"MAGIC DISAPPEARING BEARS!"

MATERIALS: small plastic bears, cubes or other small manipulatives

OBJECTIVE: Students will guess a hidden quantity using addition and/or subtraction.

ACTIVITY: Show the students that you have 5 small plastic bears. Behind your back, put two into one hand and three in the other. Close your hands around the bears. Bring out one hand and open it, showing that you have three bears in it. Ask the students to tell you how many bears are behind your back, knowing that there are 5 in all. For those students having trouble with the concept, tell them to put the total number of bears on their fingers (Example: five). Then take away the number of bears they can see (three). The number of fingers left is how many bears are behind the teacher's back! It's magic! Repeat the process with a different quantity of bears

VARIATIONS: Show them six colors, hide one behind your back- which color is missing? Show them five letters, hide two behind your back- which letters are missing? The students love to play this game in pairs, each trying to trick the other!

CANDY FACTORY

MATERIALS: Inter-connecting plastic cubes ("uni-fix"), Chalkboard/Dry erase board

OBJECTIVE: Students will put together groups of ten and learn about ones and tens.

ACTIVITY: This game is the perfect way to teach the concept of ones and tens. To play this game you need a box of inter-connecting cubes ("uni-fix cubes"). Choose a student to come to the chalkboard. Show the class the tub of cubes and explain that they are workers in a candy factory. They need to put ten "candies" in each "package." If they have less than ten left over, those are "extra" candies and are not put together.  Write the number 23 and tell the student s/he will need to make two groups of ten (20) and three "extras." Make this activity fast-paced by choosing two or three students to come up at the same time. Remind them that it is not necessarily a race: it is more important to make the candy correctly rather than simply be the fastest!

VARIATIONS: Use this game to teach number identification 0-10. For added difficulty, have them make all "candies" in each "package" of ten the same color.

STICKER STORE

MATERIALS: Stickers, tape, chalkboard, plastic/paper coins

OBJECTIVE: Students will "buy" stickers using play money.

ACTIVITY: Tape the stickers to the chalkboard or a large piece of cardboard. Under each sticker write a price based on the skills you are covering. Make the price reflect the style of sticker- the colorful reflective stickers should have a higher, more complicated, price than the simple smiley faces. Allow the students to choose which sticker they wish to purchase. They must give you that amount in play money. If they are successful, they get to take the sticker. If not, they are urged to consider buying a more affordable (and easier) sticker.

VARIATIONS: Give each student only 4 pennies. That way to buy a sticker for 6¢ they need to know that they can make that quantity with a nickel and a penny. For very young students working on simple one to one correspondence and numeral recognition, give them 10 pennies and make the prices 1¢-10¢.

"SECRET NUMBER"

MATERIALS: Paper & pencil, or chalkboard & chalk, or dry erase board & markers

OBJECTIVE: Students will write a "secret" number after given a clue.

ACTIVITY: This game is a great way to see which numbers the child already knows and if he/she understands basic math concepts such as before and after. Tell the students that you will tell them a number but instead of writing down that number, they must write down the number that follows it- the NEXT number. For example, if you say 5, they must write down a 6. If you say 39, they must put down a 40. They can play this one student at a time, or turn it into a competitive game against other students (always have students play against other students who are at their same level and remind them that it is just a game!).

VARIATIONS: Have them write the number that comes BEFORE the given number. (You say 6 and they write 5). Have them write the number that is three more than the number you say (You say 5 and they write 8). Have them write the number that is DOUBLE the given number (You say 6 and they write 12). For advanced students, you can say a series of items: "double my number, add 3, and subtract 7."

CROSS THE RIVER

MATERIALS: Math flash cards, paper "rocks"

OBJECTIVE: Students will attempt to "Cross the River" by correctly answering math flash cards.

ACTIVITY: The teacher stands in front of the class and places five pieces of paper on the floor in front of her. She then explains that there is a small stream that flows through the classroom and that the only way to cross it is by stepping from one rock to the next. A student is chosen and stands at the far "bank" of the "river." The teacher shows the student a math flash card (addition, subtraction, or simple number identification). If the student is successful, s/he stands on the next "rock." Each time they are correct, they advance to the next "rock." Once they have reached the final rock, they have successfully crossed the river. However, if a student misses a question, s/he falls into the river and is eaten by crocodiles! (at which point they simply sit back down and await another turn).

VARIATIONS: Add more "rocks" or use less depending on age level. Have a reward for successfully crossing the river, such as a sticker, or a worksheet the students can take back to their seat.

IMPORTANT: Remind the students to simply step on the next rock and not hop to the next one as floors may be slippery and the student may fall. 

CEREAL NECKLACES

MATERIALS: Froot Loops cereal (or similar cereal), yarn, paper clip, paper plate, tape.

OBJECTIVE: Students will make patterned necklaces using cereal as beads.

ACTIVITY: This activity is perfect to teach pattterns, colors or as a way to visually represent the number 100. Cut a length of yarn for each child. Tie one end to a paper clip (so the cereal doesn't slip off) and put a piece of tape on the other end to keep the ends together and act as a needle. Have the student thread the yarn through the cereal to make their necklace. There are many variations on how to make the necklace (see below). Have them keep their necklace on the paper plate as they make it, or as it gets longer and longer it will end up on the floor! Once the students have finished, cut the paper clip off of one end, remove the tape from the other, and tie the two ends together tightly.

VARIATIONS: You can have the students do simple patterns (AB: red/blue/red/blue, ABC: red/blue/green), or put the colors in ten groups of ten to make 100. Another favorite is to make rainbow necklaces by having them put the colors in order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) and repeating it over and over.

MATH BEE

MATERIALS: Chalkboard/Dry erase board

OBJECTIVE: Students will play against each other to quickly perform math operations.

ACTIVITY: Just like old fashioned Spelling Bees, you can have your students race each other in exciting addition and subtraction challenges. The best part about this game is that it allows students to compete against other students at their same academic level which means that they will have an extra incentive to learn to do the operation and do it quickly. I usually start this game the first month of kindergarten by having 3 or 4 students go to the board. I say a number from 1 -10 and the first student who correctly writes the number gets a point. Once a student earns three points, he/she advances to the next level to play at a slightly more advanced level. After I see that the students know the numbers, we start beginning addition: 2+3=5. I teach them to put sticks under each number and then count the total number of sticks:

    2 + 3 =         4 + 1 =         3 + 3 =
    II    III          IIII    I            III   III

By playing this game the students learn the numbers (many times by observing their peers) and associate the correct quantity with the correct number, as well as understanding the concept of addition. The competitive factor is crucial- the kids want to win so they will actually pay attention when you explain how to add! As an added benefit, as the students advance to higher and higher levels, you will be able to easily see who needs more help, as well as those who need more of a challenge! It is important to always have students play against peers at their same level. We play this game once a week and I keep the results on a graph so that I can quickly see which level each student is on. It is also very important to let the students know that it is just a game. Don't go overboard in your praise of the winner. Simply announce that he/she advances to the next level. After each round, I "bop" each player on the forehead with a small sticker, whether they won or not, just for playing and being a good sport. 

VARIATIONS: Use this game to teach almost any math concept: subtraction, double digit addition, borrowing, multiplication, etc. Students will no longer ask "what do I have to learn this for?" when they see that by learning the new material they may be able to win the next competition!

COUNT AROUND

MATERIALS: None

OBJECTIVE: Students will take turns counting.

ACTIVITY: Have the students stand up and make a circle. Explain that they will be counting to 100 (or see other variations below). Point to a student at random and have them say "one." The next student says "two," as so on around the circle. A student has 10 seconds to come up with the next number. If he/she doesn't know what number is next, he/she must sit down and the next student continues. The winners are those still standing when the last student says "one hundred." (Or, in the case that they didn't reach 100, the last student standing). It is very important to stress to those who sit down that it is just a game, and once they sit down they need to pay close attention to the other students so that they can remain standing even longer next time. The first time you play this game, you may wish to have them count to ten, starting over at 1 each time you reach ten. The next time you play, go to twenty, etc.

VARIATIONS: Have the students count other ways: by 2's, by 5's, by 10's, backwards, etc. You can also use this game to recite the letters of the alphabet, the Days of the Week, the Months of the Year, etc.