What Number Comes Next

Introduction of the Counting On technique is in the next week or two. The ability to count on from any number is crucial to success with that set of addition facts. This reveal activity is designed to work on that skill. The students move one colored number tile at a time to see what question is under it. The questions on this slide are in the form of "31, 32, 33, ___". They then move the tile to the answer block. Grading the student's work is quick because the colors form a pattern. This basic activity design is used periodically and the pattern changes so the students can not just memorize the color sequence.

 Calendar Skills

This was introduced in July because we began the class right after the 4th of July holiday week; though, I am borrowing the slide from August in the image aboove. You can easily change the highlighted month and the calendar numbers to your current month by unlocking/ungrouping them and them relocking/regrouping them when you are done. In class, you will have the students practice months of the year and how to spell the current month, days of the week, date and day, 'days ago and days after', and talk about the season, holiday, and birthdays of that month.

 Place Value, Expanded Form, and Standard Form

The kids love playing this one. Sometimes I will give them the standard form and they have to give me the other two forms of a number. At other times I begin with one of the other forms first. Unit blocks and ten sticks are stored at the top of the screen. The students bring them down to the work area as needed to represent a number.

 Direction Word Simon Says

This is a great way to drill the kids on multiple direction words at the same time. Initially, I leave the clues area uncovered, but as they progress, I begin to cover that area up with a black square. This game drills: north, south, east, and west; left and right; first, middle, and last; first, second, and third. The way it is played is the kids need to select their pointer tool and pick a shape that matches one of the home base images. If the students keep picking the same images, you may have to assign them so everyone has a different one. Then, just as in the real Simon Says game, you call out things for them to do such as, "Simon Says move to the north side of the first square." If you do not say Simon Says first they are not supposed to move. The kids love it when they get to be the caller. One thing that I don't do that the regular game does is make the student leave the game if they lose a round. They need the position word practice, so they stay in the game.

 Cardinal Directions: Treasure Hunt

In this game the kids play as a team by using their pointers to show what block I need to move the little yellow treasure hunter to. I have a prize hidden in one of the blocks (it is under a creen-locked white square to keep it hidden) and I call out the moves one step at a time. In initial games I keep the compass rosey there to help them learn what direction is north, south, east, and west. After they get pretty good at it, I delete that object and they have to go from memory.

There is a stack of cards there in the lower right corner. Each card has a picture that shows one of the following: Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Night. It is important that you draw the student's attention to the position of the sun on each card. When each card is placed we discuss the kinds of things you might be doing at that time of the day (or night). By the end of the week, they should be able to place the cards in the correct order themselves for the Friday assessment. On assessment day, I will copy/paste a screen for each of them with their names on it for them to work n independently.

 Addition: SSM Story Pattern

This game has lots of parts to get to move around. The kids like those types of games. One part is the name that goes into the SSM story problem. I have a stack with each of their names in it. Then the kids decide how many smileys go in the 'some' bar. THen they decide how many goes in the 'some more' bar. Then they tell me the math sentence and solve it. Sometimes I vary it up and give them the math sentence first and they have to work together to show it with the smileys. I also will swap out the smileys for other images.

THe first slide is to give instruction and the second one provides a link to an online interactive webgaem. THe webgame is added because in the online classroom currently you cannot rotate objects. Students are free to use whichever one they want to for working. It is activities like this where you really see the differences in kids. Some of the kids stayed well past the ending time for class playing around with maing various pictures. Others kept asking when they had done enough and could leave. Typically it was split between the boys and girls. The girls loved making the pictures and the boys didn't.