Down by the Sea Centers & Freebie!

Wow! It is getting to be that time of year again! The countdown to summer has started and the kids are ready for some summer fun! All of the activities below (and more) are part of my Down by the Sea Centers Pack!

Fishin' Addition

We go fishing with our partner, then we add up both of our catches and record the equations.

 Marine Measuring

We use cubes to measure the different sea animals.

 Shark Attack

We compare numbers and make the sharks eat the bigger numbers.

Ten Frame Race

We roll a ten frame cube, count the sea creatures, and trace the correct numeral.

 Skip Counting Crabs

We sequence the crabs in the pocket chart and then cut and paste the crabs in order on sentence strips.

 Seashell Patterns

We use seashells to make patterns and then color our patterns on the recording sheet.

 Fishing for Sight Words

We go fishing for sight words and write the words we catch.

 Digging for Crabs

We dig crabs from the sand and write the ending sounds on the recording sheet.

 Label the Turtle

We label a turtle and then record the words on the labeling sheet.

 Beach Ball Bash

We sort beach balls by middle sounds and record the words under the correct ball.

 Beach Blends

We roll a cube and record the beginning blend or digraph on the graph.

Roll a Word

We roll a beach ball with our partners and write the words that land under our hand.

 Sandcastle Sounds

We dig objects out of a pail and write the beginning sounds on the recording sheet.

Seashell Segmenting

We choose a shell, segment the sounds, and use stamps to spell the words.

 Seashell Syllables

We sort seashells into the pails by how many syllables are in the words. Then we use do-a-dot markers to stamp the syllables.

Seashell Sight Words

We dig up seashells and then write the sight words in the sand.

Check out my Down by the Sea Centers for more oceans of fun!!!!

Here is your FREEBIE! This Add & Cover game is a sample of what is included in the unit. Students can use small shells or other counters to play this game, along with a set of dice. Enjoy!

Math Centers Task Cards

I hope you're all enjoying your summer so far (those of you who are already out)! I'm sure some of you remember the Math Centers Task Cards I said I was making...like two years ago! Haha. Well, I have FINALLY had the time to finish them and I'm SO excited about this set! I haven't been able to find anything else like this on TpT! I included over 330 hands-on tasks and I know kids will have so much fun with these! There are so many things to do and they're activities that can be repeated throughout the year so you don't need to change out stations and themes every week! Plus, I included the related Common Core Math Standard on each card to make organization and planning easier. I'm also making a coordinating set of printable games and recording sheets to make prep even easier!

I hope you love them! More fun stuff coming up and I have some big news coming soon so check back in the next week to hear the EXCITING NEWS!!!!! :D

Happy October! {Freebies & Centers}

Happy October everybody! This post has tons of Halloween treats for you! I posted some of these things last year, but since I'm not in the classroom this year, I figured I'd recycle some things that you may have missed. There's LOTS of freebies here, too!

I just finished updating my October Math & Literacy Centers and added a couple of new games! You can get my Halloween Count the Room for FREE when you download the Preview file from TpT!

 Click here to download my Pumpkins Mini-Unit for FREE! This was a freebie I posted last year as well, but just in case you missed it...

Here are even more Halloween FREEBIES!!!!! Download my FALL FREEBIE PACK here!

I found the book Ten Timid Ghosts last year and I thought it would be perfect for a subtraction lesson! The kids love modeling the subtraction problems based on this adorable story! You can use small ghost erasers, packing peanuts, beans, etc. as counters.

Finally, this quick and simple Pumpkin Patch Math Game will give students some fun practice counting and recognizing numerals to 12. This is part of my Freebies download also.

That's all I've got for now! Have a great weekend everyone!

Fun with Addition! {Freebies}

Addition and subtraction are definitely my favorite concepts to teach. It really is so much fun! I especially love using stories to go along with the lessons because they really help to provide a real-world context for solving problems. Over the past couple weeks, we read lots of stories, played tons of fun games, and even ate some yummy snacks! Many of these activities are now in our math centers for the kids to practice independently...  

If You Were a Plus Sign

"If You Were a Plus Sign" features tons of cute addition stories in a variety of different contexts. After reading, we made up our own addition stories and drew them on chart paper. The kids took turns telling the stories using words and then writing the number sentences. Then we made our own class book of addition stories! Click here for the Addition Story Template.

Animals on Board

We read Animals on Board by Stuart Murphy, which features some simple animal addition stories. Then we used animal puppets to act out our own addition stories. While students acted out the stories, the rest of the class wrote the addition sentences on their white boards. For independent practice, we used bear counters and zoo work mats to model addition problems.

 The next day, we used a felt board and animal props to model more addition stories. I just came up with this idea on the spot but the kids loved it! They took turns choosing animals, saying the addition story, and writing the equation. Then we did cut and paste addition stories from The Moffatt Girls! You have to check them out...they are super cute!

Ladybug Addition

We had so much fun with this one! I made a simple ladybug work mat and the kids had to roll a die two times to see how many dots to place on each half of the ladybug. They recorded the number sentences on their white boards. Then we made a ladybug addition craft. Didn't their little ladybugs turn out super cute?! Click here for the Ladybug Work Mat.

 One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

We read One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, then I brought out some Goldfish Crackers! First, we used the crackers to model addition stories and write the equations. As an assessment, they had to draw an addition problem in the fish bowl. Click here for the Fish Addition Template.

 Domino Addition

We read the book Domino Addition and practiced as a group using extra large dominoes. Then I put baskets of dominoes on all the tables. The kids had to choose a domino, draw the dots, and write the addition sentence. Click here for my Domino Addition Sheet. 

 Spill & Add

I made two versions of this one (5 and 10). The kids shook up a cup of 2-color counters, colored the recording sheet, and wrote the number sentences. Click here for the Spill & Add Sheets.

 Penny Toss

We read Benny's Pennies and then practiced decomposing number 5 with this super simple game. The kids shook up a cup of 5 pennies and drew H for heads and T for tails. Then they wrote the number sentences. Click here for the Penny Toss Sheet.

Toy Store Addition

We pretended to go shopping at the toy store for this lesson! The kids took turns choosing two items from the store, and the class had to model the addition with pennies to show how much money they would need in their piggy bank to buy the toys. The "shopper" got to model the problem on the board with magnetic pennies. Click here for the Piggy Bank Addition Mat.

Five Little Ducks

We sang Five Little Ducks and used fuzzy sticks and beads to decompose the number 5. This idea was inspired by Deeanna at Golden Gang Kindergarten! She is sooo AWESOME!

 

That's all for tonight! I hope you've found something you'll be able to use with your own class. Next up...subtraction!!