Did you know that minimal pairs (or trios) are a terrific way to provide bite-sized decoding practice for your students? 

What Are Minimal Pairs?

Minimal pairs or minimal contrast words are words that are similar or almost the same. They often (but not always) differ by one letter or sound. They can be different in the initial, medial, or final position of a word. The change can be an addition, substitution, or omission. 

Here are some examples of minimal pairs appropriate for decoding practice.

• Initial Substitutions: bat and mat or brow and plow
• Medial Substitutions: pin and pan or prone and prune
• Final Substitutions: let and leg or slide and slime
• Additions: sip and ship, cut and cute, or bat and boat
• Omissions: flit, lit, it

You can use real words, nonsense words, or a mix of the two.

When you use minimal pairs (or trios, etc.) you’ll be giving your students a gentle reminder to look carefully at every letter when decoding words.

Why Bite-Sized Practice?

Using minimal pairs or contrast to practice decoding words is not a new idea. In fact, it is a very old idea. 

I looked for but could not find a workbook for phonics practice, Remedial Reading Drills, that I had used with my students. Surprisingly, I found a copy online. The original copyright date was 1940! And no, I was not using it in 1940! Perhaps I had the 1985 revision. 

What I found then, and now, is that the number of words presented on a single page can be overwhelming for some students. Even when you fold a page or cover part of it, they can feel frustrated and defeated before they even start. Some of your students, undoubtedly also have shorter attention spans than their peers. For these reasons, I found bite-sized decoding practice to be a more effective approach for my beginning and challenged readers.

Please note that there is a newer 2007 version of Phonic Reading Lessons available from Academic Therapy Publications. There are now fewer words with more spacing on the pages. My comments here are strictly about how the layout and the number of words presented on a page can affect young students and are not a reflection in any way of the instructional content or methods. You might find this presentation to be highly effective with your students.

Feed Me Activities for Minimal Pairs

By their nature, feed-me activities provide bite-sized practice. My two read-and-feed resources with minimal pairs (and trios) are an excellent way to have your students apply their decoding skills.

What Words Did I Choose?

I chose phonetically regular high-frequency short vowel words from two popular lists, one with 220 words and the other with 1000 words. 

I created two resources. Feed Me S’Mores includes 10 VC words and 39 CVC words. These are the target words. The target words are presented in pairs and trios contrasted with other similar real words. The only change, typically, is the short vowel sound.

Feed Me Cookies includes 109 short vowel target words with initial and/ or final consonant blends and/ or digraphs. I also added words with double final consonants. There are two sets of minimal pairs and trios. The first set contrasts single consonants with blends and digraphs. The second set contrasts short vowel sounds.

How Will My Students Benefit?

These Feed Me activities will give your students the opportunity to:

• apply their decoding skills
• get oodles of practice in bite-sized chunks
• gain automatic recognition of high-frequency words
• develop a sight word vocabulary
• increase their accuracy and fluency

And don’t forget the inherent motivation and fun!

What Prerequisite Skills Do My Students Need?

This is a practice activity that is designed to be a follow-up to your direct phonics instruction. It is intended to help your students achieve mastery in decoding accuracy and/ or automatic recognition of the target words. With that in mind, your students will need to…

For CVC Words

• have near mastery with letter/ sound knowledge of consonants and short vowels
• be able to blend 2 and 3 phonemes to decode VC and CVC words with a developing level of accuracy

For Blends and Digraphs

• have near mastery with letter/ sound knowledge of consonant digraphs
• be able to blend 3, 4, and 5 phonemes to decode CCVC, CVCC, and CCVCC words with a developing level of accuracy

How Can I Use This Minimal Pairs Activity?

Try this activity:

• with your small instructional, intervention, or resource groups
• when tutoring individual students
• in a center

It’s perfect to use for:

• a warm-up
• an exit activity
• practice
• review

Get ‘Em Decoding

Your students will take turns to:

1. Pick a card.
2. Read the minimal pairs or trios on the s’more or cookie.
3. Feed the s’more or cookie to the hungry bear or monster.
4. Color a s’more or cookie on the optional reward strip.

Roll & Read Minimal Contrast Short Vowel Words

Here’s a little roll & read freebie so you can try out decoding with minimal pairs. Or use it as an add-on to my feed-me activities for even more practice with those high-frequency phonetically regular short vowel words.

For this activity, I chose 18 short vowel words without consonant blends and digraphs and 18 short vowel words with initial and/ or final consonant blends and/ or digraphs for the target words. All of the target words came from the same two lists of high-frequency words.

The target words are presented in trios contrasted with other similar real words. The target word is the first one in each row. The only change is the vowel letter.

Get ‘Em Reading

Your students will:

1. Roll a die.
2. Find the corresponding row of words.
3. Read each word in the row.
4. Color one cookie or marshmallow at the end of each row.
5. Roll and read again, and again, and again! Color a cookie or a marshmallow each time you read a row.
6. Play until each row has been read one time or one row read three times, or time is up!

For students who are overwhelmed or lose focus, reduce the number of rolls and/ or spread out the practice over 2 or 3 sessions. 

Click on the highlighted words to download your free copy of Roll & Read Minimal Contrast Short Vowel Words.

More Ways to Incorporate Minimal Pairs For Decoding Practice

You can easily incorporate bite-sized decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling) practice with minimal pairs when using letter/ sound mats. These two blog posts will help you start thinking about how you can do this.

1. How to Get Started Reading CVC Words
2. Is the Silent E Pattern Proving to Be Prickly?

Bonus: Discover another free roll & read activity!

Word ladders and making words activities are two more bite-sized ways to work with minimal contrast words, particularly for encoding.

More Decoding Practice With Phonetically Regular High-Frequency Words

Check out these two blog posts for information on orthographic mapping and rapid word recognition charts. Help your students to develop automatic word recognition using words from the same high-frequency word lists.

1. Do You Want to Know All About Rapid Word Recognition Charts?
2. Are You Curious About the Importance of Orthographic Mapping?

You can also head directly to my TPT store to check out these products.

1. CVC Rapid Word Charts For Automatic Word Recognition of High-Frequency Words
2. CVC Word Mapping – Phoneme Grapheme Matching With High-Frequency Words
3. CVC Words – Minimal Contrast Short Vowel Word Decoding Activity
4. Consonant Blends and Digraphs – Rapid Word Charts With High-Frequency Words
5. Consonant Blends and Digraphs – Minimal Contrast Words Decoding Activity

What is your experience with using minimal pairs for decoding? How do you provide bite-sized practice? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

The post How to Effectively Use Minimal Pairs for Bite-Sized Decoding Practice appeared first on Just Ask Judy.

In my last blog post, I suggested a vertical number line as one way to help your students connect numerals to number words.

Unfortunately, the only ones I had handy to show you were ones to 12 or 20 that I used to teach addition and subtraction strategies.

Eventually, I located the 0 to 100, floor to ceiling, vertical number line I made for my classroom on an old thumb drive. Then it was easy to create a new and improved free version for you based on the old template.

Still wondering about the benefits…

Vertical number lines can help your kindergarten, first, and second-grade students:

1. visualize the pattern of increasing tens and ones in two-digit numbers. They can easily see the sequence and repetition of the digits.
2. understand the value of numbers faster and easier. They are able to see the numbers increasing or decreasing in value. 24 is lower or less than 25 and 48 is higher or more than 38.
3. grasp the concepts of counting up and counting down when adding or subtracting. It is evident that sums increase and differences decrease in value.
4. make a connection between the terms rounding up and rounding down to the nearest ten to what they see.

While I taught rounding with a number line, I never thought to use a vertical one, even with it right there on the wall!

You can also create empty and interactive vertical number lines.

How to Prepare Your Vertical Number Line

Of course, this is technically a number path and not a number line. A number path is an effective counting model as opposed to a length model. Each number is clearly marked with a rectangle. Each rectangle can be counted.

I added stars in rectangles to make counting even easier. The stars are also color-coded for counting by 5’s and 10’s.

This number path is approximately 93 3/8 inches or 7 foot 9 3/8 inches tall.

• Start by choosing color or black/ gray/ white.
• Print the selected pages. Use cardstock and laminate (consider glare) for durability.
• Cut each strip carefully along the outside edge of the solid and dotted black lines.
• Put the strips together with tape. Start with zero and one. Place tape in the blank spaces. Align and overlap the ends of each strip, covering up each blank box.
• Or you can create one that folds up accordion-style for storage. To do this, cut off the empty boxes. Lay the strips face down so the ends abut. Then, tape across the edges.

Now you’re all set to post it on your wall!

More Ideas for Vertical Number Lines

Find ideas and resources for using an interactive vertical number line to develop number sense (Mr. Elementary Math) and using vertical number lines for adding multiples of tens (What I Have Learned).

Looking for More Resources…

• Frog Hopping Count Down (blog post with a freebie that includes a vertical number line to 12)
• Piggy Bank Count Up (a resource to purchase with a vertical number line to 20)
• Candy Bag Count Up (same as above with a different theme)

Click the highlighted words to download your free copy of the vertical number line 0-100.

I’d love to hear your ideas for using vertical number lines in the comments below!

Photo in title image by Coffee Beans and Children’s Dreams.

The post 4 Beneficial Reasons for Using a Vertical Number Line appeared first on Just Ask Judy.

Of course, you don’t need a leprechaun to tell you that a solid foundation in number sense is worth its weight in gold!

Hands-On Ways to Develop Understanding of Teen Numbers

Help your students make sense of these numbers by providing numerous opportunities for them to show, see, and feel that a teen number is a ten plus some more. Get out those double ten frames with counters, popsicle sticks, interlocking cubes, and base ten blocks.

Create those teen numbers with concrete objects in as many ways as possible!

Show them on double ten frames. Use a variety of counters to keep it fresh.

Construct tally marks with popsicle sticks. Or make a bundle of ten and some extra ones with those popsicle sticks.

Build a stick of ten with interlocking cubes. Show that teen number as a ten plus some extra (loose) ones. Once your students grasp the concept, bring out the base ten blocks.

Practice recording “_ is ten and _ more” or “10 + _ = _” with these activities.

Here’s a free set of folding Expanded Form Cards (Number Sense Guy) to help your students visualize the standard and expanded forms of teen numbers (and beyond).

Keep emphasizing the words teen and ten and the relationship (a teen number has one ten) between them.

After all the hands-on concept development, your students will be ready for this St. Patrick’s Day-themed resource for teen numbers. Use it with small groups of 2 to 4 students. (You can adapt it for a single student or a large group.)

Try it for morning work, in a math center, or with your small instructional groups.

Let your students match double ten frames, tally marks, base ten blocks, and expanded form with the corresponding teen number whilst having a little mischievous fun!

Get “A Pot of Gold for Teen Numbers” Prepared

There are 4 different activity mats. Each mat has a pot of gold with 10 gold coins. Each coin has a numeral (11-19) on it. One numeral appears twice on each mat.

There are 4 sets of 9 cards with representations (double ten frames, tally marks, base ten blocks, and expanded form) for each number.

You will need:

• One copy of the activity mat for each participating student
• Two or more sets of cards
• Crayons or counters

Choose color or black/ white. Print the black/ white mats on paper to use with crayons.

The color or black/ white mats can be printed on card stock and laminated for reuse. Use counters to cover. Try gold coins, erasers, buttons, gems, or any one-inch or smaller counters that you have handy.

I had two sizes of plastic gold coins in my stash. The smaller ones (about 1.25 inches) will work with some overlap.

Print the cards on card stock and laminate for durability. Prepare at least two sets for 2 students and at least three sets for 3 to 4 students. Cut out the cards.

Get ‘Em Engaged With “A Pot of Gold for Teen Numbers”

Shuffle the cards. Place them in a stack, a messy pile, or a decorative container.

Students will:

• Draw a card.
• Determine the teen number.
• Look for the corresponding numeral on their mat.
• If the numeral is on the mat, color or place a counter on that gold coin.
• If the numeral is already colored or covered, you lose your turn.
• Discard your card.
• Take turns.
• Reshuffle the discarded cards, as needed.

Who can be the first one to color or cover all your gold coins?

Click on the highlighted words to download your free copy of A Pot of Gold for Teen Numbers.

Do you have a favorite tip for teaching teen numbers? Be sure to share in the comments below!

Looking for more resources…

Here are a few links for recipes and crafts, plus a bit of science and math that continue the pot of gold theme!

• Pot of Gold Addition (Recipe for Teaching)
• Sink the Pot Leprechaun Science (Little Bins for Little Hands)
• Easy Pot of Gold Card Craft (Simple Everyday Mom)
• Pot of Gold Paper Plate Craft (The Simple Parent)
• Hidden Pot of Gold Brownie Cups (Pizzazzerie)

Check out some of my other number sense blog posts along with these two St. Patrick’s Day-themed posts.

• Roll-a-Rainbow (practice or review reading CVC or high-frequency words)
• Give and Take Make Ten (a game for learning, reviewing, and retaining the Make Ten number combinations)

Finally, be sure to sneak on over to TpT and check out some of my number sense and St. Patrick’s Day resources.

Photo in title image by Grafvision photography.

The post How to Make Sense of Those Tricky Teen Numbers appeared first on Just Ask Judy.

To help you with that December challenge, I have two new number activities featuring stockings (including a freebie) to share with you.

Stockings in Order 0-120

Are you looking for an engaging activity for sequencing the numbers 0 – 120? This Christmas-themed resource will give your students plenty of practice with ordering consecutive and non-consecutive numbers and with counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s to 120.

Use this whimsical resource for Google Slides^TM to provide individualized practice or review for your kindergarten, first, and second-grade students. Try it as a math center or as a virtual assignment.

Those rascals, Cat and Dog have mixed up all the stockings. Your students will need to drag and drop to reorder them.

Cat and Dog also forgot to finish the count by sequences. Your students will need to be able to click on a question mark in a text box, delete the question mark (but not the text box), and type in a number.

Your students will practice ordering:

• Consecutive Numbers 0-10
• Non-Consecutive Numbers 0-10
• Consecutive Numbers 7-20
• Non-Consecutive Numbers 11-20
• Non-Consecutive Numbers 0-20
• Consecutive Numbers Within a Decade 21-120
• Consecutive Numbers Across a Decade 11-120
• Non-Consecutive Numbers Within a Decade 21-120
• Non-Consecutive Numbers 21-120
• Count By 10’s to 120
• 5’s to 120
• 2’s to 20
• 2’s to 120
• Count by 10’s Off the Decade

Choose one set for all your students or choose different sets for individual students. Use as a one-time assignment or multiple assignments across time.

You can delete, copy, and rearrange the slides to meet your needs.

Skip on over to my TpT store to take a closer look at Stockings in Order 0-120.

Not sure if your students can drag and drop or delete and type? Check out these Try It Before You Buy It slides. Be sure they are the right choice for you, your learning platform, your students, and their devices!

I also offer a similar print resource, Christmas Lights in Order 0-120, which is very popular this time of year.

Hang the Stockings- Comparing Two or Three-Digit Numbers

You’ll love this free and easy to prepare greater than and less than Christmas math activity. Your first, second, and third-grade students will have fun while getting practice with comparing two or three-digit numbers against a benchmark number.

Choose two-digit or three-digit numbers.

Your students will need:

• one page with two fireplaces and one set of stockings
• crayons
• scissors
• glue
• optional construction paper (9″ x 12″ or 6″ x 18″)

Your students will:

• Color the fireplaces.
• Cut the page in half on the dotted line.
• Glue the fireplaces onto construction paper (optional).
• Color the stockings.
• Cut them out.
• Sort them by numbers less than or greater than 55 or 550.
• Hang the stockings on the correct fireplace.
• Glue them in place.

You will:

• Sit back and relax with your favorite hot beverage.
• Enjoy the quiet calm for a few moments.
• Use your students’ creations for an attractive holiday display!

To make it easier, I recommend students loosely cut around the stockings or cut them as rectangles.

Students may also glue the fireplaces in a notebook or simply keep the fireplace page intact.

Visit my TpT store to download your free copy of Hang the Stockings Comparing Numbers.

Curious About the Origins of Stockings…

I discovered this article, The Legend of the Christmas Stocking, in the Smithsonian Magazine. It’s an interesting read if you’re not familiar with the legend.

Looking For More Resources…

Check out these blog posts for more free number activities, perfect for the season.

• How to Easily Stuff a Little Learning into December (preschool and kindergarten numeral recognition)
• One Way to Keep ‘Em Busy This Holiday Season (rounding two and three-digit numbers)

Click on the categories below to see more resources in my TpT store.

• Christmas
• Numbers & Number Sense
• Numbers & Place Value
• For Use With Google Slides^TM

I’d love to hear about the kinds of activities you find are best to engage your wiggly, distracted students this time of year! Please share in the comments below.

Photos in images by Coffee Beans and Children’s Dreams and LiliGraphie.

The post How to Put a Little Festive Learning in Their Stockings appeared first on Just Ask Judy.

Back to learning this fall is looking a bit different! It might take the form of unexpected homeschooling, in-person at school, virtual at school or home, or some combination thereof. Whatever your situation, these digital number activities will come in handy for supporting the learning needs of your preschoolers and kindergarteners.

This year it may not be feasible for students to clip their answers with clothespins or roam the room with a clipboard to record their responses. These interactive digital slides provide a paperless alternative. Think of them as digital centers or worksheets.

I created these 2 drag and drop digital number activities to pair with the original printable resources to give you the choice.

Count the Kids Digital Number Activity 0-10

Work on one-to-one correspondence and matching a quantity to the correct numeral with this free set of Google Slides. Each slide has a picture of kids riding a school bus.

Students will count the kids on each bus. Then, they will drag and drop the transparent dot to cover the correct numeral. That’s it!

You will need:

• access to a Google Account^TM with Google Drive^TM and Google Slides
• to make a copy of the file when prompted
• access to Google Classroom^TM with individual student accounts if you use this resource with multiple students

You will receive:

• a Google Drive file with one set of 12 usable slides; 11 drag and drop slides plus a directions slide

You can find a link to the free printable version of Count the Kids Clip Cards 0-10 in this blog post, Free & Affordable Number Activities for a New School Year.

Download your free copy of Count the Kids Digital Dots 0-10 by clicking the highlighted words.

School Bear Digital Number Sense Activities 1-10

This resource, available for purchase in my TpT store, includes 2 sets of activities for Google Slides.

One set incorporates dice patterns with counting, numeral recognition, and representing a given quantity with tally marks and on ten frames. The other set incorporates ten frames with counting, numeral recognition, one less, one more, and representing a given quantity with tally marks.

Choose the one that best meets your students’ instructional needs. Or have them complete one set now and the other set later.

Each set has 11 usable slides. Directions are provided on one slide. The numbers 1-10 are represented on ten separate slides with dice or a ten frame.

There are no bells and whistles! There is no audio or corrective feedback. Be sure your students can drag and drop.

To drag and drop, the slides need to be used in edit mode NOT present mode. All of the images located in the drag and drop box are editable. Be sure to create a copy for each student.

Click the highlighted words to preview School Bears Number Sense 1-10 for Google Slides in my TpT store. Be sure to check out the printable version and the money-saving bundle of digital plus print while you’re there.

I’m sending a heartfelt, physically distanced hug of encouragement to teachers, mamas, and anyone else who is facing the challenge of back to learning this year. Please let me know how I can support your teaching needs.

Photo in title image by Davizro’s Market. Bus photo by Cheeky Designs. Apple photos by Coffee Beans and Children’s Dreams.

The post Double Down With 2 Made for Digital Number Activities appeared first on Just Ask Judy.

Some children learn to recognize the numerals 0-10 with exposure to a few books, games, and/or activities. Then, they’re all set to go.

However, there are other children who struggle with symbol recognition- whether it’s the name of colors, shapes, letters, or numerals.

Here are three ways to help children who have difficulty with symbols learn to recognize numerals.

Just a little tidbit about numerals and numbers. A numeral is a symbol or name that is used to represent a number. A number is a count or measurement. And yes, I’d like to just refer to both as a number!

Assess Before Teaching Numeral Recognition

Before you start teaching, you’ll want to know which numerals your students already recognize with ease. All you need is a basic set of flashcards 0-10. Assess your students individually.

Flash the numeral cards one at a time in random order. For a less stressful way, lay a few cards down at a time on a flat surface. Then, ask your student to find and name a numeral they know. Record the numerals each student needs to learn.

With this knowledge, you’ll know where to start- with zero or maybe just a few to go. Create small instructional groups, as needed.

At the end of this post, you’ll find a link for a free resource. It includes basic flashcards 0-10. It also includes two alternate half-page numeral assessments.

Give your student a copy of the numeral page. Have them point to and say each numeral. You can use a second copy to record any errors.

Make It Multi-Sensory

Just like letters and sounds, numerals and numbers can be introduced, practiced, and reviewed in a multi-sensory way. Link the name (numeral) with its formation and corresponding quantity (number). Have your students use their fingers to show quantity.

Multi-Sensory Ways to Teach Numeral Recognition

• Tracing and writing on a chalkboard using large muscle movements
• Skywriting using full-range arm movements
• Rainbow writing on a chalkboard or large on a piece of paper
• Finger writing in a sensory tray
• Forming numerals with playdough

Keep it multi-sensory! Look at the numeral. Say its name. Form the numeral. Show the quantity.

I made a free set of self-checking flashcards with ten frames. You can pair these (or the basic ones) with a sensory tray. Scroll to the bottom of this post to download them.

Here are a few blog posts with useful information you can adapt for teaching numeral recognition.

Helpful Blog Posts

• Introduce Letters and Sounds the Multi-Sensory Way
• Review Letters and Sounds the Multi-Sensory Way
• Stuff a Little Learning into December

My newest resource, Pet Themed Activities for Numeral Recognition 0-10, is available in my TpT store. It includes several activities for multi-sensory instruction. You’ll find numeral formation mats, count to recognize mats, and ten frame mats.

Use a Systematic, Sequential Approach For Teaching

Provide step-by-step instruction. It increases the odds of student success! Let your assessment results be your starting point. Here’s an example if you’re beginning with zero.

• Teach 0.
• Teach 1.
• Practice/ review with activities for only 0 and 1.
• Teach 2.
• Practice/ review with activities for just 0, 1, and 2.
• Teach 3, etc.

Be sure to assess and reteach when needed, as you go!

I used this structure to create Pet Themed Activities for Numeral Recognition 0-10. Each numeral is introduced individually in numerical order, 0-10.

There are four activities that focus on teaching recognition of a single numeral.

• numeral formation mats
• count to recognize mats
• ten frame mats
• treat jar numeral searches

In addition, there are eight activities that provide a cumulative review, generally starting with 2.

• number tower mats
• cup craze mats
• 3 sets of how many worksheets
• color by number worksheets
• spin & trace worksheets
• roll & say worksheets

You can find a Numeral Recognition Free Sample of some of these activities for teaching the numeral 4 in my TpT store.

Click on the highlighted words, Numeral Flashcards 0-10, to download another freebie. It includes basic numeral flashcards, two half-page assessment sheets, and self-checking flashcards with ten frames.

I’d love to hear about your favorite activities for teaching numeral recognition!

Photo in title image by Almaje.

The post 3 Helpful Ways to Improve Numeral Recognition appeared first on Just Ask Judy.

You’ll find a variety of jelly bean activities designed to supplement math and literacy instruction for your preschoolers, kindergarteners, first, and second-graders. Most children will need at least some adult direction to complete them.

Why You Should Try These Jelly Bean Activities

• All these resources are free!
• There is a black/ white version to print on paper for each activity.
• The preparation is minimal. Just print. You will need to cut some pages in half.
• Most of the materials needed are basic school supplies and household items.
• Jelly beans can add engagement and motivation to an ordinary activity.
• National Jelly Bean Day is on April 22nd!

You will need actual jelly beans for some of the activities. One activity also requires dice.

All grade levels given are general guidelines. Some activities have color options. Some can be laminated for reuse.

Go ahead and browse below to find the jelly bean activities most suitable for your children!

Jelly Bean Graph (PreK-2nd)

You will need:

• one copy of the graph for each participant
• one copy of the graph questions and a pencil for each first or second grader
• crayons
• jelly beans in 6 colors (I used Starburst.)

Prepare a baggie or plastic egg with 6 predetermined colors and amounts of jelly beans (maximum of 10) or scoop a scant ¼ cup out of the bag.

Sort your jelly beans by color. Place on the graph and/ or count each color. Color the jelly beans on the graph to match your colors. Color the bar graph. Consider coloring optional for preschoolers.

First and second graders can read and answer the graph questions. With younger children, use them as a guide for oral questions. Kindergarteners can also write a sentence that tells information about their graph.

This activity is included in the Jelly Bean Activities for Math and Literacy packet, a free download in my TpT store.

Roll & Count Jelly Bean Activity (PreK-K)

You will need:

• one half-page mat for each participant
• 1, 2, or 3 dice
• jelly beans
• crayons and a pencil

Roll 1, 2, or 3 dice, depending on your child’s skill level (numbers to 6, to 12, or to 18). Count all the pips. Put the same number of jelly beans on your jar mat. Draw and color the same number of jelly beans in the jar. Write the number. For younger children, an adult can write the number for them to trace.

Roll & Add Jelly Bean Activity (K-1st)

There are 2 versions, one for two dice (addends) and one for three dice (addends).

You will need:

• one half-page mat for each participant
• 2 or 3 dice
• jelly beans
• crayons and a pencil

Roll the dice. Look at each die. Put the same number of jelly beans in 2 or 3 groups on your mat. You can use a different color for each number. Draw and color the same number of jelly beans in the jar. Write the addition equation.

Find these two free activities in the Jelly Bean Activities for Math and Literacy packet in my TpT store.

Treasure Reports

Treasures are any small manipulative such as erasers, beads, buttons, acrylic gems/ fillers, cereal, or small candy (like jelly beans, of course!).

Counting these collections helps to develop number sense and place value concepts. There are activities for the quantities 1-10, 11-19, 11-99, and 101-999. The directions are on each recording sheet.

You will need:

• jelly beans
• recording sheet for each participant
• containers, scoops (measuring spoons and cups), organizers to group tens and hundreds
• pencils

Numbers 1-10 (PreK-K)

Prepare bags/ condiment cups with selected numbers of jelly beans beforehand or have children scoop jelly beans from a container.

Numbers 11-19 (K-early 1st)

Your children need to understand the concept of teen numbers as 10 plus some more. This can be prior knowledge or you can introduce the concept by modeling first with this activity.

Prepare bags/ condiment cups with selected numbers of jelly beans beforehand or have children scoop them from a container.

Numbers 11-99 (1st-2nd)

Each child or pair of children needs a prepared bag with 11 to 99 jelly beans or a container filled with jelly beans and a scoop. They may use ten frames, ten-rod mats, small cups, cupcake liners, etc. to group their jelly beans by tens. Find free printable templates for ten frames and ten-rod mats in my TpT store. Enter treasure reports in the search bar. You can also use the jelly bean jar organizer mats included in this resource.

There are five different recording sheets:

1. grouping and counting by 1’s and 10’s
2. grouping and counting by 1’s and 10’s, base ten
3. grouping and counting by 1’s and 10’s, base ten, expanded form
4. grouping and counting by 1’s and 10’s, base ten, expanded form, rounding
5. grouping and counting by 1’s and 10’s, base ten, expanded form, rounding, counting by tens off a decade

Choose the one(s) that best fits the instructional needs of your children. They can also simply record their pictures of tens and ones on a whiteboard or a blank piece of paper.

To draw a picture to represent their groups of ten, children can draw circles, squares, or rectangles and write a 10 on each. Ones can be dots or drawn to represent the jelly beans.

Numbers 100-999 (2nd-early 3rd)

Print the jelly bean jar organizing mats, up to 10 depending on your quantity of jelly beans. You can also draw 10 circles on plain sheets of paper or set 10 small cups on plain sheets of paper to use as organizing mats.

You will need 101 to 999 jelly beans. Likely, you can just use the entire bag. Check the back for the number of servings and serving size. My bag of Starburst Jellybeans has about 14 servings with about 20 pieces each so I can plan on there being approximately 280 jelly beans in it. (Actual count: 339 jelly beans!)

Put only 10 jelly beans in a cup or on a circle or a jar and 100 items on a mat. Extra ones can be placed on the side.

Complete the recording sheet. Students can draw rectangles and write 100 on each to represent their groups of one hundred. Tens can be circles with a 10. Ones can be dots drawn to represent jelly beans.

Find out more about treasure reports in this post with a Valentine’s Day theme or this one with a watermelon theme.

Click the highlighted words, Jelly Bean Treasure Reports, to download your free copy.

Jelly Bean Observations (PreK-2nd)

You will need:

• one copy of the jelly bean observation table for each participant
• jelly beans
• pencil

Brainstorm adjectives (describing words) to tell how your jelly beans look, sound, smell, feel, and taste. For sound, shake them in a bag or drop a few on a hard surface. The strongest smell is when you open the bag. Try putting some in a baggie, bowl, or cup to smell.

Younger children can dictate their words for an adult to write. Write your adjectives on the jelly beans.

Older children can complete the companion descriptive writing activity.

Fun Facts About Jelly Beans (1st-2nd)

Learn some fun facts about jelly beans!

This is not a leveled reading passage. Some first and second graders will be able to read it. Many will not.

Read it to your child, share the reading, or have your child read it to you. What was the most interesting fact you learned?

Then, complete the companion fact and opinion writing activity.

You can find the observation and fun facts activities in the Jelly Bean Activities for Math and Literacy packet, a freebie in my TpT store.

Jelly Bean Jar Letter and Number Searches (PreK-K)

Provide practice in matching and identifying letters and numbers (0-10) with these jelly bean jar searches.

There are 3 sets of letter searches: uppercase to uppercase (all 26 letters), lowercase to lowercase (all 26 letters), and uppercase to lowercase (16 letters). The last set only includes letter pairs that are visually different (i.e. Bb but not Cc).

You will need:

• selected pages
• crayons or dot markers to color or jelly beans to cover

Choose the pages you want your child to do. Consider the letters in their name, ones that follow a sequence of instruction, or ones they need a little extra practice with.

Print the pages you selected. Then, cut each page in half.

Children can use crayons or dot markers to color the jelly beans with letters/ numbers that match the one on the jar lid. They can also just cover the matching letters/ numbers with jelly beans.

Encourage them to name the letter/ number out loud several times while they are completing the task. The number jars show the quantity with jelly beans in a ten frame. Children can count them to self-check their number identification.

Click the highlighted words, Jelly Bean Jar Letter and Number Searches, to download your free copy.

Search & Sort Jelly Bean Words (K-2nd)

This resource does not include a comprehensive set of words.

It includes:

• 5 pages with short vowel word families, one page for each vowel, sort by word families (K-1st)
• 3 pages with CVC short vowels, sort by vowels (K-1st)
• 4 pages mixed short vowel (VC) and silent e (VCe) patterns, one vowel per page, sort by vowel patterns (1st-2nd)
• 4 pages long vowel patterns, VCe and VV plus –igh, one long vowel sound per page, sort by vowel patterns (1st-2nd)

V= vowel C= consonant

Select the set which best meets your child’s needs. Complete one per day or one per week. Your child can also pick 6 words and draw pictures to illustrate their meanings or pick 6 and write a sentence with each.

Which set should you use? Think about the words you know they can read in their take-home books. Do they have a spelling list from school? I also have a free decoding assessment for one-syllable words in my TpT store that might be helpful.

You will need:

• selected pages
• crayons for coloring or jelly beans for covering
• pencil

Use the code to color the jelly bean words. Write the words in a sort. Don’t forget to read the words!

Check out the Jelly Bean Activities for Math and Literacy resource in my TpT store which includes this activity.

I hope you found a jelly bean activity or two for your child (or students) to enjoy! Let me know what else you need in the comments below.

Looking For More Resources…

Most of my blog posts include links to free resources. Use the search bar in the top right corner to take a look around. In addition, my TpT store includes a section of free resources.

Here are a few more jelly bean resources for learning available for purchase in my TpT store.

• Addition Facts to 20 – Jelly Bean Addition Fact Strategy Sort (1st-2nd)
• Make 10 Addition Fact Strategy Game With Spring Themes (K-2nd)
• Graphing With Data Collection Activity Spring Themes (1st-3rd)

The jelly bean photo in the title image is by Southern Light.

The post How to Have Fun With Free Jelly Bean Activities appeared first on Just Ask Judy.

T-Rex’s Valentine Number Activity

T-Rex’s Valentine Numbers is an engaging way to have your kindergarten, first, and second-grade students practice determining the number right before or right after a given number.

This is a partner or small group activity. Get ready to try it with your instructional groups or as an independent math center!

Choices to Make

Start by making the following choices.

• the appropriate number range for your students, 0 to 20 or 21 to 120
• number right after or number right before
• color or black/ white
• reusable or consumable mats

Get It Prepared

Gather or prepare these materials.

• one mat for each participating student
• one set of number cards for each pair of students
• 10 counters (about 1 inch or smaller) or crayons for each participating student
• optional number line or one hundred twenty charts for instructional support
• an optional sheet of paper or dry erase board for each student

Prepare your mats. Print the color or black/ white mats on cardstock and laminate for durability and reuse.

You can also print the black/ white mat on paper. Use crayons to color and consume. If you prefer, use them with dry-erase pockets and dry erase crayons or markers.

There are two different mats for each number range. Partners should have different mats. In a small group, some students will have mats that are the same.

Print your sets of number cards. Each set is on a single page. Use cardstock and laminate for durability. Cut out the cards.

Each set has 15 number cards. Each mat has 10 hearts with numbers. Partners will have some numbers that overlap and some that are different.

Get ‘Em Engaged With T-Rex’s Valentine Number Activity

To get started, place the number cards face down in a stack or a messy pile. Take turns picking a card.

Say the number on your card. Next, follow the directions to say either the number right after or right before the number on your card.

Find that number on your mat. Then, cover or color the number.

If the number is not on your mat or has already been covered, you lose your turn.

Create a discard pile. Shuffle and reuse the cards as needed.

Who can be the first to mark all the numbers on their mat?

Ways to Enhance Instruction

Be sure to have your students say their number pairs (given number and number right after or before). You might also want them to record the number pairs on a sheet of paper or on a dry erase board. Saying and/or writing the number pairs will help them remember the connection.

Some students will benefit from having an easily accessible horizontal or vertical number line or number chart. They can locate the given number and then see the number that comes right before or after it.

Provide further activities that reinforce sequencing numbers that cross a decade. For example, 29 counting forwards to 30 or 50 counting backward to 49. Share your favorite ideas and activities that are helpful for teaching this difficult concept in the comments below!

Ways to Enhance Engagement With T-Rex’s Valentine Number Activity

It’s easy to engage young students with seasonal resources! See if you can find Valentine’s Day themed erasers or buttons to use as counters. You could even use candy conversation hearts.

Place the number cards in a seasonal container. Or try putting them in a valentine themed sensory bin.

Get your learners engaged by clicking the highlighted words and downloading your free copy of T-Rex’s Valentine Number Activity.

Looking For More Resources?

Check out my newly revised open-ended flexible Valentine’s Day themed resource, Tugging on My Heartstrings, for sequencing numbers 0-120 in a variety of ways. Use it to provide individualized practice for your kindergarten, first, and second-grade math students.

It can be used for ordering sets of 5 or more consecutive or non-consecutive numbers and for counting by 2’s, 5’s, 10’s, or any multiple.

I added a second set of ready to use, easy prep black/ white hearts with a variety of sequences, mixed-up within each set of five numbers (consecutive numbers 0-10, 0-20, within a decade 21-120, across a decade 21-120; and non-consecutive numbers 0-10, 11-20, 0-20, within a decade 21-120, and 11-120). This set is perfect for a color, cut, and glue activity.

Take a look at this partner activity, Valentines in My Mailbox, for first and second-grade math. It reinforces understanding of base ten, trading ten ones for one ten, and comparing two-digit numbers.

In addition, this resource includes recording sheets with expanded form, rounding to the nearest ten, and counting by tens off a decade number.

Click on the links below to find additional resources for Valentine’s Day, numbers, number sense, and place value.

• A Sweet Sorting Activity You Will Love (PreK-K)
• One Lovely Way to Teach Place Value for Understanding (Grades 1-2)
• Valentine’s Day Themed Resources in My TpT Store
• Number & Number Sense Resources in My TpT Store
• Number & Place Value Resources in My TpT Store

The post 1 Free and Terrific Valentine Number Activity appeared first on Just Ask Judy.

While National Watermelon Day might be on August 3rd, you can use these watermelon activities to boost math skills any day. I created this set of free hands-on watermelon seed activities to help you teach number sense and place value without getting sticky!

There are activities for the quantities 1-10, 11-19, 11-99, and 100-999. These treasure reports represent a more structured approach than counting collections.  Both are valuable math routines.

You will need to provide small counters- black beans, black pony beads, or black buttons (1/2 inch or smaller if uniform in size) to represent the watermelon seeds. A bag of black beans will cost the least. I purchased a bag of 580 black pony beads for less than $5 and a bag of 130 mixed size (3/8, 1/2, and 5/8 inch) black buttons for around $2.

Your students can scoop the counters from a container with measuring spoons for quantities 1-99. The spoons should not be used as a level, accurate measuring tool, just as a way to create a collection to count. You can also prepare bags/ cups with selected quantities beforehand. I found 3 X 4-inch plastic bags that zip at a craft store. Condiment cups with lids will also work.

Please note, the counters that will fit with these activities are small. Be sure your students have the necessary fine motor skills.

Now go ahead and scroll down to the number range(s) that address your students’ instructional needs.

1) Watermelon Seed Treasure Reports for 1-10

Help your students to connect counting to cardinality and to represent a number of objects with a written numeral.

Just print one half-page recording sheet for each participating student and provide counters.

First, count the watermelon seeds. Then, write to record how many. Finally, draw the seeds on the watermelon slice.

2) Numbers 11-19

Introduce, practice, or review decomposing numbers from 11-19 into ten ones and some more ones with this activity. Have your students record the results by drawing the seeds and writing an equation.

Simply print one copy of the recording sheet with two watermelon slices for each participating student and provide counters.

Students count the watermelon seeds. Then, they put 10 seeds on one slice and the extra ones on the other slice. They record how many as 10 plus some more. And finally, they draw the seeds on the slices.

You might also like this One Less One More Watermelon Seeds resource for quantities 1-10 available for purchase in my TpT store.

3) Watermelon Seed Treasure Reports for 11-99

Bolster your students’ understanding of the relationship between the digits in a two-digit numeral and the number of tens and ones. Provide optional practice with expanded form, rounding to the nearest ten, and counting by tens off a decade number.

These treasure reports may be completed with the whole class (typically with partners) or a small group. After it has been introduced, it can also be an independent math station.

There are five different recording sheets. Choose the ones that best fit the instructional needs of your students. Print one for each student or pair of students. Provide counters.

In addition, you will need to provide a way for students to organize their groups of ten counters. Try ten frames, ten-rod mats, small cups, or small cupcake liners. Find free printable templates for ten frame and ten-rod mats in my TpT store. (Check out the free seasonal treasure reports while you’re there.) You can also use the watermelon slice organizer mats included in this free resource.

Read this blog post for a more thorough description of treasure reports with tens and ones.

Your students can draw circles or semi-circles (watermelon slices) to represent groups of ten. They write 10 on each. They can draw dots or watermelon seeds for the ones.

Follow-up with this Watermelon Tens and Ones place value resource.

4) Numbers 100-999

Help your students make the connection between the digits in a three-digit numeral and the number of hundreds, tens and ones. Give practice with number words and expanded form along with determining one, ten, and one hundred less than and more than a given number.

This activity is similar to the one for numbers 11-99. Use the watermelon slice organizing mats to hold 10 groups of 10 seeds. The counters can be put in small cups first with the cups then organized on the mat or placed directly on the watermelon slices.

Print one recording sheet for each student or pair/ group of students working together. Provide prepared counters in containers.

Students can draw rectangles and write 100 on each to represent groups of one hundred. They can draw circles or semi-circles (watermelon slices) to show groups of ten and write 10 on each. They’ll draw dots or watermelon seeds for the ones.

Try Watermelon Cuties Place Value Activity for Hundreds, Tens, and Ones as another way to engage your students.

Click the highlighted words, Watermelon Seed Treasure Reports, to download your copy of the four free activities. Enjoy!

Title photo image is by YuMyart.

The post 4 Free Watermelon Day Activities to Boost Math Skills appeared first on Just Ask Judy.

Once I started working on this, I realized that when Making a 10 using the cube towers, you subtracted one from the other addend. However, the anchor charts and flashcards, indeed all my other materials for The 9 Rule focus on Making a Ten, adding, and then subtracting one from the sum! Hmmm…

I wasn’t quite sure what to do! A bit of contemplating and a little research confirmed that both approaches were valid.

So, I created two different resources, one for each method. Everyone learns in different ways. Choose the one that makes the most sense to you. Or teach both and follow your learners’ lead. Both resources include the following verbal cues, “See 9. Think 10. Hop back 1.”, along with a frog as a visual cue.

One Way to Introduce the Add 9 Strategy

Use this free concrete introductory activity to show how and why the Add 9 strategy works. Make sure your students are fluent in adding 10 to a single digit number. Teach by modeling it in a small group or projecting it for a whole class.

Let’s Prepare

• Choose to print the color or black/ white pages.
• Decide if students will work individually or in pairs.
• Print one open-ended cube mat for each student or pair of students. Use card stock and laminate for durability.
• Print one teacher copy of the Add 9 equation cards.
• Provide 2 sets of 10 multi-link cubes (the ones that link on all sides) in 2 different colors for each student or pair of students.

Let’s Teach

• Choose an equation card.
• Use two colors of cubes to show the numbers in the equation on your mat.
• Write the equation on your mat.
• Verbalize: See 9. Think 10.
• How can we make the 9 a 10?
• Model moving one cube from the addend that is not 9 to the rod with 9 to Make It Ten.
• Write the new Add 10 equation.
• Which equation is easier to add?
• Emphasize that you still have the same number of total cubes and the two equations are equal or equivalent.
• Repeat with multiple equations.

Write on the laminated mats with dry erase markers. To reuse mats that are not laminated, write the equations on a separate piece of paper or a dry erase board.

Once you have introduced this activity, it can be repeated in a center.

Click on the highlighted words, The 9 Rule Addition Fact Strategy Sample, to download this free resource from my TpT store.

Looking For More Resources

Using this free resource will provide enough instruction for some of your students to apply this strategy to Add 9 to a single digit number. Other students will need different degrees of practice and review to become successful.

I created a more complete set of resources, The 9 Rule Addition Fact Strategy, to help meet their needs. This set is also based on subtracting one (or hopping back) from the second addend to change the 9 to a 10 and then adding to find the sum. The focus is on recognizing equivalent Add 9 and Add 10 equations.

Try the equation cube mats, another concrete level activity, in a small teacher-directed group or as an independent math center. The matching cube cards with a recording sheet provide practice at a pictorial level.

Match the Add 9 equations with their equivalent Add 10 equations to increase automaticity with this strategy.

For additional practice, use the worksheet as morning work, seat work, or homework.

Applying The 9 Rule correlates with all of my other resources that include this addition fact strategy. This set of activities is based on changing the 9 to a 10. Adding and then subtracting (or hopping back) 1 from the sum. The focus is on following specific steps to find the sum.

Engage your students with the hands-on practice activities for changing the 9 to 10 using equation cards and fun frog number cards.

Provide step-by-step practice in applying the strategy with the follow-up worksheets.

Check out the Addition & Subtraction section of my Teachers Pay Teachers store for even more resources, including anchor charts, flashcards, and worksheets.

Read more blog posts about addition fact strategies.

Comment below to share how you teach this addition fact strategy.

Title photo image is by roni kurniawan.

The post 2 Helpful Ways for Teaching How to Add 9 appeared first on Just Ask Judy.