Daily Math Investigations/Numeracy Centres
What are they?
Daily Math Investigations, often called Numeracy Centres are mathematical activities designed for individuals, partners, and/or small groups of students. These activities are inviting and engaging and assist students in developing Mathematical understanding. Numeracy Centres are one component of balanced numeracy. It is a supplement to whole class instruction.
Why are they important?
- Students need daily opportunities to engage with mathematical ideas in purposeful and playful ways.
- They provide time for authentic, independent practice that connects to what they have learned through whole class quality instruction.
- Students need opportunities to develop the core and curricular competencies. Through the ‘doing’ of the mathematics, students will be building their confidence of themselves as mathematicians and seeing the connection of mathematics to their world.
- They give students choice, which increases motivation and fosters a positive disposition towards Mathematics.
- They give teachers an opportunity to meet with students one-on-one or in small groups to provide explicit instruction, engage in guided math, and/or have conferences.
- They allow students to revisit concepts. Learning takes patience and time.
What to think about?
- What are my students’ interests? How can I incorporate these in the activities?
- What activities can be used to foster the development of key mathematical concepts?
- How can I modify the centres to make them open ended and invitations to learning?
- How can I differentiate activities to meet the diverse needs of my students?
- How will I be responsive to misconceptions and gaps of understanding?
- How will I record my observations?
- What questions will I ask to move the learning forward?
What to look for?
- What are the important math concepts my students need to know? Are the students demonstrating their understanding?
- Are my students able to reflect on their learning and can they articulate this?
- What questions will I ask to nudge learning forward?
Where do we get inspiration and ideas?
- Sandra Ball and Carole Fullerton, Daily Math Investigations. https://startingwiththebeginning.wordpress.com/daily-math-investigations/
- Janice Novakowski Reggio-Inspired Mathematics http://janicenovkam.typepad.com/reggioinspired_mathematic/
- Carole Fullerton, Number Sense: A Combined Grades Resource for Kindergarten & Grade One Classrooms. https://mindfull.wordpress.com/
- Pinterest - I share a DMI (Daily Math Investigations) board with many other outstanding Elementary Educators. We collect ideas there. PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS!!! Do not get sucked in by a "cute factor". Ask yourself "Where's the math?" Will it meet the needs of my students?" Is it open-ended. If not, can I adapted it?"
- Selina Millar, a former Numeracy Helping Teacher in Surrey created two excellent resources below for Intermediate teachers.
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PPT presentation STA Convention May 5th
| daily_math_investigations_k_-_2.pdf |
Daily Math Investigation Guiding Questions
| dmi_guiding_questions.docx |
Materials:
Many items can be purchased at your local dollar store, including containers, ziploc bags, beads, small rocks, toothpicks, little dominoes, small wooden blocks, feathers, and tons of other interesting items your students will enjoy.
Ikea has colourful bowls (6 for $1.99) or thrift stores are a great place to pick up bowls and baskets. They also have wooden numbers and wooden dominoes.
Dice can be purchased at dollar stores, gaming stores, or local teacher stores. You'll want to have many dice on hand, including:
Other items like mini erasers can be purchased at Target, Party City, Oriental Trading or Dollar stores.
Ikea has colourful bowls (6 for $1.99) or thrift stores are a great place to pick up bowls and baskets. They also have wooden numbers and wooden dominoes.
Dice can be purchased at dollar stores, gaming stores, or local teacher stores. You'll want to have many dice on hand, including:
- regular dice
- 1 - 9 dot dice or 1 - 10 dice
- double regular dice
- double 10 dice
- 1 - 12 dice
- 1 - 20 dice
- Numeral dice - you can make your own using cubes from the dollar store
- Ten frame dice - If ordered from the USA http://bit.ly/2qMWkn4 Or ordering from Canada http://bit.ly/2piFYT2
Other items like mini erasers can be purchased at Target, Party City, Oriental Trading or Dollar stores.
Daily Math Investigation IDEAS:
Please view the above PPT as many ideas are there with pictures.
Patterning:
Patterning Wheel - created by Jennifer Tammen
| patterning_wheel.pdf |
| zigzag.docx |
| spiral.docx |
Grids - blow it up as big as you can
| grid.pdf |
Spatial Tasks:
What shapes can you create?
Some material you could use:
Where do you see shapes in the world?
Some materials you could use:
Some material you could use:
- Popsicle sticks with velcro - rough side on one side - fluffy side on the other
- Geoboards and elastics
- Rocks with different lines on them
- Trivets - Small cork circles - push-pins and elastics
- pattern blocks, pentominoes, tangrams, tiles
Where do you see shapes in the world?
Some materials you could use:
- Coloured images/photos from the real world - placed into sleeves with dry erase markers
Financial Literacy
Engage your students in setting up a store (e.g., grocery, bakery, book store). Have them brainstorm items they want to sell and get them to write out price tags on labels and create flyers. Include blank paper for shopping lists, play money, and a cash register. Your students will love role-playing and will develop their understanding of money as a means of exchange.
Students will enjoy sorting coins and will pay attention to coins attributes.
Roll and cover - This activity, created by Jennifer Tammen will engage your students in looking at the different images on Canadian coins.
| coin_roll_and_cover.pdf |
| balance_the_scale_using_coins.docx |
Number Sense
Number Sense activities can be found here: http://www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/subjects/mathematics/numbersenseactivitiesbfinal.pdf
Subitizing
3-Zi - This is a partner game. Each student needs a felt square mat and three dice. They pick a number and that becomes the target number. Each player rolls their dice and the first one to get all three dice showing the same quantity of the number they selected for the target number wins.
Dominoes - flip and state the matching numeral. Ask can you build a matching quantity? Flip another domino - can you compare the two dominoes?
Subitize and Identify Numeral
| roll_and_slap.docx |
| flash_and_stamp.docx |
More or Less
| shake_and_spill_count_and_compare.docx |
| one_more_towers.docx |
Number Relationships
It is important for students to be able to build numbers and then use their knowledge of numbers/quantities to shrink/grow.
Shrink and Grow:
Students can start by rolling a 0 - 5 dice (make these using blank cubes from the dollar store - craft area). Build what you see. Roll Again. Do you need to add counters or take some away. Next, students can use a 1 - 10 dice and ten frame, followed by a 1 - 20 dice and double ten frame. Lastly, student can roll two 1 - 10 dice or a double 10 dice and decide which number is the tens and which is the ones and use ten frames to build the number.
Shrink and Grow:
Students can start by rolling a 0 - 5 dice (make these using blank cubes from the dollar store - craft area). Build what you see. Roll Again. Do you need to add counters or take some away. Next, students can use a 1 - 10 dice and ten frame, followed by a 1 - 20 dice and double ten frame. Lastly, student can roll two 1 - 10 dice or a double 10 dice and decide which number is the tens and which is the ones and use ten frames to build the number.
| double_ten_frame.pdf |
| ten_frames_masters_for_kit.pdf |
| tent_cards.pdf |
Place Value
You will need to have the mini-student ten frames and tent cards for the activity below. The mini-ten frames and ten cards can be found directly above under Number Relationships.
| roll_and_build_with_ten_frames.docx |
Benchmarks of 5 and 10
| shake_and_spill_5.docx |
| making_ten_.docx |
| how_many_ways_10.docx |
| how_many_more_to_20_.docx |
Decomposing
Playing Cards - Inspired by Chris Confer's book Teaching Children Number Sense in Kindergarten. In partners students circle the groups they see on the large playing cards. Each large playing card is placed in a plastic sleeve so students can use dry-erase markers to circle the groups. On the activity "Playing Card" the student writes the number of the card they took in the box and writes four ways that they see the number. (e.g., 4 is the card selected. In one box they might write 2 and 2, in another 3 and 1, and another 4 and 0)
| playing_cards.pdf |
| roll_–_stamp_–_add.pdf |
| roll_–_dot_–_add.pdf |
| roll_–_dot_–_subtract.pdf |
| roll_–_stamp_–_subtract.pdf |
| rekenrek_recording.pdf |
| ten_and_some_more.docx |
