Place Value Parade: My Favorite Tactile Number Building Activity

 As any new or veteran teacher can tell you, understanding place value is the foundation of building solid number sense. It is the base of all math understanding.  It is essential and vital to further mathematical understanding. Basically, it is just really really important.

I always enjoy teaching place value and incorporating hands-on activities whenever possible. Recently, I gave one of my ALL-TIME favorite place value tools, Place Value Parade, a much needed update and a colorful makeover. This math number building concept activity is a great way to help your students understand place value in a fun, hands-on way.

Place Value Parade is very simple and the kids LOVE it.  It helps kids build their math vocabulary, master place value, and improves listening skills.

Place Value Parade is an interactive hands-on place value chart.  To get started, make copies or print your choice of Place Value Parade charts. I always laminate mine so that kids can write on them with Expo markers.

Have students cut along the dotted line to separate the digit cards from the place value chart. Then, have students cut out all the numbers to create single digit number cards.

Now, you are ready to begin.  It is time to build some numbers.

I like to give my students clues that fill in one digit at a time.  This is a fun way to review math vocabulary, do a little mental math, and turn it into a game.

Here are two examples of a Mystery Number Riddle:

My students think it is great fun to listen to the clues and figure out the mystery number.  We check each digit before reading the number aloud and you will hear the whole class go "Yesss!!" after we call each digit.

Your clues can be simple or very complex.  I like to use as much math vocabulary as possible. (greater than, less than, sum, difference, double, half, more than, less than, even, odd, product, quotient, etc.)

After building the number, read the number together.  Write it in expanded or word form.  Discuss the value of each digit. Etc.

My students keep their digit cards in a plastic bag and the place value chart in their math notebooks.  We use them for about a week solid and then pull them out about once a week for review.  If numbers go missing, we switch to just using Expo marker on the boards.

Students really enjoy building numbers and writing their own mystery number riddles for others to figure out. This activity works great in tutoring or small groups and is even if fun fast-finisher activity for partners.

Of course, you can do this very same activity on white boards or notebook paper.  I like the tactile model I showed you above and so do my students. Plus, the place value charts come in handy as a regular ol' math tool all year long. It's a great visual for the kids. 

If you are interested in using the place value charts from above, you can grab this activity as one of my stores forever freebies here. There are now 4 different styles of place value charts included in the resource in both color and black and white, giving you a total of 8 option! Enjoy and have fun 

Happy Teaching,

Place Value Parade originally appeared on my blog, The Teaching Thief, 1/27/13

Fireworks go KABOOM! Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July Friends!

I hope your day is filled with friends, family, grilling, and relaxation!

 

I'm just stopping by today to share one of my favorite red, white, and blue math games: 

Patriotic Multiplication Kaboom!

Have you ever played Kaboom?!? It's super fun!! The best part about this game is it can be played practicing all different skills. Once your kids know how to play, the sky is the limit. This Multiplication Kaboom game focuses on multiplying large numbers and is mostly geared toward 4th and 5th grade but great for an extension in 3rd and a review in 6th. The fireworks patriotic theme makes it perfect for Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, or...basically anytime. Fireworks are fun all year!

Game Cards Included:

• KABOOM! cards
• 2 digit x 1 digit 
• 3 digit x 1 digit
• 2 digit x 2 digit

There are 16 multiplication game cards for each skill.  Skills can be played individually or all together. There are also 2 different styles of cards included in the set because choice is a good thing for teachers too. There is a basic rectangular game card for easy storage in baggies and long skinny game cards that fit nicely in refurbished chip cans.

Game play is simple. Each player draws a card from the deck or from the Kaboom container. (I prefer the cards that can be stored in baggies because they take up less space and I just don't have space to spare in my classroom.) If the player draws a multiplication card they must solve the problem. Other players solve as well to check their work.

If the players solves correctly, they get to keep the card. If not, it goes back in the deck. However...and this is where the fun comes in, if a player draws a Kaboom card, they loose all cards previously earned and must return all cards to the deck and start collecting again. 

And... that's it! It's a great game and has been a huge success in my classroom.  Once your kids know how to play, you can adapt it to practice any skill you want. I included some blank card pages for you and/or students to come up with their own problems to add to the game.

I don't know about you, but I need low maintenance, easy to set up, easy to explain math games in my classroom. Kaboom fits all my needs and my students love LOVE it!

The best part about this game is that it grows with students as their skills grow. I start with 2x1 digit multiplication for review and add game cards as we build our skills. It is also an easy game to differentiate for my students and a great tutoring activity! 

Click any of the pictures above to grab Patriotic Kaboom Multiplication from my TPT store and check out some of my other math games for 4th and 5th grade too!

 

Happy 4th Y'all!

Patriotic Kaboom first appeared on my blog, The Teaching Thief, 7/5/15

Other MATH GAMES you might ENJOY:

A Logic Puzzle for Growth Mindset

Are you looking for a fun way to encourage problem solving and critical thinking in the classroom?
How about a fun hand-on brainteaser to add to your growth mindset lessons? I know just the thing.

It's an old frog hopping game that can be found in many variations. In my classroom, we call it Leaping Logic and it is one of my all time favorites.

Simple in design, yet more difficult than you might imagine - my students love this challenge!

I use the game board below.

I  teach Leaping Logic at the beginning of the year during one of my growth mindset lessons.
The puzzle is not easy to figure out, but that is (of course) the challenge! And...There is no greater success than figuring out the pattern and being able to recreate that pattern. Many versions of this game can be found online and through an app, however I still prefer to play on paper and use manipulatives.

To set up your game board, you need 8 game pieces in 2 different colors. I like to use the two-sided math counters. Put one color on one side and the other on the other side. The counters represent the frogs - red frogs and yellow frogs. 

It should look like this.

Your objective is to move all the red counters to where the yellow counters are and vice versa.

To play, you can move any counter you want, but you must follow these rules.

• You can only move each frog forward - never backward.
• You can leap over 1 frog at a time.

The puzzle has been solved when both colors on the board have switched places and the rules have been followed.

Some students do get frustrated. It helps to break it down into steps and start by switching one of each color successfully. Then, try switching two of each color successfully and so on. As they say, how does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time. This is the same thing. By starting small and building upon each small victory, students are able to solve the puzzle and feel the success of perseverance and grit.

Want a hint?!?  Never move two frogs of the same color next to each other. Keep the colors alternating. 

After students know how to play, I leave this brainteaser in my math games area all year and kids continue to play. They love it! If it has been awhile, I see them reteaching themselves the pattern and if they have it mastered they start solving for speed and racing each other.

Each year I have to reteach myself the pattern. I know the rules. I know the hints. And yet, I still have to think. That's why it is engaging all year long. It's just like the triangle peg game. You can play over and over again.

If you are interested in adding this fun little brainteaser to your back to school goodies, just click any of the pictures above or here to download it for free from TPT.  Let me know if you use it in your classroom. I'd love to hear how it went. Tag me on Instagram @classroomhoopla !

Happy Hopping!

Leaping Logic first appeared on my blog The Teaching Thief 9/6/2013