Hands on is the Way to Go!

  When I was little I was in special ed.  Yup, and I remember being SO confused with anything involving math.  I just didn't use that side of the brain.  My teacher (Mrs. Beiger) was amazing!  She would have me paint my facts, use gum drops, play dough....AND I'M 37 YEARS OLD! She was ahead of her time when dittos were the most popular form of learning.
   My second graders started a new math unit this year.  You may have heard of it, Math in Focus.  It is pushing my little mathematicians to the max.  Knowing that it was more difficult curriculum I wondered what was going to happen to my number sense kids.  You know, the kids that struggle to subtract 5 from 8.  I mean, I am asking them in chapter 10 to do mental math with 3 digit numbers.  This small group of kids are so lost and just feel unsuccessful.  I wanted them to have a group where they can practice their level skills in a fun way.  
   Play Dough is such a fun kinesthetic tool that teachers can use on a day to day basis.  This download that I made has three fun game mats and fact cards to go with each activity.  The first one (and my fav) is called Subtraction Smash.  The students create a bunch of small balls with the play dough and then pull subtraction facts from the deck that comes with it.  If they pull 8 - 5 = they would place 8 balls on their ten frames and use their thumb to smash 5.  The second is a number bond mat.  Last is an array dash.  They race their partner to create arrays with their balls.  For this game I pre-make the small balls of play dough and put them back into the containers.  That way they are ready to go when that group is called up.  
   Hope you enjoy this crazy fun number sense pack!  Please contact me if you have any questions. crazy4second@gmail.com

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