Subitizing for Princesses

Math is (unfortunately) commonly known as a boy thing.  With only one wonderful girl in my house (she has 3 brothers), I have vowed to make math a "princess thing."  One activity I made especially for my princess are these wonderful Princess Subitizing Cards.  Subitizing is basically the ability to  instantly recognize how many in a set without having to count.  (For a little more detail about subitizing and some great apps, check out the post Subitizing - A quick way to develop number sense.)  The subitizing cards I made can be used in a variety of ways, but here is my princess playing against me with her favorite game, Combat:

Fast Flash
Use the cards like flash cards by flashing a card for a few seconds and then put the card down so the kids cannot see it anymore. At first you may need to leave the card visible for longer to allow children to count. But remember, the goal is to get children to tell how many without counting. So start doing it faster and encouraging them to visualize what was flashed after you hide the card.

Can you find it?
Grab two cards that show each number 1-10 (since there is only one card for the 1 and 2 you need to include the ten frame card for 1 and 2 or print an extra of that page so that you have a couple 1 and 2 cards). Place the cards face down randomly in a 4x5 array. For each child’s turn they flip over two cards. If the cards show the same amount they get to keep those two cards. If not, they flip the cards back over and the next child gets a turn. 

Which is More?
Flip over two cards and then ask, “Which card has more?” Once children get better at subitizing you can flash two cards for a few seconds and then hide them before you ask “Which card had more?” 

Which is Less?
Flip over two cards and then ask, “Which card has less/fewer?” Once children get better at subitizing you can flash two cards for a few seconds and then hide them before you ask “Which card had less/fewer?”

Which of these is not like the other?
Lay out three cards (two of which have the same amount) and ask the children to find the card that does not have the same amount as the other two.

Make it
Flash a card and then have the children recreate the amount. You can have them draw it, use a stamp to stamp the pattern, or even show how many by placing objects in an empty ten frame.

Make it More/Less
Like the “make it” activity, but instead of making the same amount that you flashed tell them to “Make it More than the amount on my card” or “Make it Less than the amount on my card.”

Combat
Two children take the entire deck of subitizing cards and deal them out face down between the two of them, so that each child has an equal amount in a pile. At the same time, each child flips over their top card. The child with the larger amount on their card gets to take both cards. If they flip over cards with the same amount, they each flip over another card to see who has the larger amount and then that player would take all the cards flipped over. Play continues until one player gets all the cards.

Combat Addition
Played like Combat (above) but instead of flipping over only one card, each player flips over two cards and then adds the amount on the two cards. The child with the larger total on their cards gets to take all four cards. If they flip over cards that total the same amount, they each flip over another two cards to see who has the larger total and then that player would take all the cards flipped over. Play continues until one player gets all the cards.

Thanksgiving Math Read-A-Loud

Counting books are a quick fun way to bring reading and math together.  This month's Math Read-A-Loud is a quick read and can be done when you have a few spare minutes before your next activity.  Five Silly Turkeys counts down from five as the turkeys do silly things that make them disappear from the scene.  You can have the students count down along a Number Path as each turkey leaves the scene.  Or as you read the book, have the kids show the number of turkeys using the fingers on one hand.  The book tells the kids how many turkeys are left, as will the number of fingers they still have up on their hand, but have conversations as you go through the book about how many turkeys are gone from the original group.  If they have their fingers up on one hand, the fingers that are "down" on that hand show how many turkeys are gone.

Additional Activities:

• Build paper turkeys...have each child roll three dice, the sum of which determines how many paper feathers to add to their turkeys.
• Use these Turkey Subitizing Cards and have the kids find a card that shows how many turkeys are left in each scene.
• Build math into snack time!  Have the kids build these cute Cupcake Turkeys by having them count out the number of feathers, eyes, nose, and feet candies they will need for their cupcake (pre-ice them for the kiddos). 
• Create paper turkeys and write a number on the breast of the turkey.  Then each feather is a fact that equals that amount.  For example, the 7 turkey would have feathers with 0+7, 1+6, 2+5, and 3+4 written on them.  For younger kiddos, have them stamp or attach dot stickers in different arrangements on each feather that total the number on the turkey.  Here is an example from Crazy for First Grade:

Teachers Pay Teachers Freebies

I don't know if all of you know about Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT), but I learned of the site about a year ago.  Teachers share documents they have created for use in their classroom, some are for free but some are for sale.  I contribute files to the site (some free, some for sale) as well.  But as I think all teachers would agree, free is always nice...but free doesn't always mean the product is good.  So each month I will be posting files that I find on TpT that are FREE and GREAT.  This month I am going to start off with some of the free files that I have on TpT, since I made them they must be GREAT!!! :)

Subitizing Activity
I got this idea from another blog (Learning 4 Kids) but had to create the game boards myself.  So, once I had drawn them I thought other teachers might like to use them and not have to draw their own.  The basic idea is that children roll a die, take that many pom poms, and cover the circles on their board.  The first person to fill all their circles wins.

Place Value Cards
The origin of these cards can be credited to Montessori, I believe.  I first saw an adaptation of them in an NCTM publication, which I then adapted.  My version has the numerals in the corners of each card so that you can see the expanded form even when you place the cards on top of each other to create the standard form, but I also put a Rekenrek visual of each number on the back of each card because kids need to have visuals to correspond to numerals.

What the Heck is a Rekenrek???
If you asked yourself that question after reading about the activity above, then you need this file.  This file explains what they are, how you can make a homemade version, and a few activities you can do with rekenreks.