SamizdatMath

FACT: Students need more practice solving subtraction problems. FACT: This collection has lots of subtraction problems. FACT: Not all subtraction problems are the same: some are "take away," some are "let's compare one with another," some are "I have something and took away this, now I have this...." This is a collection of over 200 different "BIG Busy Bee Hive" puzzles where students practice subtraction in a context that is fun and thoughtful. That is, yes, they get lots of opportunities to do

Description FACT: Students need more practice solving subtraction problems. FACT: This collection has lots of subtraction problems. FACT: Not all subtraction problems are the same: some are "take away," some are "let's compare one with another," some are "I have something and took away this, now I have this...." This is a collection of over 200 different "Busy Bee Hive" puzzles where students practice subtraction in a context that is fun and thoughtful. That is, yes, they get lots of opportuniti

FACT: Students need more practice solving subtraction problems. FACT: This collection has lots of subtraction problems. FACT: Not all subtraction problems are the same: some are "take away," some are "let's compare one with another," some are "I have something and took away this, now I have this...." This is a collection of over 200 different "Busy Bee Hive" puzzles where students practice subtraction in a context that is fun and thoughtful. That is, yes, they get lots of opportunities to do "ta

This is a set of 90 puzzles (30 at each level) of Advanced "Square Knot" Puzzles focused on practicing problems solving for 1st through 3rd graders using addition and subtraction. The format is the same as other square knot puzzles, with larger numbers. Why you should try these: One of the things that we should be emphasizing from the very earliest of ages is mathematics as problem solving. This is more than writing a bunch of word problems: problem solving is about using various techniques for

This is a set of 90 puzzles (30 at each level) of "Square Knot" Puzzles focused on practicing problems solving for early learners (1st - 3rd grade) using addition and subtraction. Why you should try these: One of the things that we should be emphasizing from the very earliest of ages is mathematics as problem solving. This is more than writing a bunch of word problems: problem solving is about using various techniques for finding the correct answer. In this set of puzzles, students have to arran

79 89 99 119? 129? Take 2: 134 124 114 84? 74? Do your students struggle to count by 10s across 100? If they're doing mental math, then they probably will at one time or another. So why not help them practice this so they don't say things like "75, 85, 95, uh, uh, 105?" This is a "three-fer" - you get the group game "roller coaster" where a group of students compete cooperatively to count up and down by tens between a bottom and top number. For example, the first students says 78, the next one

This "product" is an exercise in the form of a "lightly" competitive game that uses addition and subtraction on the number line (which was invented in 1685 by the mathematician John Wallis) that students can play in any number of configurations (pairs, triplets, etc.) and in any number of ways (rolling a single die, rolling 2 dice, using the numbers individually or in combination, etc.) There are versions that use 3, 4, 5 and 6 rolls. There is a number line under each game for your students prac

Are you sick and tired of drilling & killing your kids on the combinations of 10 and just saying, "okay, there's nothing fun about this, so let's just move on." Sorry, I've got to call BS on that. Because learning combinations of 10 is also an opportunity for your students to do some problem solving, do some algebraic thinking, as well as make many, many mistakes. These are NOT worksheets! They are puzzles and are designed to be "hands on" and "manipulative." That is, your students will work w

This is a collection of 9 different colorful Cuisenaire Rod "make the road" puzzles which challenges your students to cover a path using exactly one of each rod. Each one has a different colorful background. This is a great activity that your students can do independently during a work time or placed in a math center. There's a handy chart you can fill in with your students' names to keep track of which puzzles they've completed, with fillable form fields. There is also an option for students

This is a set of 48 different coin puzzles: 24 of them show a piggy bank, and the student adds up the total and records it. The other 24 show a piggy bank with a coin missing, and the total amount in the piggy bank; the student has to figure out the missing coin. Those are "missing addend" problems in that the student knows the partially filled amount and the total and has to find the missing piece. This is formatted both as individual "task cards" and worksheets - I'd prefer you use them as ta

One of the chief critiques I have heard about math instruction is that our students know all about how to do a procedure; they just don’t know when it applies. This is an activity that tries to correct this by having students cut out 15 different number strings of 3, 4 and 5 numbers (all single digits), and then “classify” them into one of three groups: “make 10,” “doubles” and “doubles + 1” (also known as near doubles.”) They then paste them into the chart and solve them using the strategy th

This is a set of activities that focus on helping first and second graders memorize the doubles from 1 - 10, with special focus on the "hard doubles" of 7, 8 and 9. There are two different games, and 20 different puzzles involving "number searches" where students find a number and its double nearby. Students also practice writing doubling and halving equations. There is also a set of "locate and calculate" assessments where students locate a doubling equation and then record it.

This is a collection of 95, yes, you heard it correctly, 95 different "equation search" puzzles that target different kinds of computational strategies. There are actually 15 or so different puzzle types, with 6 different iterations (that is, same puzzle with different numbers.) So if your students need additional practice, you can have them do more of them. Actually, I've automated all these puzzles to generate random numbers, but that' another matter. For example, there is a search sheet where

This is a game I invented which can be played by two to three players. Each player gets dealt 4 cards which they place face up in front of them. By selecting cards from the "select pile" (face down) or the "discard pile" (face up), players try to make a "run" of 4 consecutive numbers in a skip counting pattern. The set includes skip counting cards for 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12s. You can easily modify this game to make it trickier by having students try to get 5 or 6 cards in a row. My stude

This is a collection of 40 different hexagonal subtraction/additional/logic puzzle cards (hence, the title above.) It includes a solution recording sheet, so your students can do them in any order they want. These would be best used for advanced first graders (who want to tackle double digit addition), 2nd graders who are practicing single and double digit subtraction and addition, and assessing and remediating 3rd graders and above. What's nice about these puzzles is that they are "threefers" -

This is a collection of 40 different hexagonal subtraction/additional puzzle cards (hence, the title above.) It includes a solution recording sheet, so your students can do them in any order they want. These would be best used for advanced first graders (who want to tackle double digit addition), 2nd graders who are practicing single and double digit subtraction and addition, and assessing and remediating 3rd graders and above. What's nice about these puzzles is that they are "threefers" - that

This is a set of six beautifully designed and formatted games that your departing first graders, or incoming second graders, can do over the summer. Instead of doing a cruddy worksheet once and tossing it out, these are games that your families can play all summer long, right up to the first day of second grade, when your little charges will be ultra-prepared to DO MATH! Here's what's on tap: Salute! This is an easy game to set up with the included number cards or a deck of playing cards. Can

This is a collection of 8 different Thanksgiving Themed "matrix addition" puzzles which use funky symbols as clues to figure out the answers. They were designed for 2nd graders, but you could use them with advanced first graders, or just throw them at some third and fourth graders to see how they react. They're sort of algebraic puzzles that you can have a lot of fun with and who doesn't like fun? Comes in color and b/w for your printing pleasure! What makes this really cool is that I also in

Greetings teacher phrens, Here's the activity you've been waiting for if you want your students to become more flexible and fluent with non-routine number facts and combinations using MENTAL MATH STRATEGIES; Schools o' Fish challenges students to take 15 different numbers and arrange them in groups so that they add up to the same number (at least, in this version.) Features: • EZ Cut n' Paste Technology: the pieces have been arranged in such a way that your students can cut out all 15 in abo

This is an activity which extends the TERC Investigation "Peas and Carrots," which is a very nice investigation, but ends way too soon. So I upgraded it by turning it into a detective game: students take a stack of cards which use different number combinations of the same two items (11 beans and cornbreads, 10 platypodes and penguins, etc.) Students take the stack of cards, remove one from the deck, and then look at the other ones to figure out which one is missing. Along the way, students lear