Let the pre-test taking adventures begin! While I despise prepping my little learners for our yearly state test, I do want them to feel confident going into it all. There are several ways to do this, and I have a hard time embracing the “Quality Writing on Demand” unit or filling in multiple choice bubbles as Readers.
One thing I have been embracing, however, are some early morning (and I’m talking 40 minutes before school starts- YIKES!) math groups. I have been meeting with some of my lower mathematicians about twice a week before our school day, to do some interventions. Why, you ask? Well, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to teach it all! That’s why! And while what we’re doing sure isn’t complex, it seems to be helping. And why shouldn’t it be, with 80 extra minutes spent on math each week?! It definitely makes all the early mornings worth it when I see them growing and their confidence boosting!!
One of the activities we have been doing is as simple as filling in a 120’s chart! Each morning, when my little mathematicians arrive, they grab a dry erase 120’s chart, a baggie full of word number cards, and get to work flipping through word cards, reading the number, and filling the number into the 120’s chart. I purposely leave out some of the cards, so they end up filling in a good portion of the 120’s chart on their own, without using the cards. Once they have done this, everyone is there, their minds are rolling, and they can use their 120’s charts to help them in the addition and subtraction activities we do. It’s a win-win!!
Pick up your own 120’s chart and word number cards HERE (for FREEEEEE!) And enjoy doing a little math intervention (or teaching, if you’re a 1st or 2nd grade teacher!!) of your own. 🙂
