Supporting Number Sense

I should start with a disclaimer – the children may or may have not known that these kid-approved learning experiences were actually supporting their number sense. They do like these learning experiences – so I’m suggesting they are kid-approved.

Just like you, I have a range of learners that I am supporting. After the first weeks of school, I noticed that some are still working on understanding what does a 1 or 2 mean and others who are confidently subitizing up to five. Student engagement is higher with hands-on activities, so I introduced the following games this week.  I first played the games with the children needing additional support and practice. Before you knew it, they were teaching the other children how to play.

What does 1 mean? What does 2 mean?

For this learning experience, I found blank dice and added the numbers 1 and 2 to the sides. I know my students like choice, so I made the same dice in three assorted colours. Next, I added some gems and a ten-frame mat. I found these thick felt pieces a few years ago and using my sewing machine, I created sturdy ten frame mats. The game is played by rolling the dice and adding that many gems onto the board. In order to win, you must roll the correct number. Then we would play again, using a different coloured dice – love multiple practice opportunities using the same learning experience!

1 2 3 Treasure Box Train

This learning experience was an extension of the 1 – 2 game. Using playing cards, I pulled out the A, 2, 3 and each player turned a card and then added that many cubes into their dish. Once the cards had been finished, we linked the cubes into a train to see which person had the longest. We did a comparison instead of counting, as the original group of children I was supporting were not successfully counting past three. I did edit the A card and added a number 1 to it. This game turned out to be extremely popular. I think it was the fact that the cubes were in a treasure box! They loved the comparison element at the end of the game!

Tenzi

I came across this game at a workshop, and it is another kid-approved learning experience. I did modify the game this year by having the children roll their dice into a basket. Previously, I had them rolling on the floor and desk and yes, there were dice rolling everywhere. First, I present six numbers and ask the child to select their lucky number. Next they roll the ten dice and look to see if their lucky number was there – if yes, we placed it on the 10-frame mat. Play continues until all the frames are full and then the child says “tenzi.”  This game gives the children practice quickly looking for their number but also practice in recognizing the dice pattern dots for numbers 1 to 6.

Happy Learning,

Lynda