Raisin Math

This activity comes from Learn NC!

Give each student a small box of raisins.
First, kids estimate the number of raisins in their box.
Then, they count up their raisins and write down the number.
They graph their answer on a line plot.
You can create a line plot with post-it notes or have kids use round stickers to plot their number. Check out Teaching to Inspire to see kids in action!
Once all the numbers are on the line plot, find the mean, median, mode, and range!
How many raisins are more likely to be in a mini box?!
Then, observe your raisins! Do some boxes have plumper raisins? Why do some boxes have less?

Compare Raisins

Divide students up into teams of 2. One member gets one brand, the other gets a different brand.

First, kids estimate the number of raisins in their box.

Then, they count up their raisins and write down the number.

How did the brands compare? 

They graph their answer on a line plot (use 2 different colored stickers or post-its to keep track of each brand).

Race to 100

Race to 100 is inspired by the game Poison! Race to 100 from Love 2 Learn 2 Day! Kids get a 100 grid. Ones and tens pieces remain in between the 2 players. Kids take turns rolling 2 dice, the special place value die and a regular die. The regular die determines how many ones or tens they get. For example, a kid might roll a 3 and the place value die lands on tens. The player takes 3 tens and covers his board. If the place value die lands on lose turn, the player loses his turn! :( If it lands on start over, the player must clear his board and start over! :( The goal is to be the first to cover the 100 board! Players can't go over or be slightly under 100. They have to make exactly 100!

You can print the die and 100 grid here. For the ones and tens, print extra copies of the 100 grid and cut apart to create the playing pieces. For a colorful game, print on different colors of cardstock paper.

mini Pulley

materials:

empty thread spool

string

2 cups

pencil

tape

Kids construct a miniature pulley and discover how wheels can help reduce friction! Students keep one cup on the ground and have the other cup suspended in the air (both attached to the pulley). They place 20 pennies in the cup on the ground. Then, they place a few pennies at a time into the other cup. How many pennies are needed to raise the cup off the ground?

Then, they remove the thread spool. They place the string connecting the cups over the pencil. They do the same experiment above (20 pennies to one cup and add a few at a time to the other). How many pennies are needed to lift the cup off the ground?

 Kids "compare the number of pennies needed to raise the cup with and without the rotating spool." Visit Education.com for more details (experiment called SHOWTIME from Janice VanCleave's book Machines for kids)!

Construction:

tape two 6 inch pieces of string to a table

insert a pencil into an empty thread spool

attach the pencil to the hanging string

cut a long piece of string (depends on height of table) and attach to both cups

Find Your Family

Place Value
Numerals - Pass out numbers and have kids find their family! (example above: members have 5 tens) Once they have all of their members, they line themselves up in order. Then, the whole class problem solves and works together to create one long line of numbers in the correct order. (You could also write numbers in expanded form.)

Word Families - example: all the -ops are members of a family (bop, cop, hop, mop, pop)

Ten Frame Train

Explore ten frames and place value by creating a paper ten frame train. Kids construct a train out of construction paper. Then, they glue ten frames on the box cars, except for the caboose. They add "passengers" to each frame (sponge paint). Then, they figure out the number of passengers and write it on the caboose.

1 minute

What Can You Do In One Minute? This activity is from Mixing in Math! When introducing time to kids, explore 60 seconds. Have them choose three activities (example: drawing stars, jumping jacks, hopping on one leg, etc.) Then, have them estimate how many they can do in one minute. Did anyone choose the same activity? How did their score compare? What activity could they do the most of? Which activity did they do the least of?

For older kids, have them do 5 activities. Then, have them find the mean, median, mode, and range. They use their score for each activity. (Example: 60 hops, 50 stars, 40 jumping jacks, etc.) They find the m,m,m,and r of 60, 50, 40.....

- or - Choose one activity for the entire class to do in one minute. Then, write their scores on the board and have them figure out the m,m,m, and range.

Sand Castle Experiment

This surface tension experiment comes from The Indianapolis Public Library Kid Blog! Students explore measuring by adding different amounts of water to 1 cup of sand to see what water to sand ratio makes the ideal sand castle. They investigate fractions when measuring their water (1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 1 cup). They construct a total of four mini cup castles (using different amounts of water for each one). Then, they estimate how many pennies each "castle" will hold. Which castle do they think will be the strongest? They count out the pennies, as they lay them on top of each cup castle. Can any of their mini castles hold 25 pennies? Which castle was the strongest? Visit IPL Kid Blog for the scientific explanation behind this experiment!

Popped vs. Unpopped

Younger students: You will need 1 single serving (mini) bag of popcorn. Have students predict how many kernels will pop. Do they think they all will pop? If not, how many will stay a hard kernel? Microwave the bag. As a class, count the corn. Write a fraction for popped and unpopped. Whose guess was the closest? Optional: Compare with a different brand of popcorn.

Older students: Which brand pops the most kernels?! Split students up into four groups. You will need 4 single serving (mini) bags of popcorn (2 different brands). 
1 group - brand x
2 group - brand x
3 group - brand y
4 group brand y

First, have students estimate how many pieces of popcorn will pop in their group's bag. How many kernels won't pop in their bag? Microwave each bag for the same amount of time and give each group their bag. Have them count the popcorn (split popcorn into groups, so each person is in charge of counting; then, they combine their number to figure out the total). Next, have them write the fraction for popped and unpopped. Which group's guess was the closest? Which brand reigns supreme? Did the groups with the same brand have similar results? Did one of the brands have completely different results? Which brand is most reliable? 

Dime Collector

2 player game: Each player gets a ten frame. Players take turns rolling a die. They count out the number of pennies the die lands on and place them on their ten frame. When a player fills his ten frame, he trades his pennies in for a dime. Play the game until kids get bored. The player with the most dimes wins!

Leaf Investigator

Kids find a leaf, investigate it, then paste it in the square! (save to desktop to print)
Visit Education.com to find out how to figure out a tree's age by its circumference.

Balloon Tennis

Balloon Tennis - Glue paper plates on popsicle sticks for a racquet. Kids hit balloons and play tennis!

Synonyms - Two player game - Kids are given a word. They hit the balloon back and forth. Before they hit the balloon they have to call out a synonym for the word. If they can't, their opponent gets a point. 

Sight Words - Write sight words on balloons. Kids whack the balloon and say the sight word. If they have the correct answer, they get a point!

Spelling - Spell out a word and hit the balloon for each letter. Kids can do this solo, with a buddy, or in a group. 

Fractions - Three player game - 2 people hit the balloon and one person keeps track of the score. Kids choose how many chances they get to hit the balloon. Limit kids to a certain number. Otherwise, they'll go on all day, and everyone needs a chance to play! If they miss, they get to continue, but they have to start off from where they stopped.  For example, if they plan to hit the balloon 20 times and they stopped at 6, they start counting at 7. The kid keeping track of the score tallies each time they hit the balloon. As soon as they reach the maximum number they stop (which is hard I know!). As a group, they figure out the fraction. For example, the balloon was kept in play (or smacked) 18/20 times.

Basic Addition - Two Players - Have kids count up their points!

Math Quest

Have fun with math around the classroom by throwing a Math Scavenger Hunt! The Go to Teacher has  a super fun even / odd scavenger hunt, which includes a whole printable unit on even and odd numbers! Kids split up into two groups, the evens and the odds, and hunt for numbers on post it notes. Then, they search through books, finding even and odd pages and words with an even or odd number of letters!


You can also take your math skills outdoors. Kids use their problem solving skills by adding and subtracting objects, skip counting, comparing things using less than or greater than, and distinguishing even and odd numbers around the classroom and outside on the playground. Smart First Graders has a free printable that incorporates math with living and nonliving things.


Minds in Bloom has a scavenger hunt for upper elementary that deals with angles, circumference, measuring, money, time, and division. 

Musical Clocks

boombox via hype beast: Lyle Owerko boombox project

Over at What the Teacher Wants, they turned up the beat, jammed to tunes, and practiced telling time! Give each child a blank clock and digital clock. Have kids write a time inside the digital clock boxes. Turn on the music and encourage kids to dance around the room (like musical chairs). When the music stops, kids have to draw hands on the clock they land on, matching the time to their classmate's digital clock. The teacher checks the clocks. Then, the next round begins. Click here for a free printable!

Also, check out What's the Teacher Wants I SPY Time game - includes a freebie!

Coin Connect 4

Connect coins of the same value: vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. This is a fun activity to help younger kids recognize coins. You could also have kids connect coins that add up to a certain total. For example, connect 4 that equal $1.00. Kids connect 4 quarters. 

Chex Mix Math

Grab a bag of Chex Mix and have fun with math: estimate, write fractions, add, tally, sort, and compare! Click here for a free download!

Ice Cream Fractions

Have kids create fractions with scoops of paper ice cream! They can get super creative with their flavors! First, they choose how many of each flavor they'd like for their cone (10 scoops total). Then, they stack and glue their scoops onto a paper cone. Finally, they write the fraction down for each of their flavors.

UN-POP-pable!

Can you stick a skewer through a balloon without popping it? Don't sharp objects make balloons POP! Try this fun experiment from Steve Spangler and find out! Once you learn the trick, try skewing a train of balloons together!



explanation: "The secret is to uncover the portion of the balloon where the latex molecules are under the least amount of stress or strain. Now, try piercing the ballon through the center - POP!" - Steve Spangler

Now, try to spear a water filled bag with a pointy pencil! Can you pierce it without creating a leak? Check out Steve Spangler's un-pop-pable bag!

explanation: It's chemistry! "The plastic bag is made out of long chains of molecules called polymers. This gives the bag its stretchy properties. The sharpened pencils slip between the molecule strands without tearing the entire bag. Believe it or not, the long chains of molecules seal back around the pencil to prevent leaks." - Steve Spangler

Math Games: Cards, Dice, and Dominos!

Below are links for game boards:
Odds and Evens printable
Cover Up printable
Domino Parking Lot printable

Math About Me!

Teach kids that math and numbers are all around us, by having them do math that revolves around them! Bishop's Blackboard created the fantastic Math About Me activity featured left. Other math about me ideas you could add to the project: how many teeth kids have lost, their phone number, or the number of pets they have. Oh the possibilities!

M and M Math

Make math fun with m and m's! Give each child a small ziploc bag of various color m and m's. Have them estimate, count, and graph their m and m's. Give kids markers for each color m and m. They will make their graph by putting a dot for each color they have (going vertical).