Some people see picnic supplies, I see fractions manipulatives!

Most folks will only think about paper plates and plastic bags when they need to pack for a picnic but of course, teachers see the world differently!

Desperate to demonstrate fraction concepts but short on funds I thought long and hard about what I could easily cut up and manipulate so I could help my struggling students. As a class we had already cut up bread (2 loaves), paper and used blocks, however, my lower students were beginning to get confused about adding and subtracting mixed number fractions.

I used these free Fraction Task Cards for Addition and I set about cutting up paper plates into quarters, fifths, sevenths and eights which I then bagged up ready for students. Students take a task card and a paper plate and then place the number of fractions on the paper plate. Soon they will make the connection that whole numbers (or plates) are made when the maximum number of pieces fit on the plate and the remainder is then obvious.

 

This works for subtracting fractions as well using the Fraction Task Cards for Subtraction.

Download the task cards for free now!

Valentine's Day Love

It's THAT time of the year again - when we show how much we love our students! These quick little Valentine's Day packs will bring some seasonal fun in to your classroom.

Valentine's Day Literacy Pack - 10 Fun Literacy Sheets.

1. Color Words Rainbow - Read and color
2. Number Words - Count, read and color
3. Big and Small Match Up - Read, match up and color
4. Make a sentence 1 - Read, cut, glue and color
5. Make a sentence 2 - Read, cut, glue and color
6. Write a sentence 1 - Count, read, write and color
7. Write a sentence 2 - Read, write and color
8. Write a sentence 3 - Count, read, write and color
9. Rhyming Words - Read and color
10. Matching Activity - Read, match and color

Valentine's Day Math Sheet Pack - 10 maths worksheets.

1. Counting chocolates - one to one correlation
2. Adding candy hearts - simple addition, counting on
3. Adding cupcakes - simple addition; cut, glue and count
4. Adding hearts - simple addtion; cut, glue and count
5. Roll and Color 1 - number recognition
6. Roll and Color 2 - number recognition
7. Graphing - simple counting and graphing
8. Sequencing Froggy -ordinal numbers; cut, glue and count
9. Which one is bigger? - number comparison; count and color largest
10. What comes next? - early patterning