Multiplication Games - Making Math FUN!!!

My kiddos absolutely love this flyswatter game! I can’t take credit for making this game up, but I have used it for years. I’ve used it in grades 2-5 and it has been a hit in all the grades. I’ve used it for addition too (you can see my addition chart showing through behind it).

It was really simple to make. For this one, I just used yellow butcher paper. This chart is actually in three parts (which makes it easier for storage and it allowed me to laminate it). I staple them all on the wall to look like it is one large chart. To make the numbers, I just used precut stars since I already had them on hand. IMPORTANT, only use numbers that are products!!! This chart is easily 8 years old. At the end of the year I take it down, roll it up, and store it for the next year.

The rules are simple – divide your class into teams (we often do boys v. girls). Give each team a flyswatter. Mine are labeled for each team.

Have some flashcards ready. I usually pick through mine and pick only the ones that we have already learned.

Both of my lines stand behind my rug. You could easily make a line on the floor out of tape for them to stand behind. The first person in each line stands on the rug (or in front of the line). I show both of the students a flash card and the first person to tap (not slam) the correct answer gets one point. The winner gets to stay for one more turn. The person who did not get it, goes to the end of their line. The first team to 25 is usually the winning team in our class.

 Guidelines before starting:

·        Make sure that they know they cannot smack the flyswatters too hard. I always joke and tell them that the teacher next door doesn’t want a new hairdo from them knocking through the wall.

·        Explain that they cannot simply hold their flyswatters close to the chart before finding the answer - this blocks the other person and they will automatically lose their turn if they do this.

·        When their turn is over, they have to gently hand the flyswatter to the next person in line.

·        If it is not their turn, they have to stay off the rug (or behind the rug).

That is it -  you’re ready to practice your facts and have fun!

Below is my FREEBIE for teaching the beginning multiplication facts!

Teaching Multiplication Facts FREEBIE

Teaching Beginning Multiplication

I always try to introduce my second graders to multiplication in the last month of the school year. It is important that my students understand the concept of multiplication before they enter the third grade. Hint: Ask the PE teacher if they can skip count by different numbers while stretching. 3’s and 4’s are tough for them, but if they can skip count by them before we start our unit on multiplication, they will have an easy time mastering the skill.

            Where do I begin? Of course the easiest set of facts is the 0’s. This only takes one lesson. Then, we move on to the 1’s. This only requires one lesson as well.

            I begin the 2’s by explaining that they are just our doubles facts from addition. We also do some sort of drawing activity to help them see what the concept of multiplying looks like. This is really important when they are just starting to learn how to multiply. It also shows them how multiplication is used in real life. I also think that it is really important that they learn them in word problem form.

            We learn our 3’s the same way that we learn our 2’s. Again, skip counting by 3’s daily (and at different times of the day) helps them tremendously.

            We do many of the same sort of drawing activities with our 4’s and 5’s too. Once we have mastered the concept of multiplication, we move on to solving word problems without pictures to help. When solving word problems, we do the following steps. These steps help when moving on to more difficult word problems down the road.

1. 1Read the entire word problem. 
2. Underline the question and understand what they are wanting you to find or solve.
3. Go back and circle only the important numbers that you need to solve the problem.
4. Solve the problem.

            Once we have worked through our 5’s I like to show them a multiplication chart that shows how many of the facts that they know. There are only 25 other facts that are left for them to learn. I generally don’t go past the 5’s for my second graders. Rather, I would prefer them to be confident and completely master the basic facts.

Below is a FREEBIE that you can use in your classroom to help your students learn their basic facts!

 Beginning Multiplication FREEBIE

The complete Beginning Multiplication Unit can be found here:

Beginning Multiplication No Prep Unit

Teaching Place Value and Numbers to 1,000

Let’s face it – base ten blocks are BIG in the new math standards. Understanding place value is a key concept for students to learn. Base ten blocks are great because they are a hands-on way for students to build numbers.

 In second grade we build on our previous knowledge and add the thousands place to the mix…

 In order to remember the places, we make a foldable activity to place in our Math journals. This is a great reference whenever we need to use it!

 The FREEBIE below contains the place value foldable activity! It also contains some great material to reinforce place value.

Place Value FREEBIE

The complete Place Value Unit can be found below! 

Place Value and Numbers to 1,000 Unit - No Prep

Teaching personal financial literacy to elementary students

             I’ll be honest…when I first read about Personal Financial Literacy being added to our state’s standards I was puzzled. I mean, really? The government wants us to teach about being financially responsible?!?! The irony is not lost on me.

            However, after I read through the standards, I realized that they were pretty reasonable. The standards in Texas require us to teach about savings, borrowing, lending, and making deposits and withdrawals. The problem is how to fit them into our already busy schedule.

            After a lot of thought, I thought that these standards would serve as a much needed review of money and basic math operations.

We began our Personal Financial Literacy with a basic money review…

   We then moved on to discussing saving and spending. We used coins to do this (continuous money review). We crossed out what was spent and circled what was saved.

We used charts and looked for patterns when calculating savings over time.

We made a foldable picture to serve as a reminder of the difference between a deposit and withdrawal.

We solved word problems involving deposits and withdrawals.

          One of the most interesting class conversations we had during this unit was over lending money. Things we discussed were:

• ·        What things have you let people borrow?
• ·        Why would you let people borrow those things? Why not?
• ·        What makes a person a good borrower?
• ·        What makes a person a bad borrower?
• ·        Why do you think a bank would consider a person a good borrower?
• ·        Why do you think a bank would consider a person a bad borrower?

The FREEBIE below is a great way to begin your Personal Financial Literacy unit! I hope that you can use it in your classroom.

Personal Finance and Money Unit FREEBIE

The complete Personal Finance Unit – No Prep can be found below.

Personal Finance and Money Unit - No Prep

Integrating Reading into Science

            Reading is a BIG part of primary grades. In order for students to be better readers, it is important that we integrate reading into ALL of our subjects. Reading and comprehending informational texts is crucial. Students have to be able to read nonfiction and obtain information. Science is an easy subject to incorporate reading. We are currently learning about the Solar System. We are reading informational texts about the different bodies in space. We are learning and practicing our reading and comprehension skills at the same time!

The samples from the picture above can be found in my “Exploring the Solar System No-Prep Unit.”

Exploring the Solar System No - Prep Unit

Below is a sample of one of my most downloaded FREEBIES! It comes with informational texts about the sun along with a sorting activity for the planets.

Solar System FREEBIE

Inventions that Changed the World

This week in Social Studies and Science, we are learning about inventions that changed the world! These are inventions that have made our lives so much easier. The inventions that we are studying include:

• Wheel
•   Plow
•   Printing press
• Refrigeration
•  Telegraph
• Steam engine
• Automobile
•  Light bulb

We started our unit by cutting out our “Invention Trifolds.” These were glued down into our interactive notebooks for reference during the week. 

The trifolds are a great way to start our conversations about the inventions because they cover what life was like BEFORE and AFTER the invention. Change is such a large component of Social Studies – these trifolds are a great way to show how the world and life changed as a result of their invention.

We will be continuing this unit throughout the week. The link for this complete unit can be found below!

Inventions that Changed the World Unit - No Prep

Encouraging Curiosity in Science

My boys have always been naturally curious about things in the environment. Since we live in the country, we spend a good part of our time outside and in the middle of nature. I learned when they were young that it was a cheap form of entertainment. It has also spurred on some interesting questions! I can’t count how many times my boys have seen something outside that required further research (I still encourage them to use encyclopedias, I’m old school that way).

            One of my oldest boy’s favorite memories from kindergarten was the day that his teacher decided to take the class outside after a heavy rain. Even though it was too wet to have recess on the playground, she turned their recess time into a learning experience. She gathered yarn (about 1 yard in length each) for each kid and some sandwich meat from the lunch room. She tied a small piece of the sandwich meat to the end of the strings for each kid. They then proceeded to go outside and into the ditch to teach them all how to fish for crawfish (crawdads)! I can only imagine the questions that it inspired of her kiddos. What do they eat? Where are they when it’s dry? Are they always in the ground? She even called ahead to some of the parents and let the kids take them home with them!

            Ever since that day, my son has LOVED to go crawfishing! As a matter of fact, all of my boys do. It just goes to show you how much of an impact your small lessons can have on your students.

            We spent the afternoon crawfishing today.  Is it my favorite thing to do? No. Do my kids love it? – Yes. Did we have some great conversations about animals and nature along the way? Absolutely!

            My youngest was not too interested in the fishing. He was more fascinated with the tracks in the mud made from worms and other critters. He also conducted a mini “Sink or Float” lesson off a small bridge down our road while his brothers were fishing.

            Below I have attached my Animal Habitats FREEBIE research form. It can be used for students of all ages to complete their own research on whatever animal they are curious about – enjoy!

Animal Habitat Form for Research