Hi Everyone!! I am so excited to be apart of the wonderful group! I am Meghan from Meghan's Pad. Today I would like to share with all of you something that I am SO excited about (and it's FREE). YAY!!!
A few weeks ago I was struggling to start my math groups. I was not ready to start the same routine that I have been doing for 12 years. So I gave myself a challenge to create something that would be fun, exciting, engaging, AND purposeful for my math groups. It was a tall order to fill, but I think I did it! My kiddos LOVE coming up for math group AND they ask to do math during free choice. How did I do it you ask? Well, let me show you!
Enter, my CGI game!
That's right, you CAN learn AND have fun at the same time!
Here is how it works:
1.Each
player chooses a game piece.
2.Player
1 chooses a card and reads the card.
3.EVERYONE
solves the problem. I suggest having
paper or whiteboards for children to write their answers so they are not
shouting out.
4.Player
1 shares answer. If everyone agrees,
they roll the die and move that many spaces. If players do not agree they all
solve the problem together. If they
answer is incorrect the do not roll the die.
5.Continue
playing, taking turns, until a player reaches the end of the game board.
Sounds fun right?
What's Included:
This past month we have focused on addition. Because of that this game is focused on addition or the Join Result Unknown (JRU) problem type. But, wait, there is some differentiation. I have included 3 different levels of difficulty. These levels include sums to 10, sums that cross the decade, and sums to 20. The reason for not going beyond these sums and for not including other problem types is simple. My focus was to have children start using other strategies other than direct modeling (though some in my class are working on that as well). I wanted my kiddos who needed the push to try counting on, number lines, arrow language, decomposing numbers, or even using known facts to use and practice these strategies. By using smaller sums they were able to practice these different strategies based on their developmental level and readiness.
When creating the cards, I wanted the cards to be used independently or in small group math centers, where I may not be available to read the math story to them. Because of this, I made the cards easy to read. That way the focus can stay on math and the math strategy and not on the reading.
In addition to the different level CGI cards, I have also included 3 different game boards. These game boards range from a simple start, straight through to the end, to landing on spaces that say to go back 1 space or move forward 2 spaces. This will keep the game new and exciting!
How to Store It:
Like you, whenever I see something I want to know how to store it? What is the best way to have everything right there so the kiddos can just grab, go, and play. I also want clean up to be quick and easy.
With these games, I decided to store them in a 2 pocket poly folder with the prongs. I put the game board in a page protector with the directions on the back. I also put a zippered pouch in the prongs to store the cards, die, and game pieces.
If you are interested in this FREEBIE please click
here to download or hop over to our TPT store to check it out.
I hope you all enjoy!
I would love to know what you do to help engage your students in math groups!
