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Category: Problem-Solving

What Do You Notice? Scales

What Do You Notice? Scales


Skills:
K-2: counting, number recognition, comparing, addition/subtraction, logic/reasoning skills, geometric shapes
3-5: logic/reasoning skills, addition/subtraction, beginning algebra


This scale weight problem is a fun way to introduce algebraic thinking. Although for the young students, simply recognizing numbers and counting the animals is good enough. They can even describe the geometric shapes used to make the scales.

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What Do You Notice? Number Theory

What Do You Notice? Number Theory


Skills:
K-2: counting, skip counting, patterns, even/odd numbers
3-5: even/odd numbers, patterns, multiples, factors, multiplication, common multiples, prime/composite numbers


When students learn to skip count* they are reciting the multiples of the number they started with. It’s a great early introduction to multiplication. This poster is a horizontal representation of some of the multiples for numbers 1 – 23 which are represented by different colors. For example, multiples of 1 are magenta; multiples of 2 are yellow; 3 are green, etc.

Factors are the numbers multiplied together to arrive at another number. For example, 2 and 3 are the factors that, when multiplied, result in the product 6. This poster shows the factors of each number vertically. The factors of 6 are: 1 (magenta), 2 (yellow), 3, (green), and 6 (blue).

1 x 6 = 6 and 2 x 3 = 6

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Family Math Night Project Series: Bug Box

Family Math Night Project Series: Bug Box


I’m very excited to share with you our newest Family Math Night product line designed around hands-on projects in math. We’re calling it our Project Series and the first one, just released, is Project: Bug Box.


Hands-on and super fun, this Family Math Night Bug Box station will get the creative juices flowing! Participants choose one of their favorite (plastic!) bugs and use 2- and 3-dimensional geometry along with number skills to create a rectangular prism. Participants will walk away with a custom designed box for their bug which they get to bring home and share with others.

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What Do You Notice? poster – Number Grid Puzzle

What Do You Notice? poster – Number Grid Puzzle


Skills:
K-2: number recognition, pattern
3-5: pattern, addition


My youngest son visited the Basilica Sagrada Familia, a Roman Catholic Church in Barcelona, Spain and brought this pattern back for me as a gift. Here’s a photo of his gift: (And before you read the next paragraph where I describe the main pattern, you may want to discover your own patterns first.)

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The Estimation Jars

The Estimation Jars


This year I decided to add the 0-120 number grids to my K-2 estimation jar. The number grids come from our Math Medley kits and kids can use dry eraser markers to “think” as they’re working out their estimation. Of course, there’s the thinking paper and the referents, as well.

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