Race to Addition!

Mental Math Differentiation

The race is on!  I finally finished the activities for my new keychains.  It grew from simple flashcards into a unit.  I'm really excited to begin using this next year.  I am hopeful that these key cards will allow my students to work their way through the strategies without being left behind.  I have tried several different approaches to differentiate instruction and I always feel overwhelmed trying to keep up with who has mastered what and then planning activities.  I plan to continue to use my addition strategy lessons and then use this unit and games to practice strategies.  In this unit each strategy has a set of cards to go on a keychain.  There are pit stops (assessments) and awards for each addition strategy.  I started with the seven strategies; plus zero, counting on one, counting on two, doubles, near doubles, make ten, and the last six.  I also included combinations of 5, combinations of 10 and ten & some more facts.  I'm giving away the Plus Zero activities and you can check out the rest of the Race to Addition unit at TPT. 



RACE TO ADDITION UNIT!

PLUS ZERO FREEBIE!



 

Beginning My Blog & Doubles Game

I am so excited to finally have a blog. This is my first and I can't wait to start sharing ideas and activities that I use in my first grade class. I have always loved using Publisher to create new activities and through blogs I have discovered the endless fonts, borders, and clipart out there. It is amazing how many ideas are out there and how much easier they make my job. I hope this blog helps other teachers as much as I have benefited from the incredible blogs already sharing.

Our first graders have been working hard to master addition strategies. Right now they play a lot of Doubles and Near Doubles games. To celebrate this first post I am sharing one of their favorite games...Double Dare. Do you remember this game show from the 80's? In this card game students have to answer double addition problems or complete a challenge. The physical challenges in this game are not messy like the TV show but the kids had a blast trying to do the challenges.