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| Didax "Class Ideas" Newsletter Archive |
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The sun is shining and the days are warm. Summer vacation is right around the corner here. But there's time for one more Class Ideas newsletter in the '05-'06 school year.
This month, we're focusing on Numeracy (from "numerical literacy"), your students' ability to think and express themselves mathematically. Increasing numeracy skills improves students' confidence and competence in working with numbers and measures. This can be fun, as our article about Numeracy and Math Games shows. If you're looking to get started right away, there are downloadable games for your classroom. If you need resources for the future, don't miss our savings available only to email newsletter subscribers on a selection of math games.
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful summer!
Anna Mullen, Editor |
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| Numeracy: Math Games with a Learning Focus |
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 by Richard Korbosky
Mathematics for young learners should involve:
? play
? manipulating mathematical and everyday objects
? a student-centered approach
? learning explicit and everyday mathematical language
? understanding different representations of mathematics, including real objects, pictures and symbols.
Our aim in education is to develop a learning environment which reflects a diversity of approaches and fosters communication and cooperation among the learners.
One way of creating a supportive learning environment for learners is to give them a chance to play games which focus on essential mathematical concepts and ideas. Playing games increases participation, engages the students and connects play to learning key ideas and enjoyment of mathematics. Students can be given game situations which allow them to either practice the skill in focus or to learn concepts and skills by manipulating mathematical materials and responding to clues within a game.
Both types of games are important to enrich the mathematical classroom. The practice-type games require students to know the mathematics before they play the game. Games which focus on learning give students the opportunity to internalize the mathematics ideas as well as give them practice of the mathematical ideas.
Games that focus on learning ideally should have an element of play, have a hands-on approach and be student-centered. They should allow students to work cooperatively, communicate with one another, manipulate mathematical materials, respond to clues, understand different mathematical representations and develop knowledge of the language of mathematics.
In this period of accountability, teachers need games they know will engage their students in learning and games that focus on outcomes embedded in curriculum documents. Increasingly, teachers are also asking for games which give them opportunities to cater for the different levels of students in their classrooms. Frequently, one game, as with one activity, does not cater for the diverse levels within the class. Teachers are also asking for strategies that will give them an opportunity to evaluate their students? work.
Mathematics games which focus on learning and allow teachers to achieve what they have to do as professionals are needed. There needs to be a concerted effort by curriculum writers to cater for these diverse outcomes in learning and teaching. Teachers need to look at games and make a judgment as to their suitability in achieving what they are being asked to implement in their classrooms in this modern era.
Throw a Die Addition
This game has a learning focus and reflects mathematics ideas such as manipulating materials, drawing quantity, writing numbers, saying numbers and adding small numbers.
Organization
This is a cooperative learning mathematics game suitable for 2, 3, or 4 students. It may also be played between the teacher and one student, to address specific learning needs.
Each group needs:
? a relevant die (see leveling)
? a container of materials to act as a bank. The bank consists of craft sticks or counters.
? elastic bands (to bundle the craft sticks)
? a copy of a ?Throw a Die Addition? recording sheet
The Bank
For this game, it is suggested that the bank has 150 craft sticks or 150 counters.
How to Play
? In turn, each player throws the die and collects the corresponding number of craft sticks (or counters).
? The player then writes the number shown on the die in the first column.
? The player then records by drawing the number of craft sticks (or counters) collected in the second column.
? In the third column, the player draws/writes the total number of craft sticks (or counters) in his/her collection.
? Once the players have a good understand of the game, introduce the fourth column. In this column, the player records his/her paper and pencil calculation.
Leveling
There are several strategies that can be used to cater for different ability levels.
1. Dice To make the games easier/harder, use different dice.
Easy 1-2 die: Make a die with a 1 or 2 on each face. This is a good starting point for preschool as it keeps the numbers low.
1-3 Die: Make a die with a 1, 2, or 3 on each face.
1-6 Die: Use a standard 1-6 die (dot or number, depending on students? level).
Hard 1-10 Die: Use a standard 1-10 die.
2. Calculation To make the games easier, don?t use the calculation column. Once the students have an understanding of the game, introduce this column to find out how they are making their calculations.
3. Recording How the number of craft sticks/counters is recorded on the sheet can be determined by the age and ability of players.
Sample recording sheet:
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| Downloadable Activity Pages |
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 This month's downloadable activity pages come from two World Teachers Press Mental Math books, 30 Math Games and Math Grid Games. Use these reproducible games to start working on your students' numeracy quickly and easily. Follow the link and enjoy these fun games on these last days of school before summer...or save them for an exciting start to next year. |
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| Numeracy Math Games Internet Links |
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 They're free, they're fun, they're online math games! Here are some really cool math games available on the Internet. Your students will have no idea they are working on their numeracy skills as they laugh and play. They can use their math skills to stop Dr. Wick and his evil schemes at Villainyinc.com, or they can try to earn their way home at Escapefromknab.com. Or follow the other links to pages offering lots of different games. |
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| July/August Newsletter Theme: Back to School |
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 When the next issue of Class Ideas comes to your mailbox in late July, it will be close to time to start thinking about heading back to the classroom. To help you with the transition, we'll be there with articles, Internet links and activity pages. Enjoy your summer! |
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