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Starting School: Preparing for Maths Class 1

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Two of my favourite authors, Julia Donaldson and Nick Sharratt, combined to create a fantastic children’s book all about numbers! Once you read ” One Mole Digging a Hole” you are sure to fall in love with it!

The entire story is told in rhyme making it enjoyable and appeal to younger readers:

  • One Mole Digging a Hole
  • Two snakes with garden rakes
  • Three bears picking pears
  • Four foxes filling boxes

One Mole Digging a Hole is very cleverly written and actively engages the reader in mathematical learning and activities. Aren’t these illustrations adorable?!

 

  • Your child will become familiar with both the written numeral and the  number word eg. 2 and two.
  • Children are encouraged to count objects rather than just reciting numbers by rote.
  • The number of butterflies on each page corresponds to the numeral. This gives an additional opportunity to count in one-to-one correspondence.

You may well be thinking that your preschooler is great a numbers and can count to ten and beyond! There is a big difference between counting numbers by rote and having an understanding of number. Your child needs lots of hands on experience counting actual objects or pictures in order to  gain an understanding that each number refers to a set amount or group of objects. This is a prerequisite skill for addition, children must first be able to recognize and create concrete examples to represent numbers.

One to one correspondence is a term that educators refer to frequently. Put simply, one-to-one correspondence is the process of touching one object for each number that is counted aloud: 1 ( point to a butterfly), 2 (point to another butterfly)

On the following page your child can count and point to the pictures that match the text.

One Mole Digging a Hole explores the numbers 1-10. Junior Infants should work with numbers 0-5  with meaning  while Senior Infants cover the numbers 0-10.  You can see these objectives in greater detail below:

There are so many opportunities to expand and explore your child’s mathematical development with this book. Lets look that the snake illustration again.

For example:

  1. Are there more rakes or grapes in the picture above?
  2. What do we see the least of?
  3. What colour patterns are used on the snakes?
  4. Which snake has raked more ground?
  5. Which flower has the most petals and which has the least?
  6. What shapes can you see?
  7. Find the two butterflies that match.

This book is one of the most beautifully written and illustrated books that I own relating to number. I cannot wait to use it with my class next.year. I will be using a “visualizer” so that I can ask the sorts of questions listed above. It is a great oral maths activity.

I purchased my copy in The Book Centre, Waterford for a steal at 2.50Euro! I couldn’t believe my look. If you are not living in the area you could order it from Book Depository for 5.74 Euro instead of the RRP of 8.00 Euro.

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)



Starting School: Preparing for Maths Class 2

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I hope that you liked my post about “One Mole Digging a Hole”. Did any of you purchase this book yet?! Today’s post continues on from this and gives your child/class more opportunities to count objects.

The Irish Curriculum Guidelines for Junior Infant “Counting” is below:

You can see that your child will be expected to count from 1-10 and to push objects to the side when counting.

This fun fishing game will allow your child to do just this! The numbers are from 1-5 in level one. Level two is the same only the fish are quicker swimmers ;)

The object of Fishin’ Mission is to drag the appropriate number of fish  into the net. The fun bit is catching them!

Click here to play Fishin’ Mission!

Fishin’ Mission will teach or reinforce some vitally important Mathematical Concepts for your child:

Read written numerals

No oral cues are given so your child must read the numerals 1-5 in order to play.

Cardinality

 The number name given to the last object/image tells you how many objects you have counted.

* If you look at the image above you can see that I have placed 4 fish in the net as the  Fisherman shows the numeral 4

Stable-order

Counting words are recited in the correct order each time .

Counting aloud “1, 2, 3, 4, 5″ shows stable order is achieved. Counting aloud” 1, 2, 3, 5, 4″ shows that stable order is not yet achieved.

Note:

You cannot put too many fish into the net. Once the correct number is achieved the game accepts this and moves on.  If your child is still hesitant at counting please play the game together. You will need to see and hear that he/she is counting and dragging correctly and not just guessing or randomly dragging the fish! You can help your child be counting aloud together as you drag the fish.

If your child fails to put the correct number into the net before the time runs out the Fisherman will tell you and allow you to have another go!

There is lots of learning potential from Fishin’ Mission. I hope that your child enjoys playing it as he/she prepares for school.

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)


Starting School: Preparing for Maths Class (Activity 3)

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“Counting Fish” is a  fun game that will give your child lots of practice counting and reading numerals. Lots of useful learning before school starts ;)

Here are the Irish Curriculum Guidelines if you have not already read them in previous articles:

Content for junior infant classes

Strand unit: Counting


The child should be enabled to

  • count the number of objects in a set, 1-10

Strand unit: Analysis of number – Numeration


  • develop an understanding of the conservation of number, 1-5*
  • read, write and order numerals, 1-5**

* Conservation of number means that your child knows that it is “4″ regardless of how it is presented:

eg .4 fish close together, 4 fish scattered all over the sea bed, 2 fish on one side of the screen and 2 fish on the other…

** Your child only needs to read numbers 1-5. This game will help boost your child’s learning as it deals with numbers 0-  10 in level 2.

Click here to play

Level 1 of “Counting Fish” deals with small numbers and the fish are easy to see. Your child needs to count the number of fish he/she see swimming and then click on the corresponding numeral.

As you move your mouse over the numeral cards you will hear what number it is. This is helpful for children who are good at counting but are only learning to read written numerals.

If you make a mistake:

If your child makes a mistake he/she will hear an audio hint, see above, utilizing a more than and less than hint . It is important for children to hear and use the terms “more than” and “less than”  as a point of comparison between numbers. This will help with addition and subtraction later on.

“Counting Fish” has 3 levels of difficulty. Your child must score 70% or more to move onto the next level. They get tricky, trust me. Not that I got any wrong or anything!

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)


Spooky Ghost Number Sequences

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Hi Everyone,

I apologize for not having any posts for a while. My computer has had one problem after another. Tonight it has finally been fixed! Can’t wait to fill you in on all that you have missed!

My class have been working on number sequences and this fun game is a perfect accompaniment to that! They don’t seem to mind that Halloween is over!

You click on the missing number in the sequence  and then click enter to make  the ghosts disappear. Spooky….

Click here to play

Check back in later this week for more fun maths games. We have been playing lots of them lately.

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)


Duck Shoot Maths Game

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Here is another fun counting game and number recognition game that my class love! The number range is from 1-10. You need to read the target number, in this case 6, and click on duck number 6. The cutest duck voice will tell you whether you are correct or not. My class just love it! We played it everyday last week!

Click here to play

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)


Number Concentration Game

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Here is fun number concentration game for your Junior or Senior Infant to play. The sound effects are fun. It is not as simple as it seems! You need to count the objects and remember how many there are and then match it to the correct numeral. You really do need to concentrate :)

Click here to play the Number Concentration Game

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)


What time is it Mr. Wolf?

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Have you enjoyed the Cambridge Interactive clock ?! My class did and seem to have taken to telling the time with great ease. I am pretty sure that the ease and speed at which they grasped the concept of time has thanks to some great interactive resources. I don’t think that I have ever found it easier to teach :)  We even did well on the hardest level where the numbers were removed from the clock. I am very proud of my kiddos for this!!!

What time is it Mr. Wolf  is a really fun game and proved a great hit. It was a great way to consolidate their skills further. It is very simple to use and also promoted literacy skills as they had to read number words 1-12 and then move the hands on the clock accordingly. As with the Cambridge Interactive Clock only the hour had moves.

Children have a choice of moving the hands clockwise and anti-clockwise to create the correct time. I encouraged children to move the hands in a clockwise manner as some are a little shaky at counting backwards. I was pleasantly surprised at how many intuitively chose to go anti-clockwise when it was the most sensible and quickest way to the requested time! They knew to go backwards from 8pm to 6pm rather than going all around the clock.

For my pupils the greatest joy came from entering the incorrect answer rather than the correct one. LOL! They just loved to see poor Little Red Riding Hood devoured by the wolf! Seriously, they would show me the correct answer on the clock face and then beg to “make a mistake” just to have her eaten!!!

time 1

Click here to play

I hope that your kids have as much fun playing What time is Mr. Wolf as much as mine did!

Miss Mernagh :)

Have fun,


Counting Bricks and basic maths concepts

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Do you ever “lose” an online resource? I played this Counting Bricks game before Christmas and forgot to bookmark it! I failed to locate it in the history on my work p.c and spent the last 30 min online trying to locate it. Frustrating! I had only played it once before and couldn’t remember anything apart from builders and bricks!

It is a really fun game for Junior or Senior Infants to play. I really love that they whistle as they wheel their barrows! Counting bricks had a definite appeal to the boys in my class when we played it. I know that I harp on about this but most online games seem a bit “girly” to me. So few of them set out to capture the attention of boys.

Counting bricks is a wonderful game to demonstrate the connection between concrete (objects)and the abstract sum. Just wait and see. It is soooooo clear!

Here are the precious builders off loading their bricks:
counting bricks 2

Now the addition problem appears:

counting bricks 3

Correctly add the bricks and input the number and “bing” you get to move on to another sum…

counting bricks 4

Click here to play

Just in case you are curious about the cause of my frantic searching for this game I thought I would clue you in. Developing early mathematical concepts requires lots of “hands on activity” to take children from counting from rote memorization to an understanding of number operations.

Counting bricks represents numbers in a very clear manner:

  • the blocks are colour coded so we can see the correspondence between 2 bricks in the first pile and the numeral 2 at the start of the sum.
  • the blocks are large enough to easily count
  • the blocks are clearly divided into 2 sets as our sum has two distinct parts ( 2 and 3 more)

I also love that this game isn’t timed. I can leave it on the whiteboard or PC for as long as I need to explore the concept. You have could have your pupils join in “building the sum” with Unifix cubes or “counting on” using their number line for example.

As I know that many of those who follow my blog are parents I thought that I would give you a brief explanation around some of the counting skills promoted in this game. We sure “play” a lot in maths class but there is a very good reason behind it ;)

One-one-correspondence

The ability to match numbers to objects or object to object. One and only one number word can be matched to each and every object we count. “I say one when I touch one cube, I say 2 when I touch the 2nd cube…”

Cardinality

The number name given to the last object tells you how many objects you have counted in total.

Subitising

To recognise small numbers without counting them.

Cardinality & Subitising:

When children well developed skills we should encourage them to “count on”.

If they can instantly recognise that there are 2 bricks in the first set they can “count on” from this for the second set “2, 3, 4, 5″ rather than counting each brick individually starting from one.

I would expect Senior Infant children to be able to “call out” most of the sums in this game without the need to “count” the bricks. They should be able to recognise the numbers and simply say “3 and 2 makes…”. Being able to give the answer by subitising would be great too, if not allow them to count the bricks by touching them in one-to-one-correspondence.

I hope that you found this post useful . I know that my class will be playing it tomorrow. Will you?!

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)



“Spot on” addition game

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My class have been playing this “Spot on” addition game for almost a fortnight now. They are really enjoying it and practicing lots of maths skills in the process. Love it!!!!

Some of the skills that this games encourages  includes: an awareness of 10, improved addition and “mental maths”,  ”subitising” and an awareness of “part-part-whole” relationships.

What you need to play “Spot on”:

All you need is a dice, 10 “spots” or counters and a 10 frame. You can download a free 10 frame here.

frame 1

How to play “Spot on”:

Child 1 rolls the dice and places that amount of “spots” on his/her card.

All other children then have their first turn and place the relevant number of spots on their board.

Before children roll the dice for a second time they must identify “how many more” spots are needed to fill their board.

( See the example below: I rolled 6 and need 4 more to be “spot on”).

You can only win the game by throwing the exact number needed to fill your board. This may mean throwing the dice and placing no “spots” on the board. If I rolled a 5 below I would place no counters on my board. I need exactly 4 to be “spot on”

When you call get the exact number need then you fill the board and shout “spot on!”

frame 2

Why we have been playing “Spot on”:

For the first few days I circulated and prompted maths talk.

  • How many more do you need for “spot on”?
  • Can you get that many with one more roll of the dice? Why/why not?
  • How many are on your board now? What did you just roll? Make a number sentence with those numbers eg. 5 and 4 more makes 9. I need one more for “spot on”.

Now my pupils naturally talk to each other about their 10 frame and how many more is needed, who have less than them, what their number sentence is.

I encourage my pupils to “subitise” when playing the game. Subitising is recognising a collection (of objects, pictures, dots on dominoes etc) without counting, simply by looking.  In this case, the empty frames on their 10 frame may create a pattern that they can visually recognise.

I also encourage pupils to “count on” and use “mental maths strategies“. They know that each row contains 5 frames and that there are 10 frames in total, 2 rows for 5.  They can use this information to count on. eg if they see 3 spots in the first row: 2  blanks and 5 more in the bottom row:

They should be create number sentence like these below rather than actually “counting” the frames by touching them:

  • 2 and 5 more makes 7

To consolidate “part-part-whole knowledge” by establishing the ability to see and recognise a number in terms of its parts, eg see 10 in terms of :

  • 7 and 3 more would make 10
  • or  7 being 3 less than 10

I hope that you all have lots of fun playing this game. There are lots of versions of this floating around the internet. Have any of you play it already?

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)


Fruit Shoot Addition Practice!

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There’s just something about brightly coloured fruit that puts me in a Summer mood.This addition game would almost fool you into thinking that it was Summer! No such look here in Ireland. Another overcast day…  

I love, love games that allow me to choose from many and varied levels. This Fruit Shoot game is suitable for children from Senior Infants up. The easiest level has sums up to 10 which is an exact match for our Senior Infant objectives. Yippee!!

fruit maths 1

Once you have selected your level then you can select either the relaxed or timed mode depending on ability levels. It also allows you to start on the Relaxed mode and over a period of time, say a week, become more skilled and then take on the challenge of the timed mode.

I  like having the option to avoid the timed mode if desired. Completing a challenge against the clock can be a source of stress and upset for some children. It’s great to have a choice, though, as some kids thrive on the challenge. I have some real speed demons this year that would relish the timed mode ;)

fruit maths 2

Now for the fun bit… Line up your target, the correct answer, and fire to make the fruit splat!!!

fruit maths 3

         Click here to play

I can’t wait to play this with my kiddos once we complete our unit on Weight.

Have fun,

 

Miss Mernagh :)


Math Man Addition Game

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I have been searching for some more fun games to encourage my pupils to practice their addition skills. I love to use online maths games as they naturally inspire interest. It’s pretty hard to get kids buzzed up about a page of maths problems but suggest a maths game and you feel the positivity and excitement fill the room.

Here is another game from sheppardsoftware.com. I am fast becoming a fan! Unfortunately many of their games do not exactly match our curriculum in Ireland. Math Man is a great game and can be played by children from Senior Infant up. The harder levels are perfect for middle school or even higher school pupils who need a little bit of practice.

Math Man is a type of Pacman that many of us will remember from our childhood. I haven’t yet played this one in class so I am not sure how it will go with an interactive whiteboard. I think that you will need to use the arrows on the keyboard rather than your pen. We call our pen ” squiggle” ;)

I think that Math Man is going to be a popular game with my class! Doesn’t it look cool?! It’s also pretty simple to play.You need to navigate your way to “eat” the ghost with the number that answers  the sum on the bottom of the screen. If you eat a star the ghosts will freeze for a second.

math man

                                                                                                  Click here to play addition up to 10

maths man 2                                                                                                      Click here to play addition up to 20

I hope that you all enjoy this retro Math Man game. I certainly enjoyed reviewing it for you.

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)


Weight: can you measure up?!

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This week are are exploring the “Measures” strand of the maths curriculum. More specifically we are exploring weight. The curricular objectives are as follows:

  • develop an understanding of the concept of weight through exploration, handling of objects and use of appropriate vocabulary
  • compare and order objects according to weight
  • estimate and weigh in non-standard units
  • select and use appropriate non-standard units to weigh objects

We are using a balance to predict what objects are the same weight (eg. what weighs the same as my eraser) and then comparing the weight of objects using non-standard units of measure (we are mostly using unifix cubes as they are in plentiful supply).

I cannot stress the importance of “hands on” & “discovery learning” for maths. There is no substitute for having concrete materials in your hand. That said, some of my class could handle an “abstract” challenge at this stage of the programme. I spent some time online this evening in between completing overdue paperwork (Groan: I hate falling behind but I had a wedding to plan ;) ) Anyway, here it is…

It is as yet untested by my class but looks like a winner to me. You need to add/remove the weights in order to make it balance. The graphics are very clear so children can easily see if the rock  is heavier or lighter than the counters. Then they can remove/add counters one at a time in order to achieve a balance between the two. Then click on the “tick” to see if you are correct. “Sid the Scientist” gives clear explanations and chats a little about weight and perception. Overall it is a great game. I can’t wait to play it with my class tomorrow!

balance 2

Click here to play

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh


Roll and Cover Maths Game

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I am super excited about going back to school! I am really looking forward to teaching Junior Infants again!!! I loved every minute of Senior’s but it was time for a change.

I have been planning my theme for the last while. Gosh it was hard to choose. I have been conflicted for a while now. I finally settled on it when I found the right props. Poor Mr. H ended up spending part of his Sunday shopping for school. I found it so hard to decide and to keep to a reasonable budget. Bless him, he didn’t complain at all.

Following on from our shopping trip I created these fun “Roll and Cover’ maths games. I think that they will be lots of fun to play! It will encourage number recognition and one-to-one correspondence.  They are in black and white as we don’t have a colour printer :( .

Just print and colour. Roll the dice and cover the number. The first person to cover all of their numbers wins!

Screen Shot 2013-08-13 at 14.41.23

Screen Shot 2013-08-13 at 14.41.32

Click here to download!

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)

PS: The flamingo is a colouring sheet from:http://www.supercoloring.com/pages/flamingo-with-glasses. The coconut tree is one that i have had for years and don’t know who to credit it.

Even more Roll and Cover Games!

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I have been asked to create some Roll and Cover Games that are in full colour. It seems that lots of you have colour printers at your disposal. Lucky you! I am still living in black and white land with my printer at home and at work.

Here are some Roll and Cover Games that are full of colour and summer fun!

Screen Shot 2013-08-14 at 22.12.01

Screen Shot 2013-08-14 at 22.11.51

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Screen Shot 2013-08-14 at 22.12.15

                                                                                                                                                    Click here to download

  (scroll down past the B&W ones to find the images above)

I hope that you have lots of fun playing  my Roll and Colour Games. Any requests? What theme are you using this year? Please leave a comment below!

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)

ps: the cute bee and apple graphics are from DJInkers.com

Junior Infant Maths: sorting & classifying

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I am so excited to be teaching Junior Infants again! Junior Infant maths is so much fun. Next week we will be exploring the Early Maths Activities Strand (EMA) of Classifying. We will learn to:

  • classify objects on the basis of one attribute, such as colour, shape, texture or size
  • identify the complement of a set (i.e. elements not in a set or the “odd one out”)

We will be making closed sets where the teacher defines the sorts and gives the category by which the items will be sorted. Once children are familiar with the concept of classifying objects we will move onto open sets. Children will decide for themselves how to sort the objects in front of them. This encourages divergent thinking, problem solving and logical thinking.

When teaching all maths topics is it crucially important that we move from the concrete to the abstract. Children need to have lots and lots of hands-on -experience physically sorting counters, bottle tops, buttons, counters, animals, transport items… The list goes on…

Here are a few ways that you could suggest if you are making closed sets:

  • by colour (red set, green set and yellow set or  red things and things that are not red)
  • by size ( big and small, big animals and small animals, small red car and small green cars)
  • things I eat and things I play with
  • thing we find in the sky, on land, in the sea.
  • zoo animals and farm animals
  • spotty socks, stripy socks, plain socks or my socks and Mom’s socks (help with the laundry anyone?!!!!)

There are a staggering number of ways that things can be sorted into sets. Sometimes children amaze me with the classifications that they create during open sets. Often they see ways of sorting that I had never thought of!

Here is a really fun Sesame Street game that encourages children to sort animals by colour, big/small, long ears/short ears… It’s called Zoe’s Pet Shelter

Can you guess the rules for the set below?!!!

Screen Shot 2013-08-31 at 14.20.34

Screen Shot 2013-08-31 at 14.22.33

Click here to play Zoe’s Pet Shelter!

I am crossing my fingers and toes that my school laptop will be replaced by Monday so that I can play these with my class. It completely died on Friday afternoon and I am frantic. I use my Interactive Whiteboard all the time. Last year it was out of use for a few months when the bulb went. Then my laptop went shortly after the bulb was replaced. The computer memory was wiped and returned to me minus my work!! I have way, way too much to back it up on a USB! Now its gone again one day into the new school year! I am cracking up!!  Sorry for the rant. It might not have fixed the computer but it sure make me feel better?! Anyone else in the same boat?

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)



11 Ways a Parent Can Help with Maths

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I came across this really interesting poster online and felt compelled to post it for you to read! It is one of the best summaries that I have seen.

How many of these 11 Ways a Parent Can Help with Maths are you using already?! I especially love the closing statement ;) Point out ways that maths is part of real life!!! Isn’t that why we teach maths anyway? It should never be seen as something that belongs between the pages of a textbook. Maths is all around and a hugely important life skill. Just a thought….

Parent_Help_Math_600

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)


Junior Infant Maths: Sorting & Classifying

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Here is another fun Sesame Street game to help develop sorting and classifying skills. The Early Maths Strand (EMA) asks children in Junior and Senior Infants to:

  • classify objects on the basis of one attribute, such as colour, shape, texture or size

In “The Laundry Game” Elmo asks children to “sort” or collect his laundry according to colour and shape attributes e.g. the white socks or t-shirts with red circle on them. Children need to pay close attention to detail in order to find the correct items.

It is also a great way of including Oral Language in your maths lesson. Through the “Developing Cognitive Abilities through oral language”  strand unit children in Junior and Senior Infants are asked to:

  • focus on descriptive detail and begin to be explicit in relation to people, places, times, processes, events, colour, shape, size, position

I played “The Laundry Game”  it with my class the other day  and ticked both boxes in my schemes of work :) . My class loved it. We will definitely be playing it again. Check out the underwear on the line. Hilarious…!

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Click here to play The Laundry Game

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)


Matching Socks Game

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Here is a fantastic resource to demonstrate or have children engage in the Early Mathematical Activity Strands of Matching & Sorting. The objectives below are for both Junior and Senior Infants:

Compare:

  • compare objects according to colour, size and design

Matching:

  • match equivalent and non-equivalent sets using one-to-one correspondence

In the  ”Sock Pairs Game” simply drag the matching socks to the basket. It is not as simple as it first seems. There are only subtle differences between some of the sock pairs. Children need to concentrate carefully when comparing socks to create a matching pair.

Sock Pairs is very simple and quick to play. It is a really good teaching tool to introduce children to the concepts of Comparing and Matching. It is also a great Oral Language Lesson as I ask my pupils to describe the socks that they are matching in terms of size, colour, and design. There is also a small amount of Algebra involved in the patterning of the socks: pink, blue, pink, blue…

Screen Shot 2013-09-27 at 07.36.29

Click here to play

Why not get your pupils to bring in a pair of socks, mix them up in a laundry basket and have them match them. Who knew that doing the laundry could have such a profound effect on a child’s mathematical processes?!!!!

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)


Senior Infant Maths: revision of Sorting & Classifying

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This sorting game is a fantastic way to review EMA strategies for Senior Infant Classes:

  • classify objects on the basis of one attribute, such as colour, shape, texture or size

It’s a great lesson opener or transition activity. Really simple, clear and child friendly. I like the fact that you can cover a huge variety of classifications and comparisons in one game. It covers: size, number, letters vs numbers, colours, shapes, spots vs stripes… I also like the way that it integrates letter sorting. Sneaky and clever at the same time!

It also covers “half” and “whole’ which are part of the 1st class maths curriculum:

  • establish and identify half of sets to 20

“Sort” does cover “odd” and “even” numbers but you can easily skip ahead if not applicable to your class grade.

If you are teaching Junior Infants or the parent of a Junior Infant child then I would encourage you to bookmark it. This sorting game would be fantastic for an end of year review/assessment.

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Click here to play

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)


Halloween Themed Data Handling

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Do you love teaching Data Handling? I just ADORE it!!! It is one of my absolute favourite maths topics to explore. It is so much fun and serious cute too!

I always block my data handling and tie it into  fun, seasonal themes. I did a graph a week for the month of October on a Halloween Theme. We created  Halloween themed graphs about spiders, ghosts and bats.

It’s so much easier to get children buzzed up about data handling when you explore it thematically :) I also feel that children understand more fully the use of graphs and graphing when it is linked to something meaningful in their own lives.  Because I am mildly OCD on linking lessons I also  try to tie my Data Handling into the story that we were reading for the week e.g. Aaaaargh Spiders and a graph about spiders.

Here are the Representing and Interpreting Data Curriculum Objectives for Junior Infants, Senior Infants and First Class:

  • represent and interpret data in two rows or columns using real objects, models and pictures

Below is my ghost themed pictogram freebie :

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Click here to download
Screen Shot 2013-10-19 at 13.43.16  Click here to download

I simply cut out the title and stuck it to a sheet of poster paper. Pupils stick their ghost under the column that applies to them. My class seem to be particularly brave. Not one of them said that ghosts were creepy!! Mind you, I think that the ghosts above are particularly cute. They are from the Enlightened Elephant.

Data Handling naturally lends itself to making comparisons and naturally creates language rich Maths Talks. We stopped periodically to predict which column would win and why, what the difference was between columns, what difference one more vote would make to each side… Lots and lots of math talk was generated. I also love it when children spontaneously use maths language in their response. “I predict that creepy will win because it has more” or “I predict that cute can’t win now because only 2 children are left to vote and that’s not enough to win”. Talk like that just blows me away!!! Oh yeah, the use of the word “predict” ties in with the Reading Comprehension Strategies we are exploring.

I hope that you like my Ghost Themed Pictogram Freebie and manage to squeeze it in next week. It would make for a great maths lesson on the day of the holidays ;)

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)

Have fun,

Miss Mernagh :)


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