TpT Number Line Freebies

Since everything I seem to be posting lately deals with Number Lines, I thought I would continue the theme with a few Teachers Pay Teachers Freebies that focus on understanding and using number lines.

Number Path/Sequencing
Counting Flip Chart has children count how many items are on the page and then circle the corresponding number on a Number Path.

Help children identify missing numbers along a number line by using this Number Line Scoot Activity.


Addition
Check out this Out of This World number line game that uses addition and subtraction of numbers.  Includes a variation with negative numbers.

This fall themed Double Digit Addition activity gives students the freedom to show their own strategy on the open number line.


Rounding
Rounding to the nearest 10 or 100 can be a difficult concept for students, but using a number line gives them a visual representation that makes it easier to understand.  Check out this great Rounding With a Number Line activity and practice/homework sheets.


Multiplication
Download this simple, yet powerful Multiplication Strategies Anchor Chart.


Fractions
Number Line Lane is a nice activity to help kids use benchmark numbers when placing fractions on a number line.

Get your students up and moving as they build a fraction number line in Fraction Number Line Challenge.

Okay, so this one isn't a free one, but since it is Thanksgiving time I thought I'd share these Turkey Subitizing Cards.

Pinterest Pins I Love!

In my life, this month has unofficially been devoted to Number Lines and Number Paths.  For one of my other blogs I compiled a list of my favorite Number Line Apps, so for my favorite Pinterest Pins this month I thought I'd keep with the theme!

Hang numerals on a line to create a Numbers Washing Line.

From Lessons Learnt Journal 

Build your own Numeral Track to help kids learn the pattern of numbers. 

From the Math Coach's Corner

This pin links to a blog that shows three ways kids might use an Open Number Line for Addition.  

From the Math Coach's Corner 

This pin links to a blog about Multiplication Games, including one that helps kids see multiplication as repeated addition and as hops along a number line. 

From the Math Coach's Corner

Children need to see multiplication in a variety of ways.  Use this idea for a Multiple Representations of Multiplication Facts Sheet

 

From 3 Teacher Chicks

Fractions on a Number Line - the Pinterest pin just links to an image so I am not sure where this activity originated, but it is a wonderful visual that you can build with your students.  

Classroom Fraction Number Line Activity in which the kids build this wonderful number line.  You don't have to include all the fractions she does, maybe just halves, thirds, fourths and their equivalents…depending upon your grade level.

 From Miss Math Dork

Okay, since this is Turkey Month I had to include at least one Thanksgiving Themed Pin:

Practice Subitizing by rolling the die and create a Roll A Turkey 

From A Lemon Squeezy Home

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:

Using number lines for Time problems

The newest addition to our family finally slept through the night.  So besides the panic wake up at 3:30, rushing to his bedside to ensure he was in fact still alive, it was a great night of sleep.  When he woke up at 5 am, I was feeding him and of course figuring out a math problem. :) Here is how it would be written in a typical math textbook:

Riggins went to bed at 8:00 PM.  He woke up at 5:00 AM.  How many hours did he sleep?

These elapsed time problems are difficult for children who are used to just pulling out numbers and either adding or subtracting, because neither of those works.  So what we typically teach children is to picture the clock hands going around the clock from 8 all the way to 5.  Then the kids actually draw that happening.  Two things are wrong with this model for solving time problems.  1) Kids spend too much time drawing the clock.  They want to add in all the numbers on the clock face and draw the hands.  2) When they model the hands moving around the clock, it gets really hard to keep track of all the circles they are making round and round the clock.


So, instead, a more efficient model is a number line, or in this case a time line. Starting in 2nd grade, children start using number lines to help them solve math problems. Before 2nd grade children should be using a number path instead of a number line, but that I will save for another post. The more children solve problems on number lines, the more they look for "friendly" numbers.  Those are numbers that are nice numbers to jump or nice to jump to.  Here are two examples for a brief demonstration on using number lines for addition:

As children transition from using a number line to using a time line, the emphasis should be on knowing what those friendly numbers are when it comes to time.  With whole numbers children like getting to the multiples of ten and/or the hundreds.  But with time problems, the friendly numbers are getting to 12 pm/am and getting to 60 minutes in order to get to the next hour. So this morning as I was contemplating how long Riggins slept last night, I was visualizing the problem on a number/time line that looked like this:

The distance from 8 pm to 5 am is 9 hours because it is 4 hours to that friendly time of 12 am and then another 5 hours to get to 5 am.  Those were nice, easy jumps for me but what does this look like when the times are not so nice.

Jaeger starts school at 7:50 am.  School gets out at 3:15.  How long is he in school?

As you can see, they jumped to the next hour (8am), then to noon, again to the closest hour (3pm) and then to the ending time of 3:15.  The answer is the amount of time from 7:50 to 3:15, so when you add the hours and minutes together you get 7 hours 25 minutes.  The number/time line is useful for all types of time problems.  Here are a few more examples.

Sierra's softball game started at 11:30 am.  It lasted for 1 hour and 40 minutes.  What time did her game end?

Camden woke up at 6:15 am.  He slept for 9 hours and 45 minutes.  What time did he go to bed?

Next time you are working on time problems, encourage your kids to make use of a time line.

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.

Pinterest Pins I Love!

I really tried avoiding Pinterest because I heard how addicting it is.  I finally gave in and yes it is addicting but it is because of how much wonderful stuff there is out there!  I just can't stop learning.  Here are a few of my favorite pins that I thought you might enjoy:

Use paint color sample strips to create Missing Number Sequencing Strips.

 From A Kentucky Kindergarten

Place Value Cups are a wonderful visual to help children see the value of each digit within a number.

From My 2nd Grade Journal

A great way to make Attendance be a math activity.

From Joyful Learning in KC

A fun apple themed array model for multiplication.

From Math Coach's Corner

 

If you like these, follow me on Pinterest to see more.