Math Reads: My New Favorite Thing!

Hi everyone!

As you know, I have tried a few new things in my classroom during my math block this year.

I am LOVING Number Talks...you can read about them {here}!

Today's post is about another new math idea that I have been using this year-Math Reads!

*This is how I incorporate math reads in my 1st grade classroom, but they could easily be adapted for other primary grades!*

I start by reading my students a book and having a general discussion about it. I like to do this during snack time or reading time the day before we will use it during our math lesson. I like them to be familiar with it before we use it for math.

I'm using the book A Squash and A Squeeze for my example throughout this explanation (you can pick it up for free in my store-it is the preview download here).

Day 1:

The students are given cubes (or counters) to represent the people and animals that go into the house throughout the story. The students have already heard the story, so I flip through the pages and paraphrase the story as they model what is happening with the cubes. There is a recording sheet included for the students to write equations to match what they are modeling (great for practicing +1 and -1).

Day 2:

I do a quick retell of the story to remind them of what they are thinking about in the day's task. I then have a chart on the smartboard for them to think about. The chart lists the people/animals that went into the house and how many legs each had. I explain the chart to them and explain their task for the day: to figure out how many legs were in the house when everyone was inside. This is something I have them work on individually, but you could do this in partners or in small groups. Another way to differentiate, would be to provide some students with blanks for the numbers of legs on the chart and they could fill that part in themselves before solving the problem.

Day 3:

Again, I review the story for the students. We also review different ways to solve problems (picture, tallies, equations, cubes, etc). They then receive their story problems for the day. My students work on the problems individually, and move on to the second problem when they have shown me a correct solution for the first problem.

I love being able to incorporate books, hands on activities, and story problems during math! So many awesome ways to reach the students and advance their math skills.

I have this awesome bundle in my store of all the math read activities that I have used this year.

You can get it at a discount price, since it is a bundle!