my smelly stickers in ziploc bags. This keeps them smellier for longer. As I took this picture it made me think of the red spotty tin that sits at the top of the teachers workstation. I have a series of decorative tins along the top- one for felts, one for permanent markers etc. The red spotty tin is specifically for WHITEBOARD markers. That way my students are able t