Math Work Stations Chapter 4 - Beginning Number Concepts

I started this post almost a week ago now but spent some time creating activities to share. I'm sorry this post is so late in coming ... I went to three days of professional development workshops this week and just ran low on time.

It was really exciting to read through Chapter 4 of Math Work Stations by Debbie Diller and come up with ideas for math work stations in my classroom. Debbie poses some interesting questions for reflection at the end of the chapter.

1. What investigations and partner games can you use or adapt from your core program or trainings your district has provided to develop beginning number concepts stations? Use what you've already got!

I look forward to going through my math curriculum at school now and seeing what I can create now to make the partner games more exciting and organized for my kids come fall. I'm planning on going to school later this week to grab it.

2. What kinds of counting opportunities do your children need next? How can you make these experiences with numbers meaningful and authentic?
I had an aha moment while reading this chapter. I'm not sure I really thought before about children attaching meaning to numbers. I've provided activities in the past that will help them to attach meaning to numbers, I'm just not sure if I've thought about it in this way. I had several students this last year that had difficulty in math and it's leapt out at me while reading this chapter that they may not have had enough experience attaching meaning to math concepts. It helps me to realize that there are more ways to help support students in attaching meaning to numbers.
3. What beginning number concepts stations are currently in use in your classroom? Which are most effice? Why? How do you know?
One activity I have used in the past was using playing cards to practice more than/less than by playing war. I've also had my kids play memory games to match numerals with number words as well as with dot stickers. Reading this chapter has given me so many more ideas to implement as a part of this station.

I have posted my first activity I created to TpT to download for free. This is the first time I have posted anything on TpT so if you have any suggestions please leave them as a comment here.

The first game I created is called Coin Battle. I created a math mat and math talk cards to use with this game. You can use money flash cards already in your classroom. If you do not have any already in your classroom, the sites below have printable flashcards you can download for free.

http://www.tlsbooks.com/moneyflashcards.pdf

http://www.havefunteaching.com/flash-cards/math/money-flash-cards.pdf

http://www.math-salamanders.com/support-files/math-money-flashcards-1st-grade.pdf

In order to differentiate this work station I would use different sets of cards depending on the readiness of each student. They could use a set of cards that only have pennies, nickels, dimes, or quarters or students could use a set of cards that have mixed coins.

If you would like to download this game click here.

While reading chapter 4 I was thinking about what other ways I represent numbers for my kids. Debbie Diller talked about using base ten blocks to compare numbers. I decided to create some cards to use to practice.

There are many more ideas shared at Kindergarten Crayons. Click on the button below to go there.