More Addition and Subtraction Stories

We've been working on addition and subtraction for quite a while...you can read about it [HERE] and [HERE]. I wanted my little scholars to synthesize their learning so I asked them to make up their own addition and subtraction stories AND write equations to match. They did such a fabulous job and had so much fun! We used these story mats that I made and whatever manipulatives they chose to act out their addition and subtraction stories. We had bananas in a pool, dinosaurs camping, sheep on a farm, and frogs at the beach. Having the opportunity to be creative and silly made this such a fun activity for them!  

Click the picture below to check them out!

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Addition and Subtraction

Hi there friends! Its only 7pm but I am already lounging in my PJs. There's just something about Sunday nights that make me oh so lazy. So, with my pint of Ben and Jerry's in hand I shall share what we've been doing with addition and subtraction lately.

We started out several weeks ago playing this fun little game to build the fluency of facts within 5. I gave each pair of students 5 pom poms.

 The students took turns "hiding" some of the pom poms while their partner had to figure out how many were missing. I loved observing my students during this activity as I was able to notice the strategies they used for figuring out how many were missing. Some students used their fingers, some tapped the rug, and others were definitely imagining a 5 frame in their heads.  

This past week we have been acting out addition and subtraction stories. I introduced them whole group during math meeting and then began working with our math story mats during small group. Some of my little scholars were still getting confused between add/plus/put together and subtract/minus/take-away. I wanted a quick way to check for understanding so I came up with these little goodies...

As my little scholars listen to the addition and subtraction story, they listen for words that tell them if we're going to be adding or subtracting. Before they "act it out" they use their addition/subtraction stick to show me which sign they'll be using. I found this was especially helpful when writing the equations because they had already identified which sign they'd be using before even beginning! 

I found this fabulous video by none other than Mr. Harry...check it out! 

I will upload the addition/subtraction sticks to TpT tomorrow...its taking FOREVER to load now and if I sit at this computer any longer I will finish this pint of Ben & Jerry's! 

Be back tomorrow! :)

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I'm Back! [with a freebie]

Bet you didn't even notice I was on hiatus! I spent any and all free time I had re-reading, editing, and stressing over my National Board Portfolio Entry. Y'all, I devoted my life to this and I only completed ONE ENTRY. I can only imagine what it will be like when I complete the other 3 entries next year. In case you're wondering, I completed the Take One! program from NBPTS. Since you must have at least 4 years teaching experience to pursue Board Certification in its entirety, the Take One! program allows you to complete 1 of the 4 National Board entries in your 3rd year. If you pass (fingers crossed over here!) then you can apply that score to your portfolio for the following year. For more information about Take One! click here!

Since I have been neglecting my blog among so many other things in my life..(let's not talk about laundry, cooking, blog stalking) I posted a freebie to make it up to y'all! I made this game because some of my sweeties are still struggling with discriminating between the plus and minus sign. Just click here to download it! While you're at my TpT store, be sure to follow it so you'll be notified anytime I put something up for free! 

Now off to get my half-priced slush from Sonic! :)

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Monster Munch Subtraction

I introduced subtraction to my kiddos this week and we're starting to get the hang of it. While working in small groups yesterday, I had an aha moment! (Any other Oprah lovers out there?) We were using simple math work mats to model subtraction problems when I noticed my kiddos had trouble distinguishing from the cubes that they had subtracted and cubes that were the difference. We practiced and practiced and practiced some more and some of my sweet things were still confused. The light bulb went on and I thought about giving them a plastic cup to put the cubes that they "took away" in. This way, they were out of sight and they were no longer confused when counting how many they had left. My kiddos became much more successful when they each had a cup to model subtraction.

That little on-a-whim idea turned into a new Monster Munch Subtraction game. We played it today and my kiddos had a ball! The students draw a card, look at the first number (minuend) and place that many cubes on the plate. Then, students look at the second number (subtrahend) and "feed" the monster that many cubes. They count the cubes left on the plate to find the difference! I used a plastic cup as the monster's "mouth" and students kept the cubes in a sandwich bag the monster's snack bag. I will be using it in small group for the next week or so then will move it to a work station after. I have included an I Can chart and a recording sheet if you choose to use them. You can grab it at my TPT store and I'm also adding it to my Monster Math Pack!

[Our subtraction anchor chart]

[Just put a plastic cup over the monster's mouth and you're ready to play!]

TGIF friends!

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