Does Dad’s tool box need to be tidied up? Get your child to help you clean, while sneaking in a little math along the way. Sorting objects by size, color, shape, or function is an important concept in mathematical reasoning, and it’s the perfect excuse for a little housekeeping!
This activity can be used as a language development activity for ELL students. You can ask them to describe the shapes and colors of the nuts and bolts. ELL students can use their visual strengths to excel in sorting activities such as this one.
1.MD.4 "Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories; ask and answer questions about the total number of data points, how many in each category, and how many more or less are in one category than in another."
This activity can be modified for ELL students by drawing pictures, rather than writing words, in each category. For older age levels, this activity could include more difficult or complex categories.
Children classify and sort objects found outdoors into a chart/graph on the sidewalk. This chart or graph can be written with sidewalk chalk. The categories can be predetermined by the teacher, or the students can come up with the categories.
you could adapt this game by selecting easier levels for students who need differeniation, and higher levels for advanced students.
Grade 3
Sugar Sugar is a cool geometry game. Sugar
pours out from a place near the top of the screen, and your goal is to make the
sugar fall into the correct cups. You do this by drawing on the screen with the
mouse, and watching as sprinkles of sugar trickle down the lines you draw.
Challenging and fun! Good for grades 3 to 12
Materials Required: paper, pencials, Book: Alexander, Who USed to be rich last sunday
Activity Time: 30 minutes
Concepts Taught: expressing money in different ways
Adaptations: Gifted students can show the sum multiple ways (using different currency) or write the equation for the addition or subtraction problem.
EL Students can draw a picture of the currency needed to represent the sum.
Other manipulatives can be used with this activity with the amount written in cents or dollars on the manipulatives.
This activity can be used with other manipulatives that are labeled with the coin amounts. This activity connects math and LA.
Adaptations include: require gifted students to show 3-5 ways to represent the sum using different currency or give the equation.
EL students can draw a picture to represent the coins used.
Expressing money in different ways - 2nd Grade
(dollar, quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies)
Materials: bags of play money that have an equal amount for each student, paper, and pencils for each student
book: Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday
Objective: after reviewing the names of coins and bills and how much they are worth, grade 2 students will listen to a book read to them by their teacher and express the amount of money stated with their manipulative of play money and show different ways to express that amount of money. (i.e. 10=10=5=25)
adapt this for students with special needs by having them first do this with a real coffee cup and sugar cubes to understand the concept. Also, you can click on easier levels or harder levels depending on student need.
I love this game. There is really no need to come up with new ways to extend this activity, as the students pass each level they get a little more difficult! I think kids will LOVE this activity and not even realize they are learning! This will be good for working on introducing computer skills as well. Be sure to go over how to use the mouse for younger grades and ELL and special need students.
For the more advanced students you could place them in pairs and one of the students would create a shape and their partner would then have to find the volume. Students could also find the area of the sides or the perimeter.
This activity could also be used when students do not understand the concept of volume. You could start the activity very slow with simply finding the volume of one cube and then gradually make the volumes more complex.