the technology zone

One of the zones (math centers) I use to help move my kinders forward is called the technology zone. Right now my kinders have to go down to the computer lab and work with a parent volunteer there to assist. Someday, I hope to have a set of 6 iPads or tablet PC's to use within the classroom to accomplish the same goals!

I created this zone because in addition to the math games and manipulative materials I try to include, I want my kinders to have as much interactive experience as possible. So I have started to compile games across the internet that allow my kinders to practice the math skills that align with the common core standards we are practicing.

I'd like to share our third quarter games with you! Each group gets to visit the technology zone twice a week for about 25-30 mins. So my kinders will get to play each set of games four times and I link to some math videos at the end to help them have some choice if they finish all of the games in one session early. I meant to update the look of the weeks as time went on to have different shapes than snowflakes throughout (to go with each month) but I completely forgot! Despite the snowflakes, it's fully functional!

If you like this format, you may also like the combined math and language arts Computer Lab Lesson Plan Pages that we use in our regular computer lab times. On this, you should see most items will have the Common Core Standard listed very small next to each game.

Oh yes, before I go, I'd better explain the stars! I use stars to group my kinders. The more stars, the more support they need. I also use the same symbols on the materials in my classroom to help differentiate and keep items easily accessible to kinders.

Here are my tips for using these:

• Model completing the lesson page (with more explicit instruction early on) in small groups.
• Model what the end of an activity looks like so students know when they're expected to exit (eventually many sites will become familiar and they will not need as much direction).
• When students ask for help reply with, "What makes good sense?"
• Use the stars under an activity's title to model how many times you'd like them to repeat the activity.

{click image to download}

And with May starting this week (um, hello!) we are officially in countdown mode since we finish before the month is out. Lots to do, things to learn, and a set of kinder friends to enjoy! Are you in countdown mode yet?

non-fiction literacy center

One of the first literacy centers I ever intended to share with the teaching public is also one I haven't shared much about. My first year in teaching kindergarten, I received lots of "toy" type items as donations and gift to help stock my classroom. Although they were appreciated, I had no idea how to store them or use them effectively. Well, I was pink slipped my first year since they brought me on two weeks after the year started and wasn't needed based on numbers for the following year. What's a teacher to do? Organize and create a plan for all of those materials! Determined to not let it all sit in a closet, I figured out that I could use the "toy" type of items, cards and general stuff as a "hook" in a literacy center.

Out of this came the idea to pair the items with a set of non-fiction books. Simple idea and yet it capitalizes on my students innate love of non-fiction. I call it the science center mainly because there are a lot of science type of topics included, but the focus is on reading. I use a clear shoe box to keep all of the books together and added a binder. The binder has

• a zipper pouch to hold the "toy" materials or cards
• a laptop with vocabulary
• a sorting mat

Read more »

12 free picture directions for math games

In preparation for having a substitute on Monday after a weekend of traveling, I was so thankful for fellow teachers who I can virtually collaborate with. From them, I have gathered lots of ideas, materials and resources to make my math instruction have depth and multiple facets. Sometimes I have to adapt what I find, as you'll see in the freebie at the bottom, but I'm appreciative of the time other bloggers spend sharing their ideas!

If you’ve noticed a trend in the content of my posts, they have been heavily focused on math. Why? To be honest, when you’re creating your own curriculum, it’s a little time consuming... So, guess where my thoughts follow? I’ve never had the time nor opportunity with any of the curriculum previously used to involve math games other than war to reinforce skills. I know that if you use guided math or math centers, then you probably are alike in that you have a venue, as I do now, to implement games and small group activities.

Here are resources that help build up to these Common Core Standards:

• K.OA.1.f. Represent addition and subtraction with verbal explanations and mental images. 
• K.OA.1.g. Represent addition and subtraction with expressions and equations 
• K.OA.5.a. Add fluently, orally or in writing, within 5. 
• K.OA.5.b. Subtract fluently, orally or in writing, within 5.
• K.CC.7. Compare two written numbers between 1 and 10, and state which is more or less.
• K.G.4.b. Describe three-dimensional shapes to identify their various attributes including faces and edges.

Click to see any of these free Bump version games amd the wonderful bloggers they came from:

Addition 2 dice	Addition 3 dice	Addition 3 dice
Subtraction 2 dice	Subtraction 2 dice	Addition 3 dice	Addition 3 dice

Click to see these free activities:

Addition/Subtraction Fluency Partner Timing

Describing 3D Shapes

Recognizing Number Placement on 100 Chart Based on Groups of Ten

Be sure to let each awesome teacher know I sent you over as you grab these resources for your classroom! I’m going to have to really put some organization this summer into my files and games/materials, like my magnetic drawing board cards, and store them by quarter so that way I have all standards included that require the most repetition. Dare I take pictures of the before and after? Maybe… As planned for this quarter and to finish out the year, my practice zone drawers are filled with addition/subtraction and composition/decomposition activities.

Thanks to fellow online collaborators, I’ve got materials ready to go! With so many materials, I need to really capitalize on getting my kinders to focus on the challenge at hand and not to get lost in the “stuff”. With the idea of using picture icons to give directions and making them kinder friendly, I created some direction sheets for each of the latest resources I am putting into the practice zone. I did alter a few activities to fit the needs of my kinders, so just a heads up. After I modeled one game of Bump with a direction sheet, I haven’t had to revisit the rules or procedures – really! (I honestly didn’t expect that!) I asked permission from each teacher to share these direction sheets that are based on their creations with you since I had originally only created them for my classroom. They all graciously said yes!

{Free Game Direction Sheet}

Tip! Print pg.12/13 double sided

Here are the direction sheets I’ve created to go with each activity. Enjoy! My sub is going to be using two bump games for wrap up activities on Monday and all I had to do was have them out and ready since the directions are set to go.

More Math Activities

Free Game for Adding 1

Teddy Bear Number Line Addition

Subtraction - Am I the Last One?

More Bump Games

If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to share it using the buttons below or to the left. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly just like this one. 

- Leslie

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subtraction - am I the last one?

Two weeks ago, I was fussily taking some photos from our math journals to share and it hit me. I was teaching my kinders wrong! Okay, not wrong, but I could be teaching them better! Why, when I am working with them in groups or during our whole group calendar time, am I modeling subtraction by doing this?

Why am I modeling crossing out individual items for subtraction? It was bugging me the other day when some of my kinders who 'take longer to catch onto some math concepts' were modeling subtraction in their notebooks using one single x to cross out the entire lot. It bugged the part of me that likes things neat and organized because it was harder to see exactly how many had been crossed off and  for them to check their work essentially, because the sides of the x are rather open, making it visually more difficult.

I am so thankful that I realized they were seeing taking away an entire group of objects (which is higher level thinking than I was giving them credit for) and they were also able to "see" (without counting 1:1) the set to cross it out! We are talking about "seeing" groups of two and three objects, but I was reminded of how huge that really is!

So, now comes the application... Because really, what good is it if I don't apply what I've learned? I started immediately modeling subtraction (with a ten frame for example) by crossing items out like this instead. My kinders were tickled at how fast this was and loved it.

It may be a small tweak, but to me, its a meaningful one! Am I the last one out there to do this?

To help with building our subtraction skills, I recommend making copies of these subtraction cards onto colored construction paper for keeping track of multiple sets easily (when working with groups) and for increased durability if you laminate them. I use these in small groups to practice modeling the equations with ten frames, number lines and touch dots until they begin to become very familiar with them.

{Subtraction Equation Cards - Free}

Ha! Well, let me put it into application for my kinders to see visually while playing games in our independent practice math zone. I created this set after reflecting on this new realization. It helps develop focus on what's left, what's taken away and visualizing subtraction scenarios.

{Subtraction Memory - 3 Games}

These should help build some mental images for my kinders who are still working on that (and that'd be most of them!)

More on Number Sense

Free Game for Adding 1
Teddy Bear Number Line Addition
free "ways to make 5" bingo - K.OA.1, K.OA.4

More on Ten Frames

Creating Ten Frame Manipulatives
Teen Numbers in Kindergarten
Ten Frame Teacher Font
Why Does 10+6=16?
Composing & Decomposing: a Guided Math Lesson Plan Flow
Teen Frame Decomposing Game

Now... be honest. Am I really the last one to have figured this out?

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.
- Leslie

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