Math Resources for Students to Make

Well, it's getting to that time of year where I'm starting to think about the new school year (it's ridiculous how fast these holidays have gone!) I've been thinking about the things I want to do at the beginning of the year... one of the things I like to do is to get the kiddies involved in making resources for the class. Today I thought I'd share some of the easy resources that we make and use in my class.

Number counting sticks

We make a set for each child in the class, these come in handy right throughout the year! Each student makes a set of ten, which they keep in their Maths Toolbox. They can be used for developing number recognition, practicing addition and subtraction to/from 10 or for making bonds to 5 or 10 ... No doubt you could think of many more ideas! Very handy tools!

Number Bonds to 10... 7 and 3 is 10

Number Bonds to 5... 4 and 1 is 5

 To make them, you just need 10 pop sticks per child, beads and craft glue. Simply glue one bead on the first stick, two on the second, three on the third etc. Just make sure the beads are glued on well... It is a pain if they fall off! You could also use dot stickers instead of beads.

   

Another resource I make with students are subitising cards. We have a class set that I use nearly daily, but I think it's great for them to also have their own set. They use these throughout the year, sometimes as a part of our lessons, sometimes when they have some free time. The kids work in pairs, flashing each card to their partner for one second and asking 'How many dots did you see?' This is a really popular game for early finishers and does wonders for their number sense well!

To make these cards, each child will need pieces of card (I use A4 cut into quarters) and dot stickers. Before they make their own, we look at the class set of subtitising cards and talk about how the dots are arranged - I really important step otherwise you can end up with all sorts of strange cards!

We also make Ten Frames. As with the subitising cards, we have a class set that we use all the time, but it's nice for everyone to have their own set to use as well. I print off copies of the blank five and ten frames and give kids black stickers to stick on. As with the subitising cards, it's well-worth being really clear about the type of patterns you'd like the class to make.

You can click here for a free copy of the frames that I use.

 I've used black dots in this set, as I think it's easiest for the kids to use but you could use stars/colour dots or themed stickers if you wanted to.

I'd love to hear any about any resources you make with your class :)