The Greatest Sum - an Addition Game with Strategy and Fun!

Here's a game my students have been playing for years called The Greatest Sum! I've put it together with lots of variations!

 

The basic game is played with two 2-digit numbers. The children choose one number square at a time, and decide where to place it on their boards. It takes them only a short time to figure out they should put the greater numbers in the tens column, and the lower numbers in the ones column. You can use the numbers included in this package, or you can use tiles, cubes, or other interesting manipulatives and write the numerals 0-9 on them, as I have done in these pictures.

Here's how to play:

1. Place the tiles (or number squares) face down between 2 "Greatest Sum" boards.

 

2. The first player takes a tile and places it in one of the squares on his board. That player should think about which square might bring them the greatest sum, since he isn't allowed to move it once he lets go!

 

3. Play continues between the two players until all squares on both boards are filled.

 

4. Which player has the greatest sum? Players may use paper & pencil, whiteboards, number grids, a calculator, or mental math to determine each round's winner. (Teacher's choice!)

As you can see in this preview, there are plenty of variations to this game!

Explore the image or explore this link: The Greatest Sum

Which player had the greatest sum?

Celebrate Spring With Games!

I am so ready for Spring!  

Here in New Hampshire, the temperature seems to have trouble getting past the 40s, and there are still patches of snow everywhere, including my garden!

But Spring is in my heart, as well as my classroom.  

Here are some of my Spring Products that you'll find my students using!  

Earth Day Vocabulary Match is a fun way to review words related to Earth Day and protecting the environment.  There are several variations of play!

 

Spring Flower "Go Fish" Game is a great way to practice the prefixes un-, dis-, re-, and pre- as well as the meanings of these prefixes.

Here's another game with prefixes, with suffix practice as well!

Rainy Day Prefixes and Suffixes gives the children practice finding the base word of words with prefixes and suffixes.  The children can focus on just prefixes, just suffixes, or combine the two!

Two Rainbow Games:  Nouns and Adjectives, Verbs and Adverbs is a great opportunity to practice making up adjectives to go with nouns, and making up adverbs to go with verbs.  

Mental Math Addition and Subtraction Game With a Spring Theme allows the students to add or subtract multiples of ten mentally.  

I have a whole lot of sports-related products, and baseball season is upon us!  Here are a few baseball-themed games:

Baseball Antonyms is a simple matching game for antonyms.  It can also be played as an "Old Maid" game, which the kids love!

Home Run Two Digit Addition is a BINGO type of game to practice two-digit addition skills (with or without regrouping).

Looking for more sports-related resources? See HERE!

How are you celebrating Spring in your classroom?

Three Quick Math Brain Activities

Teachers can do many quick things to activate the brain while teaching math. 

Remember, the brain needs movement and active engagement to activate those dendrites! 

 

Keeping things fun along with social interactions are putting the brain in the best place for learning to happen. Here are some tricks I use.

1. Skip Count beanie toss: Skip counting is big in second grade.  Beanie babies are huge in my class. gairs of children pick up a beanie and start counting. The children say a new count every time they catch the beanie. They keep going as high as they can until time is up.  This could be done with Math facts, too!

2. Musical Math Facts:  Work in groups of 4 or 5. Put one less fact card on the desk or table. As the music starts, they walk around the table. (Dancing is optional!) Works just like musical chairs, but when the music stops, each child picks up a math fact.  The last person to say the correct answer to his/ her fact becomes the "cheerleader". (I use cheerleader rather than loser, as I insist they say positive things to their classmates, even if they're out. I always remind the boys that, in my class, "cheerleader" doesn't mean wearing a short skirt and shaking pom poms, it means supporting their teammates.)  I like to have several groups going at once, since more kids are practicing more frequently, and it goes more quickly. The teacher can keep an eye on those kids that need more guidance. 

3. Calendar March:  My students need to practice the days of the week and the months of the year until they know them by heart. From their desk position, they all chant the months of the year and march in any direction. (Of course, I remind them to keep their distance from furniture and people.) Then I challenge them to return to their seat by marching to the Days of the Week. 

Of course, feel free to adapt any of these ideas to your own grade level. I use most of these as a warm-up at the beginning of math, or as a break to keep the brain focused.

Of course, these three activities can be adapted for anything that needs to be reinforced. Rather than skip counting, math facts, or days of the week, try the same activities for some other subjects. Here are some ideas:

• Spelling: practicing their spelling words, or "igh" family words
• Reading: Name all the characters in today's story, or tell the main events in sequential order.
• Social Studies: Name the 7 continents, or name as many states as you can

The possibilities are endless. And this is only the beginning of brain-based learning in the classroom!