Numeracy Routines - At Home & In The Classroom

I've been trying to put into words, the importance of Numeracy Routines.  I want parents and other teachers to be able to quickly understand how and why to use them at home or in their own classroom.  I have also provided links to the resources you would need to get started.   

The purpose of Numeracy Routines is to get students to THINK about numbers (not in addition or subtraction sense) but in the terms of taking numbers apart and putting them together. Knowing what "Three" or "Seven" or "Ten" is. Making connections to what they already know about one number helps them figure out another number. 

Quick Look

One activity I do is called “Quick Look” with ten frames. The reason we do this is so students see groups of objects and not have to count each dot individually.

I show a ten frame( like this one) for 3 seconds then ask “What did you see?”

• A student might say “I see 5”, and I’ll ask…”How did you know?” “I see 3 on one side and 2 on the other and I know that’s 5.”
• Another student might say “I saw three at the top and two at the bottom. Three and two is five.”
• Still another student might say “I saw three on one side and I slid one from the other side..that’s four with one left on the other side and that’s five…four and one is five.”

Click HERE to download a set of ten frames.  Just print and show to your kiddo(s)!  

You can even do this magnetically, like I do in my classroom.  All you need is a cookie sheet, small round magnets, you can find them at wal-mart and dot stickers.  I put red dots on one side and yellow dots on the other side of the magnet.  Then create a ten frame with a sharpie marker or cool colored tape.  Then using the circle magnets, make an arrangement of dots on the magnetic ten frame and continue as above.  

Dot Cards 

I love using dot cards in my classroom!  I use them just the same as I do with the ten frame cards.
Click HERE to download a set of dot cards from 1-9

For teachers... my activities come from It Makes Sense!