You've probably heard of the Daily 5. You may even use it in your classroom. I've heard only positive things about the implementation of the Daily 5 in classrooms. I wondered if there was such a system available for math. I did some research, and
the 2 sisters do have some information available for a Math Daily 5 but there is not a book out about it yet. I even came across some other bloggers who are using a Math Daily 5 or something similar to it, such as
Adventures in Teaching,
Mrs. Grochoki, and
Tales from a K-1 Classroom.
My Cooperating Teacher has given me responsibility for math so I've been experimenting with how I want to organize the math block but I thought I would share what I have planned so far.
Math Block Structure:
I. Number Talk
II. Whole Group Mini-Lesson
III. Math Daily 5
I will go into more detail about Number Talks in another post but I am basing it off of the book Number Talks by Sherry Parrish. This past week I used the mini-lesson time to introduce students to the activities they would be participating in during the Daily 5. In general though, I plan to use that time to give a general introduction to the whole class on a new skill. Then while the students are participating in the Daily 5 choices, I will be pulling small groups to more easily cater to students' needs. However, this past week I circulated the room to help the students adjust to the new activities.
The Math Daily 5 choices I'm using are: Number Games, Fact Games, Strategy Games, Technology, and Read and Write.
All of my games are in gallon baggies and have colored triangles that coordinate with the appropriate choice's bin. You'll notice on the left corner of the baggies I have the number of people allowed to play the game. Since I limit the number of people who can play a game I often included multiple sets of the same game in the bins.
Number Games:
I found this game on Spend a Day in Second Grade. Visit her blog for detailed directions for
3 Town (great introduction for regrouping). I bought the poker chips from Target and the chip dish from the Dollar Tree. I created a
game mat too.
My other Number Games are
Base 10 at the Beach (free),
Even and Odd Love (free), and
Place Value Star Wars. I also want to include activities for skip counting but I haven't found or created one yet.
Fact Games:
Math Power Towers idea came from
Teacher Tipster (his videos crack me up and he is full of great ideas!!), and I got the label from
Mrs. Gilchrist's Class (free).
Bears in the Cave (a game for practicing subtraction) came from
Kids World Exploration.
For Connect 5, players take turns rolling two 10-sided dice. Player chooses to add or subtract the two numbers rolled and covers the answer with a chip on the board. Players want to try to connect 5 answers in a row. This game actually involves a little strategy too because the student has to think which will benefit them more, adding or subtracting, in order to connect 5 in a row. You can get the game board from
Rockin' Teacher Materials (free).
I also have addition and subtraction flash cards at this choice. The students can play this in a game format where they take turns being the host (holding the cards) and the remaining players are the contestants. Whichever contestant knows the answer first, puts their finger on their nose and is then called upon by the host to give the answer. If the contestant gets the answer correct he or she keeps the card.
Read and Write:
I currently have pictures books on various math topics here. My favorite author for math picture books is
Stuart J. Murphy so I have several of his books at this choice. Students also have the choice to write math stories.
Technology:
I can't even express how much the students love the SMART Board!! I
really wanted to find a way to use the SMART Board for it's intended
purpose, as an interactive white board. We had conversations about how to take turns and work as a team but they still needed some redirection this week on how to get along at the SMART Board. I need to implement some kind of management system at the SMART Board so the students can be more independent and successful. Again, I'll keep you posted!
Anyway, these are the games that I have made available to the students so far:
Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To Basketball (definitely worth the $2!!)
Bunny Hop (free)
Rolling for 50 (free)
Penny Dice Game (free)
Penny Nickel Exchange (free)
I haven't introduced the fifth choice, Strategy Games, yet.
I also created a Math Daily 5 check-in
chart. Each student has their own magnet with their name on it. To make
their choice, they choose one of the colored triangles that coordinates
with the appropriate choice. Their goal is to get one of every color
triangle before repeating their choices. For instance, if I chose Number
Games I would put a green triangle by my name. Next time I made a
choice, I might choose Read and Write and would then put a pink triangle
next to my first choice. This would continue until I have done all five
choices.
I
made this chart from sheet metal (Lowes $10). I used tape to outline
the chart. I made the name magnets from balsa wood and painted the wood
with chalkboard paint (this way I can reuse them). Little box lids are
holding the foam triangles. The students loved having their own magnet
and space to make their choices! This also helps them keep track of where they've been. I was inspired by
The Teacher Wife when creating this chart. I LOVE her blog by the way!
I know everything I wrote may be a lot to take in (that's why I love including pictures!) so if you have any questions, let me know!!
How do you teach math? What are your favorite activities for centers?
Have a happy weekend!!
