Math transition activities: Preschool Number Sense Routine Perfect for Transitions

Building Math and Literacy into Transitions

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Building Math and Literacy into Transitions

July 2, 2015

Today during our Summer Academy course, we had a conversation with educators about the importance of slow transitions built into their days. When transitioning (e.g., from whole group to lunch) it is helpful for young children when we slowly filter them from one area to the other. This supports self regulation by providing them with space and ample time. When all children transition together it can be chaotic and overwhelming for children to practice new skills and follow expectations.

Whenever we transition, we use a slow filter as a team. To support this, we have developed short activities, games and songs. For example, we may play a guessing game with numbers. The educator could record a number (e.g., 7) on a whiteboard and then invites students to guess the number. We would then prompt the children guessing with “higher” or “lower” based on their guesses. After a child has an opportunity to guess, we would invite them to transition into the next activity (e.g., wash their hands for lunch).

When children are invited to think out loud and participate in whole group activities it provides them with an opportunity to listen to their peers strategies, to develop their understanding of mathematical language, to verbalize their own thinking, and to make connections.

Short, simple games and activities support us in keeping children actively engaged throughout the transition. As educators, it provides us with a quick insight into children’s thinking, problem solving and language.

Educators are always looking for opportunities to collect quick snapshots of children’s learning to support their assessment and planning. Working as a team, one educator is able to lead the transitional activity and the other educator can take the opportunity to document and capture the learning.

We have found that transitions provide us with great information about what our children know and what they may need more support in understanding. We then use this information to support our planning of small group or learning centre experiences.

Many of the games or activities brainstormed are things that you may already be doing and playing in your own classroom. We would encourage you to think about how you are capturing what is happening to support your assessment and learning.

Math Transitions

• 10 Frame Cards: What do you see?
• Dot Plates: What do you see? How do you see it?
• Can you make a number? (e.g., show me “4” using your fingers – multiple ways)
• Can you make/continue a pattern? (using manipulates or actions)
• Ten You’re Out! (starting at 0, children count in sequence to 10 – child that says 10 transitions)
• Using a Question to Transition (e.g., “if your name has 3 letters, 4 letters”)
• Guess the Shape (using a feely box or bag – prompt to describe attributes)
• I Spy: Do you see a shape? (asking students to “spy” shapes in the classroom)
• Hit the Target Number (in 2 teams, groups are given a target number and count back and forth until the number is reached. Whichever team hits that number, they get a point)
• Body Numbers: small groups of children use their body to show different numbers
• What comes before/after? (show a numeral and prompt what comes before or after, could extend to ask what is a number that is a little bit more or a little bit less)
• Colour Count: count the number of colours you are wearing
• Bug Under the Rug: Using numbered mat, hide a bug under one of them. Students will guess where it is hiding using the numerals.
• Say a Number: Educator says a number and prompts child to share a number that is “more” or “less”
• Instruction using positional language: under, over, beside (e.g., “stand beside the chair, then wash your hands”)
• Instruments and Patterns: Using an instrument child can create a pattern before transitioning – others can repeat their pattern (e.g., bells, rhythm sticks)
• Simon Says: using patterns, numerals (e.g., “Simon says do 4 jumping jacks”)
• Challenging Problem: “I am thinking of a couple numbers that add up to 8, what could they be?”
• Measurement Questions: “What is something longer than your finger?” or “Tell me something shorter than your leg”
• Mystery Bag: place objects in a bag, student feels and records the number to represent their thinking (e. g., feels 3 objects, prints the numeral or makes 3 tally marks)
• Flash Fingers: show students combinations on fingers and then hide behind back (ask how many did you see?)
• I say, We say: exploring with a number line – educator says a number and students share orally what would come next (e.g., educator says 4, students say 5)
• Sorting: based on what students are wearing (e.g., # of buttons, patterns, colours, type of clothes etc)
• Snap Cube Trains: students listen as educator snaps together objects (or drops into a bucket) and students count how many they “hear”
• Password: Create a small password pad for door going outdoors or in classroom. Tell students password (could be numerals or colours – could extend to patterning)
• Transition Magician – put shapes or objects in a basket (all children draw a shape or object) – use shapes as a cue to line up (e.g., all of the circles line up)
• Show it different ways: record a number on the board (invite students to come and record it in a different way – e. g., dots, tally marks, pictures, fingers) 
• Grouping/Adding Numbers: give children small numbers (either a card or they can make the number you tell them on their fingers) – call out a large number and have children get together in groups to make it (e.g., make 5 – and students with 2 and 3 get together) 
• Match My Picture: using unifix/snapcubes 

Literacy Transitions

• Sound Muncher Puppet: using a puppet, invite the children to find things that the sound muncher will eat (e.g., things that start with “k”)
• Tisket, Tasket Song/Game: “A tisket, a tasket, there’s letters in my basket. I’ll drop one behind your back to see if you can name it” (student feels the letter and describes what they feel, guesses the letter)
• Willoby Wallaby: rhyming names
• Down by the Bay: children contribute rhymes
• Apples and Bananas Song (inserting different names)
• Shared Reading or Reciting of Nursery Rhymes (inserting children’s names – e. g., Jack be Nimble)
• Counting Syllables: using rhythm sticks, clapping, triangle, bells
• Rhyming Words: sing “I’m thinking of a word, I’m thinking of a word, it rhymes with _________” (choose a student to sing a rhyming word)
• Building Words: give 3 children a magnetic letter or a paper with a letter on it. Invite them to the front of the group and group tries to determine their word (could be mixed up, could be practicing stretching or blending – e.g., C – A – T)
• Different Sign In Prompts (e.g., “Does your name have the letter “e”?)
• Name Prompts (e.g., if your name starts with a ___, if your name is ___ letters long)
• Silly Name Rhyming
• Can You Guess My Word (tune of Wheels on the Bus): The sounds in my word go B – A –T, B – A –T , B – A –T, the sounds in my word go B – A –T, can you guess my word?
• Down in the Classroom (tune of Down by the Station): Down in the classroom, early in the morning, hear the children playing with their sounds. Can you start your name with z, z, z, z, z? (e.g. Zelsey, Kelsey – students take turns adding letter to their name)
• Letter Stomp: place mats or big letters in middle of circle. Two students will be given clue and first to stomp on the letter wins that round (or could go to wash their hands)
• Telephone: students sit in line (or lines), student at the back draws a letter on back of student in front of them, continues up to front to see if they can say the letter! After each round could transition first student in their line.
• Letter Monster: using a diaper wipe box (or similar container) add bottle caps with letters on them. Student pulls one out and says the letter, sound, or a word that starts with that letter.
• Letter/Word mix up: Give students a card with a letter or word (could be picture) on it. They have to find their partner who has a match and sit down.
• Whiteboard Erase: on easel or whiteboard, record letters and ask students to come up and “erase the B”. Great to support students who are not yet printing.

*Note: This post has been updated and altered several times. Each time we present we will continue to build and add ideas onto these lists to support educators in having readily available ideas. Please feel free to leave additional ideas in the comments, we will build those in as well!

Thank you to all of the educators who have participated and contributed their thinking during our Math in Play and Early Literacy courses! Your ideas are so valuable and insightful.

Transition Activities For Pre K: Line Up And Count

Line Up & Count Transcript

Speaker 1: Are we ready to go get in line?

Kids: Yeah!

Speaker 1: It’s time for- Oh, wait, wait, wait. You guys aren’t listening to directions.

Classroom management is always a challenge at times. We have to look for ways to make our day run smoothly. Transitions are a big part of it.

What do I have here?

Kids: Cards.

Speaker 1: Cards.

Sometimes we have to find these transition activities that support us and support their learning during this time so it’s wasted time.

You’re gonna choose a card. I’m gonna put it this way so that you cannot see how many you have.

One of the strategies that I’ve been using is I have different cards with different amount of dots, like the dice cards.

You’re gonna choose a card. When you choose a card, you’re gonna see how many dots you have. You’re gonna tell me how many are in here. If I get this card, how many do I have?

Kids: Two.

Speaker 1: Two.

I have children pick a card. When they see how many dots they are, some kids are really good and can subitize and just tell me there’s three without counting. Then I have them do a physical task with it.

Then you’re going to clap quickly that many times. If I get this card, how many times am I gonna clap?

Kids: Two.

Speaker 1: Two times. Are you guys ready?

Kids: Yeah!

Speaker 1: Choose one. How many?

Kid: Two.

Speaker 1: Okay.

Kid: One, two.

Speaker 1: Perfect.

Every time I do this, I choose a different task for them to complete. For example, today was clapping. Other days, it might be jump this many times. Other days would be show me this many fingers. The fact that you turn the cards so that they don’t see, it’s always a surprise. They don’t know how many they’re gonna get.

Kid: Three, four, five-

Speaker 1: Let’s count together. One-

With the cards, we work on our math skills in regards to knowing one to one. Sometimes kids will get a card and not know exactly how many there are. We’ll have them count one to one, pointing at each dot.

Kid: Five, six, seven.

Speaker 1: Okay, let’s count together. One, two, three, four, five, six. Can you clap for me six times?

Kid: One, two, three-

Speaker 1: In the future, if you’re working with numerals, maybe they can get a numeral and then they know that two equals two, and they’ll still clap twice. It builds on different skills.

Next.

Kid: One.

Speaker 1: Okay.

Kid: One.

Speaker 1: The kids really enjoy it because it gives them something to do while they’re waiting to transition to the next activity. They feel successful. That’s a very important part. I think it sets up for just learning in general. It’s, «Do I feel like I am competent?» A simple activity like this can help build their social and emotional development.

Perfect. Go ahead.

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Why do we need mathematics? Why study, the benefits of doing mathematics

Scientists from Stanford University in the USA studied the process of solving mathematical problems by a person and found out that adults use thinking and the skill, brought to automatism, to “get” the answers already there from memory.

Children under 7 often resort to the help of fingers and toes, as well as various substitutes (real objects, counting sticks). During the «transition period», ages 7 to 9years, schoolchildren form an “adult” skill of “thinking”, comprehending and remembering information.

An interesting study was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience in 2014. First of all, it was devoted to the study of the role of the hippocampus (an area in the brain) in the development of cognitive activity in children. But his indirect conclusions are as follows:

• if you want your child to have no problems with math at school, train your memory at an early age;
• solving mathematical problems develops memory.

3. Math builds character

For the correct solution of mathematical and logical problems, attentiveness, perseverance, responsibility, accuracy and accuracy are needed.

The more regularly a child trains these «muscles of character», the stronger they become, the more often they help the child in solving not only educational problems, but also life problems.

LogicLike is the right training platform for 20-60 minutes a day. Solve problems, participate in olympiads in logic and mathematics, develop the will to win and the ability to win!

We create both simple and Olympiad problems that you want to solve:

• tasks for grade 1;
• assignments for grade 2;
• assignments for grade 3.

4. Music for mathematics, mathematics for music

A comprehensive study by Barbara H. Helmrich of the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore found that children who played musical instruments in middle school did significantly better in math in high school.

Scientists have found that the same part of the brain is responsible for solving algebraic problems and processing musical information.

«The largest average difference in algebra scores between any two groups of subjects was found between African-American ‘instrumental’ groups and groups of ‘non-musical’ students.»

Paradoxically, scientists didn’t seem to be interested in feedback.
After all, if the same part of the brain is responsible for the development of mathematical and musical abilities, it is possible that doing mathematics improves musical abilities.

I remember Sherlock Holmes, who was both an excellent detective and a talented violinist. Many will say that the famous English detective is just a fiction, but he had his own real prototype, a mentor and friend of Arthur Conan Doyle. The greatest physicist Albert Einstein was also a passionate violinist.

5. Math Helps You Succeed in the Humanities

It is early mathematical abilities that are a sure prerequisite for the fact that in the future the child will not only understand mathematics well, but also succeed in other school disciplines. Next in importance for contributing to academic success are reading skills and the ability to manage one’s attention.

Such conclusions were reached by scientists in the field of education and social policy at Northwestern University in Evanston. During the study, they assessed the relationship of key elements of school readiness (basic skills for school admission — «academic» readiness, attention, social-emotional skills) with further academic success.

Mathematics is an interdisciplinary science, it is closely related to physics, geography, geology, and chemistry. Sociology and economics are inseparable from mathematics, and many of the conclusions of even the usual humanities, such as linguistics, journalism, are based on mathematical models and concepts, mathematical and logical laws.

6. Develops skills for solving everyday problems

Barbara Oakley, PhD, brain stem cell researcher and author of Think Like a Mathematician, emphasizes:

“Mathematics saves us from “magical thinking” — we strive to delve into the essence of things and do not rely on chance and higher powers.”

The more difficult the math problems become, the more skills are required to solve them. The child learns to reason, build sequences, think through algorithms, juggle several concepts at once, and these skills become a habit.

Thanks to mathematics, we get rid of bad habits:

• we do not think, but we operate only in exact terms;
• we do not just memorize information and rules mechanically, but evaluate it, analyze it, reflect in order to understand and learn new material, a new life lesson.

7. Mathematics is the basis of a successful career

If 10-15 years ago the study of foreign languages ​​was considered promising, now you will not surprise anyone with fluency in several languages. Now professional demand largely depends on the understanding of technology, the ability to think, abstract and the ability to solve non-standard problems. It is extremely difficult for those who want to work in the IT field to do without knowledge of mathematics.

Abstract, critical and strategic thinking, analytical skills, the ability to build algorithms are a “must-have” for a good developer.

TOP 5 soft skills. Source: amazonaws.com

Successful mathematics classes give self-confidence, because success in it requires perseverance in striving to solve the most complex, sometimes, at first glance, “unsolvable” tasks and problems.

Test your strength:
Math puzzles to help you: 9 selected well-known tasks for ingenuity. How many can you decide?

8. Problem Solving Builds Mental Resilience

Solving mathematical problems helps to improve the emotional background — this activity can relieve anxiety, helps control emotions and prevents stress.

These conclusions were reached by scientists from Duke University in the United States, who were able to prove this in a study published in the journal Clinical Psychology in 2016.

9. Pleasure from «x»

For a serious student of mathematics, mathematical formulas, equations and other logical and mathematical problems embody beauty, harmony and provide the same aesthetic pleasure as music, art and a good joke, says a group of researchers from several universities in the UK.

With the help of functional magnetic resonance imaging, the activity of the brain activity of the subjects was recorded during the demonstration of mathematical equations, formulas and tasks. The results of the study were published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience in 2014.

How to learn to experience the joy and pleasure of doing mathematics tells the famous American mathematician, a graduate of Harvard University, Stephen Strogatz. Applied Mathematics teacher, award-winning math and teacher in the pages of his book «The Pleasure of X» enthusiastically explains the most significant mathematical ideas in a simple and understandable way.

Try logic and math classes at LogicLike.com!

We are convinced that children, especially those aged 5-9, do not need to be told how important it is to study mathematics. It is much more important to give the child the opportunity to plunge into the world of entertaining interactive mathematics.

Learning on the LogicLike platform, children solve interesting logical problems, earn their first «star» awards for correct answers, play modern logic games — and get not only benefit, but also real pleasure from such mathematics.

Extracurricular activities in mathematics at elementary school

Teaching mathematics as an elective: tasks

Extracurricular work should not be like regular classroom activities. At the same time, any activity related to the study of mathematics in elementary school should be aimed at achieving the main goal: expanding the mathematical horizons and erudition of students.

Tasks of the course of extracurricular activities in mathematics for students in grades 1-4:

1. Teaching elements of logical and algorithmic literacy, communication skills of younger students using collective forms of organizing classes and using modern teaching aids.

2. The development of students’ mathematical abilities, observation, geometric vigilance, the ability to analyze, guess, reason, prove, solve an educational problem creatively.

3. Raising interest in the subject, in «discovering» original ways of reasoning, developing research skills.

Let’s take a closer look at how to implement this in the classroom.

General aspects of extracurricular mathematical activities in elementary grades

• The game situation is closely related to the set learning task.

• Additional materials are used: tangram, corners, colored triangles.

• Where possible, digital devices are used, including an interactive whiteboard.

• The conditions of the games and the company of other players restrain children who have difficulty with the arbitrariness of behavior.

• The approach to revealing this or that fact during the game is mathematically correct, accessible, and as accurate as possible (taking into account age characteristics, requirements, specific goals).

• The content of any game provides for the achievement of not only objective (mathematical) goals, but the goals of forming educational activities, developing figurative and logical thinking.

• Extracurricular work contributes to the development of communication skills, such as the desire to communicate, the ability to listen, the ability to navigate the situation (to whom, why and what I say), knowledge of the norms and rules of communication, the ability to control speech, correct oneself.

Mathematical material and universal learning activities in games

• Comparison of different methods of action, the choice of convenient methods for performing a specific task.

• Modeling in the process of joint discussion of the algorithm for solving a numerical crossword puzzle, its use in the course of independent work.

• Application of the studied methods of educational work and calculation techniques to work with numerical puzzles.

• Analysis of the rules of the game, action in accordance with the given rules, inclusion in group work.

• Participation in the discussion of problematic issues, expressing one’s own opinion and argumentation.

• Arguing one’s position in communication, accepting different opinions, using criteria to justify one’s judgment.

Organization of a mathematical lesson

The creators of the Entertaining Mathematics course propose to organize several centers of activity in the classroom:

• «Math Games»

• «Constructors»

• «Entertaining Tasks»

• «Math Puzzles»

• «Computer Tasks»

Children are divided into groups and work alternately in different work areas. This allows you to move away from the strict form of working at desks. Activity centers can be added, reduced, depending on the learning objectives, class characteristics, and student needs. If there are 5 working zones, then there are also 5 groups of children. Since the lesson lasts 45 minutes, the group is given 7 minutes for each center, and at the end the work is summed up.

Guidelines for organizing extracurricular activities represent a variety of forms of work. Benefits “School of the erudite of the XIX century. Entertaining Mathematics ”(grades 1-2), in addition to the tasks themselves, contain answers and cut material.

Job examples:

Dice Games

Prepare two dotted dice for the game. You can cut and paste them using the workbook app. Write down your names in the table. Roll two dice in turn. Count the dots on the top faces of the two cubes. Record the results in a table. Do six rounds.

Result: repetition of numbers, development of social skills.

Travel Points
(the field in a cell is used)

Draw a line from the marked point:

• One cell to the right

• One cell down

• One cell to the right

• One cell down

Result: the beginning of the development of spatial thinking.

«Number puzzles»
(Using 4×4 Sudoku game boards)

Sudoku is a popular number puzzle. Translated from Japanese, «su» means «number», «doku» stands alone. Arrange the numbers from 1 to 4 so that each number occurs only once in a column, in a row, and in each square of four cells.

Result: development of the skills needed to solve numerical puzzles.

The choice of a collective, group game is primarily determined by an accurate consideration of the level of development of the thinking of students, the level of formation of their communication skills.