Hello to all my lovely teacher friends out there!! I hope that my Queensland friends have had a great first few weeks back, and that those of you on holidays (lucky ducks!) are enjoying a relaxing time away from the classroom.
I am back with a post to share with you a fabulous FREE resource which my cubs have just adored working with over the last two weeks.
On the holidays I found this adorable counting book along with this super cute dinosaur (Thanks Kmart and Big W!) and just had to create some resources to match! So I am here to share with you a set of math resources for a week or tow of dinosaur-themed fun!
Warm-Ups
These are quick games I use daily to start my math session. The lovely number posters you can see in most of them are from another of my blog posts which you can find here.
This game is a twist on my Apple Picking game, After the children fill their trees and find their number, the class must decide which tree has more apples for the dinosaur to eat. And of course this dinosaur is a VERY NOISY EATER!! NOM...NOM...NOM!!
Another twist on a classic game - form a numberline and use your dinosaur to cover a number. I like to have the children write the number they think on a whiteboard and show before explaining how they knew.
This is a very quick game for when you only have 5 minutes. I sat with our dinosaur and fed him apples - like I said, he is a VERY HUNGRY DINOSAUR! while we counted how many. A child found the matching number from the numberline and the children then drew the number and matching collection of shapes (triangles, circles squares etc...)
This game was inspired by my most fabulous teaching partner! Inside my bucket were a set of dinosaur number cards with paper clips attached. I chose a number (in this case 5) and had the children take turns to fish out a number. They then needed to decide whether their number was more, less or the same as mine. I wrote out the words MORE, LESS and SAME on yellow card and stuck them above each hoop for us to sort into. The number cards I used can be found in the dinosaur packet, accessible at the end of this post.
Another comparison game, this one requires a set of dinosaur eggs for each 'nest'. The eggs I have used are from a fabulous clip art set by Krista Wallden which you can purchase
HERE, but eggs drawn on coloured paper would work just as well, or those plastic Easter eggs every teacher loves would be a great substitute too! Even scrunched up balls of paper (remember I love all things quick and simple).
For this game, place a set of number cards upside down in the center of the nests. Two children com up, draw a card and place the matching number of eggs in the nests. The class then compares the collections and decides which nest holds more (or less) eggs and draws or builds that number.
A fish and write game using dinosaurs! A child hops up and is given 30 seconds to catch as many dinosaurs as they can. Again these dinosaurs are from Krista Wallden's fabulous clip art set which you can purchase
HERE. After they have caught their dinosaurs, the children count how many, fins the number and write it on their whiteboards (or build with snap cubes).
Lucky last, this is a twist on Fish and Build. In the hoops are sets of dinosaur numbers with paper clips. The children take turns fishing for a number and building with the sports markers. Again, the class decides who had more or less and writes or builds it.
Quick Dinosaur-Themed Lessons
Build number recognition by placing these number cards in a pocket chart, and hiding a laminated pictures behind. The children take turns guessing what number it is hidden behind.
I used these cute colour dinosaur cards to make simple sight word sentences with my class.
Simply blue
tac the pictures to the board and write the sentence ‘The dinosaur is ___.’ above. Give the
children clues of the colour you are thinking of (e.g. the colour I am thinking
of is the colour of a fire truck, …grass, …clouds before a storm etc…).
Add the dinosaur to the sentence and practise reading 1:1. Having children help
by pointing with a large pointer is great too!
This term we are focusing on comparing numbers (can you tell yet?). For this activity I printed a set of dinosaurs - guess who from haha! - and made this little comparison activity on my board. This activity was done many times as it was great to practise the children's skills. I have included in the dinosaur download a set of cards you can print to do the same activity, or again you can make your own set with dinosaur clip art.
Guided Math Activities
This term I am starting my new-look guided math groups, starting with these adorable Dinosaur games! Each of my groups have a set in their groups buckets. During their time with myself or my aide, the children play these games and we check for understanding, help with building 1:1 counting, and assess number recognition. I have included these games in the download at the end of this post. Included in it are instructions for every activity with photos to help guide you.
A few of the activities being completed by my cubs.
All of these activities are included! The best part, is that I can put all the activities into a big zip-lock bag after the 2 weeks and they will be ready for next time, or you can swap them into math centres to be completed independently!
If you would like to grab this fabulous FREEBIE, just click the picture below to snag your own copy :)
Remember, if you have not yet found me on Facebook or Instagram I am there - and I absolutely LOVE hearing from my fellow teacher friends who are using my creations! I would love for you to find me and send pictures!!! Find me on Facebook at Teaching Outside of the Box, and on Instagram at @teachingoutsideofthebox
Until next time my friends!!
