Color Those Numbers!

Hi all!

My firsties have been working on number sense to one hundred.  This includes using a hundreds chart.  One of the activities we do involves coloring in the hundreds chart to make a variety of designs.  For Hundreds Day our design looked like 100, for Valentine's Day a heart, and yesterday Lincoln (well, sort of Lincolnish).

Valentine's Day Heart

Abraham Lincoln (with eyes and a smile added)

You have probably all done activites similar to this.  The teacher calls out a number, the students color in that number on their chart.  At the end, "Surprise" they end up with a cool picture.

When I do this, I change the way I call out the number based on the concept we are working on.  (Is is okay if I say "concept" instead of "standard"?  I am just so standarded out!!!)

So when we first start working on numbers to one hundred my clues might be:
37, 45, ...

Or:
Color in the number before 38, color in the number between 44 and 46

Another time the clues might be:
3 tens and 7 ones,  four tens and 5 ones

Another time:
36 plus 1, 46 minus 1

Or:
27 plus 10, 55 minus 10

Or:
23 plus 14, 67 minus 22

You get the idea.  You can make the clues based on whatever you are studying and as easy or hard as you like.  As I give harder clues, I also mix in the previous concepts for review.  My procedure is to state the clue, give time for students to color in the correct number, call on someone to tell us the correct number, model coloring in that number using my document camera.  Since I have kinders in my class also, they know they can just wait for me to color in the number and then color in that same number.  (I think of it as "exposing" them to higher numbers.  Although, some of my kinders can do this without my extra help!)

As you have probably figured out:  I LOVE MATH!!!  I can hardly wait until California (FINALLY) jumps on board with the Common Core Standards.  On paper we are on board; in fact we are one of the lead states on paper.  But we are still teaching to the California standards because we are still testing those standards and our districts do not want us to change until the Common Core assessments are in place.  Which, I get.  BUT I just wish it would all happen a whole lot sooner.  (Should I mention how jealous I am reading the blogs of teachers in other states who are already using the Common Core standards?  Nah, you all know it!!!!!)

Love to all,
Camille