Monday, March 25, 2024

How To Teach Kindergarten Math Skills

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Here are Five more tips for incorporating math games into your classroom:

  • Board Games Pull out a popular board game such as Candyland,Chutes and Ladders,Sorry, or even Hungry Hippos, and watch as your child practices his/her counting and number recognition skills. There are also commercially-made educational math board games such as I See 10 and Pizza Math which you might enjoy together.
  • Active Games Get your child out of his/her seat and moving by playing an active game together. Sure, you could play the classic game of dominoes, but how much more fun to count how many dominoes you can build into a track to topple over! Draw a hopscotch game on your sidewalk and practice counting and number recognition. Skipping rope is a fun way to see how high your child can count.
  • Independent Games If your child needs to practice his/her number sequencing and ordering, then pull out a deck of cards and teach him how to play Solitaire. The classic game of Jacks can be played independently as well, and can help your child practice counting as well as hand-eye coordination.
  • Try a free sample of our Interactive Math Notebook Here

    Math can be fun! These 5 hands-on learning game ideas will keep your kindergartener excited about Math. The next time he/she begins to complain about completing another Math worksheet, take a little break and throw in one of these tricks to make the time fly by.

    How To Teach Kindergarten And Preschool Math

    Teaching kindergarten and preschool math concepts require much more than handing children math workbooks or worksheets.

    Children begin to understand symbols and abstract concepts only after experiencing the ideas on a concrete level.

    Children need to have math experiences that incorporate their senses, that require them to experiment and make observations, and that allow them time to investigate a topic further.

    Children learning kindergarten and preschool math need to grasp concepts at their own rate. They frequently return to former tasks to try to solve them in new ways and start to record their work with pictures.

    Keep In Mind That The Kids Have Expectations Too

    Source: Rainbows Within Reach

    Kids go to their first day of kindergarten expecting to learn how to read that very day. So you have to do some choral reading of big books or poems so that they know that they have begun to learn to read. Just one big book. Read it many times that day. If they go home seeing themselves as scholars on the first day of school, you will have set the tone for the whole year. Becky N.

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    Fun Math Activities For Kindergarteners

    Improve your kindergarteners math skills with these easy at-home activities. Theyll practice counting, simple addition, shape recognition, measurements, and more.

    Children enhance their knowledge of basic math principles during kindergarten. By the end of the year, they should recognize, order, and count items up to 100. Other milestones include adding and subtracting single-digit numbers, recognizing shapes, creating patterns, and classifying objects by size.

    While your little ones teacher will make sure they’re on track, you can also improve cognitive skills with at-home activities. The key is incorporating math into everyday life, making it seem like a game instead of a chore. Keep reading for 10 fun math activities for kindergarten students.

    Pull Individually During Small Groups

    Number Play Dough Mats {Includes Numbers 1

    This one may be the most obvious and seemingly time consuming. I normally choose to break our normal GR schedule once a week in order to be assessing all throughout the year. Four out of five days is instructional and the fifth day is for assessments in literacy that are for report cards, Dibels and such.

    I know that some schools have to adhere to the 90-min. instructional literacy block and we do too. But this includes assessment time, and this is how I break mine up. I feel better prepared doing assessments on one day, but I know that others may prefer to pull a few groups and replace their last group time with a batch of assessments on a daily basis.

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    Incorporate Storytelling To Make Connections To Real

    When it comes to igniting the interest of young minds, not much comes close to a good story.

    Incorporate story problems into your classroom lessons allow students to see how certain math concepts can apply to real life. Story problems are also a good way to help students understand how to use math in everyday life, and see the relevance of math.

    Mathseeds provides colorful end-of-lesson books as part of its online program. Many of these are designed so students read the problem, work through it independently, and then turn to the next page to see the solution.

    Create Math Centers Stations Or Zones

    If you are going to teach small numbers of students at a time, you need the rest of the class to be learning independently.

    What is the best way to keep others engaged and learning independently?

    In kindergarten, I find it’s always a balancing act. There are times when technology snafus or social skills interrupt lessons, but that’s just part of life with five-year-olds. It’s not unique to guided math or literacy centers. It’s just the way it is. And it can be tough to manage sometimes if you’re the only one in the classroom. I was. I get it. But it is possible.

    The best way I know how is to create math centers, stations or zones that are year-long, open-ended or offer choice.

    • When you make them year-long students know what to expect.
    • When they are open-ended or offer choices students can keep working until time is up.

    I want to share my three successful independent student math centers with you.

    But, I didn’t call them centers, just so you know.

    We have literacy centers and math zones. I wanted something that sounded very different from “centers” to avoid any confusion when rolling it out at the beginning of the year.

    These three independent work zones are running at the same time I am teaching a small group.

    I knew I could maintain:

    • some type of activity center that offered choices
    • a computer center that was differentiated
    • some journaling that is mostly open-ended since we would be ditching worksheets

    Here’s how to do that.

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    Understand The Numbers 11

    Though it may seem quite advanced, your kindergartner will begin to understand the concept of place value and that position makes some numbers bigger than others – ie get to grips with the idea that 21 is bigger than 12. Students may use place value blocks to be able to see how ten ones become a ten.

    At home: When counting blocks or lego bricks at home, make a group of ten. Then add on extra ones to make the numbers 11-19. You can even talk about place value when looking at written two-digit numbers.

    Understanding Time And Seasons

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    Children in kindergarten don’t usually learn how to tell the time on a clock, but they do begin to explore the concepts of time in their own personal day as well as the seasons of the year. Most kindergarten classrooms have a circle time at the start of the day with a song where children look at the calendar and recite the day and month, as well as any special events coming up.

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    Make Math A Daily Activity

    Use math in your day-to-day routine. Help your child get the most out of your math lessons when you incorporate it into your daily life while setting goals they can achieve.

    • At a red light, how many blue cars do you see?
    • At the grocery store, how many boxes of crackers could we buy if we only have $10?
    • At the doctor’s office, how many kids will be left in the waiting room when three are called to the back?
    • If we only ate 1/4 of our lunch, how much would we have left?
    • How much will diapers cost if they’re 25 percent off?
    • On the freeway, how much do the numbers on the license plate in front of us add up to?
    • How many shirts are you putting into the washing machine?
    • If you need to divide eight quarters among four people at the arcade, how many quarters would each person get?

    Once you show your child how much fun math can be, they will gain enthusiasm about learning that you can apply to other subjects. Once children enjoy learning, there’s no stopping them.

    Think Outside The Box

    When it comes to doing guided math, we may need to think outside of the box. I’m here to give you permission to do so.

    Keep this in mind:

    • It’s probably different than what you’ve done before.
    • You might be the only one in your grade level or even your school doing it.
    • It might feel tough and really big to undertake.

    I’m here to tell you – that it’s okay. It might be tough, new and different. But, this way you’ll get to really teach math. You’ll get to cover questions, misconceptions and teach deeper thinking than you ever thought possible.

    You won’t just be covering math anymore… you’ll be teaching it. And, after all, isn’t teaching what we’re here to do?

    The beauty behind teaching math this way lies in meeting students and growing them where they’re at.

    If you can learn to think outside of the box, you’ll be well on your way to teaching the way you want to.

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    Make Assessment Part Of Your Lesson Plans

    When you build assessment into your small group lessons it is a big time saver.

    Plan out which of your standards you can assess during your small group time.

    You can assess students one-on-one while others are occupied on super quick things like counting aloud to 100, counting by tens or naming 2D shapes. I like to do this when students are doing a warm-up activity at the beginning of a lesson.

    You can also include an activity or task as part of your lesson . You document whether they were able to complete the task successfully and you’ve got your assessment built-in.

    Assessing students is way easier when you teach in small groups because you get to know what they can do soooo much better.

    Set Up A Games And Activities Center

    Help Your Child Develop Early Math Skills

    When you set up a games and activities center, you are giving students ways to practice skills without your one-on-one attention.

    You are giving them the gift of practice. It’s why I call it the practice zone.

    Pick games that reinforce the skills or strategies you teach them in your small groups or for minor standards that don’t require much extra teaching.

    You can find free, printable games or look for engaging activities that use manipulatives and rotate them throughout the year.

    Have a variety of games at any one time to offer choice, but keep the materials students use the same throughout the year.

    Continue reading: How to set up a year-long math games and activities center > >

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    Kindergarten Math Activities Games And Worksheets Oh My

    This post may contains affiliate links. This means if you buy something through a link in this post, I will make a small commission at no cost to you. This allows me to keep bringing you great content.

    Kindergarten math is such a fun time! Kids at this age get so excited when they get the right answer or learn a new skill. Is there anything more precious than that look of pride and excitement on a young child’s face when they “get it right”?!There are so many kindergarten math skills – addition, subtraction, counting, learning numbers, learning shapes, maybe even a little division skill prep! That’s a lot for young learners to tackle!

    How Do I Teach Basic Math To Kindergarten

    You can play a math scavenger hunt to learn more about math. You can use chalk to write numbers on the driveway and quiz your kids about math questions they must answer by running to the correct number. Blocks can be used to begin counting. It is possible for them to enjoy math rather than engage in an educational drill.

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    What You Can Do

    The tips below highlight ways that you can help your child learn early math skills by building on their natural curiosity and having fun together.

    Shape up.

    Play with shape-sorters. Talk with your child about each shapecount the sides, describe the colors. Make your own shapes by cutting large shapes out of colored construction paper. Ask your child to hop on the circle or jump on the red shape.

    Count and sort.

    Gather together a basket of small toys, shells, pebbles or buttons. Count them with your child. Sort them based on size, color, or what they do .

    Place the call.

    With your 3-year-old, begin teaching her the address and phone number of your home. Talk with your child about how each house has a number, and how their house or apartment is one of a series, each with its own number.

    What size is it?

    Notice the sizes of objects in the world around you: That pink pocketbook is the biggest. The blue pocketbook is the smallest. Ask your child to think about his own size relative to other objects .

    Youre cookin now!

    Even young children can help fill, stir, and pour. Through these activities, children learn, quite naturally, to count, measure, add, and estimate.

    Walk it off.

    Taking a walk gives children many opportunities to compare , assess , note similarities and differences and categorize . You can also talk about size , estimate distance , and practice counting .

    Picture time.

    Shape up.

    Read and sing your numbers.

    Start today.

    Pass it around.

    Big on blocks.

    How Do Children Learn Math

    How to Use an Abacus or Counting Frame to Teach Kindergarten Math

    1. Children learn math with concrete materials

    Children need concrete objects real stuff, manipulatives, materials, such as blocks, counters, popsicle sticks, in order to make sense of new math concepts or abstract ideas. Read, Teaching with manipulatives, for easy steps on how to do this.

    Only after children have had ample opportunities to learn a new concept with real objects are they ready to connect their learning to abstract symbols such as numbers and math symbols .

    2. Children need lots of time to learn math

    Children need plenty of time to play with math materials before they use them for teacher guided math activities.

    3. Children learn math with a meaningful vocabulary

    Children need to link math to their everyday experiences. Math games and activities are good opportunities to build a math vocabulary.

    Children need vocabulary to express their mathematical experiences.

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    Let Your Students Regularly Know How They’re Doing

    Feedback is an important part of teaching elementary math and improving students’ results.

    Let your students know how they have performed on a specific task, along with helpful ways that they can further improve and extend their skills.

    Remember, feedback is different to praise. Focus your feedback on the task itself and make sure they have a clear understanding of what they did well and how they can improve next time. In Carol Dweck’s research around what’s known as the ‘growth mindset’, she writes:

    The growth mindset was intended to help close achievement gaps, not hide them. It is about telling the truth about a student’s current achievement and then, together, doing something about it, helping him or her become smarter.

    Do you teach elementary math? Mathseeds is the research-based online math program specifically designed for students in grades Kâ2. Created by a highly experienced team of elementary teachers, Mathseeds provides self-paced lessons, automated reporting, and a range of teaching tools to help your elementary math students succeed. .

    • Why It Works

    Ask Students To Explain Their Ideas

    Have you ever noticed how much more confident you feel about a concept after explaining it to someone else?

    Meta-cognition is the process of thinking about your options, choices, and results, and it has a big impact on the way students learn.

    Before assigning a math problem, ask students to brainstorm problem-solving strategies they can use. Encourage students to work together to suggest different strategies in a respectful way.

    This process can be carried out at every stage of problem solving when teaching elementary math. Once students have offered an answer, ask them to verbalize step-by-step how they got that answer.

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    Practice Counting On With Cards And Dice

    Remove the face cards from a deck of playing cards and grab a pair of dice. The first player turns over a card and then rolls the dice. The number on the dice indicates how far they count on from the card. If the player gets it right, they keep the card, and the other player get a turn.

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    What Should I Do With These Numbers

    Kindergarten Is Crazy (Fun): Teaching Math in Kindergarten ...

    Does your kindergartner know that when they hear a word problem about Santa eating cookies from a plate on Christmas Eve that subtraction is involved? Build this understanding by sharing lots of math stories with your child. Then stop and ask, Whats happening? Do we need to add or subtract to figure out what is happening in this problem? If talking about it doesnt make sense, have your child draw a picture or use blocks to help bring the problem to life.

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