Preschool Math: Number Tiles

Transcription

1 Preschool Math: Number Tiles By Diane Hurst

2 Preschool Math: Number Tiles By Diane Hurst Gentle Shepherd P.O. Box Vancouver, WA (360)

3 Gentle Shepherd is a project of the Hurst Family. Michael Hurst is an educational technology teacher who teaches public school and university. Diane Hurst has homeschooled nine children over the past two decades; she continues to home teach and to design curriculum. Edited by Michael W. Hurst Copyright 2004 Gentle Shepherd All Rights Reserved. Published by Gentle Shepherd P.O. Box Vancouver, WA USA Permission is granted for limited reproduction of pages for single family or single classroom use only.

4 Table of Contents Introduction and instructions for using number tiles pages 5 7 Pattern for making 1 square number tiles page 8 Pattern for making rectangular number tiles pages 9 10 Adding: Pages with Three Problems pages Adding: Pages with Five Problems pages Subtraction: Subtracting from Seven pages Subtraction: Subtracting from Ten pages 75 94

5 Preschool Math: Number Tiles This book is for children who don t easily write numbers, but do recognize all the numbers and understand how to add/subtract. Using number tiles works well for children who are between 4 and 6 years old. It can be done as an independent activity, once the child knows what to do. He/she can do a work page once a day, leaving the tiles out on the page so that you can check it whenever it is convenient (kids always like parents/teachers to see their work, even if they already know they have done it correctly). Number tiles are simply small square or rectangular tiles sometimes made of plastic, but could also be made of wood or cardboard with numbers one to ten and zero. You will need four of each number. For sources of plastic tiles, see the list at the bottom of page seven. It is very easy to make a set of homemade tiles from cardstock. But it is better if they are a little heavier this makes it easier for young fingers to grasp them. So if you make cardstock tiles, put a backing on them of a heavier material. Sheets of craft foam (3 mm thick) work well, or thick cardboard (Using spray glue on the backing material makes the gluing job very easy). Or, you could glue the cardstock number squares on square plastic tiles. See pages 8-10 for number patterns for making number tiles. Please note that the bright blue color seen on the computer prints as a dark blue on paper. You will also need a small rectangular tray to hold the number tiles. A plastic storage box lid or shoebox lid works well for this. Put four of each number in the lid; if you have extras, you can save them somewhere else, to be used as replacements if needed. If you print out the work pages on heavy cardstock, they will hold up better to repeated use. The same set of work pages can be used for an indefinite time period, just by going through the set once and then repeating, for as long as the child needs to practice them. There are four different sets of work pages (each with 20 pages): adding with three problems on a page, adding with five problems on a page, subtracting from seven, and subtracting from ten. Using an abacus with the number tiles and math work pages is an easy way for young children to work independently. When they slide the beads to figure out the math problems, they can know that they have the right answer. Then they can just leave their work out for their parent or teacher to double-check. A ten bead abacus is just right for very young children. Unlike a 100-bead abacus, it doesn t have a lot of beads that they will never need (because their math problems don t normally go above ten), and that may be distracting to them. And the beads used are so large that it is extra easy to move them. Instructions for making your own 10-bead abacus are provided on the following page

6 Making a 10- bead Abacus You can easily make your own 10-bead abacus with a wire hanger and some large wooden beads (the kind that are made for preschoolers to string with laces). If you use two colors of beads five of one color, then five of another color it will be easier to quickly see what the numbers are when the beads form numbers six through ten. Unwind the wire at the top of the hanger, and put 5 beads of one color, then 5 of another color, onto the hanger. Then rewind the wire. Bend the hook at the top into a loop so it doesn t present a poking hazard. Using a Ten Bead Early Childhood Abacus: Using a big bead abacus is particularly easy for young children. Show them how to add and subtract by sliding the beads, and with daily use they will quickly become proficient. To Add: Count out one number by sliding one bead at a time to the opposite end of the abacus and counting aloud. Then count out the second number in the same way. After two numbers are entered for adding, ask How many all together? Then count the total number of beads, one bead at a time. To Subtract: Count out the first number by sliding one bead at a time to the opposite end of the abacus. Then state the math problem: for example, seven take away two. Then take away the second number by sliding beads away. For example, for seven take away two, slide two beads away from the group of seven beads, and count the beads that remain.

7 How to Use Number Tiles Put the number tiles (four of each number) in a tray or shoebox lid, for the child to use to search through and select numbers as they are needed. Print out the work pages on card stock. Make a 10-bead abacus (highly recommended kids love to use these, and they can use them independently; as an alternate, you could provide some other materials to be used for counting: pennies/buttons, etc.) Choose a work page for the child to do (in this e-book, they are in a progressive order of difficulty by groups; within each group the difficulty level is about the same). Get out the abacus and the number tiles, and show the child how to use the abacus to do one of the math problems. For example, if it is 2 + 3, you would slide two beads, counting one, two, and then three more beads one at a time, one, two, three. Then, these beads would all be counted one by one: one, two, three, four, five. Five is the answer, so the child would find a number five tile and place it in the answer place on the work page. Sources for plastic tiles: You may be able to find plastic number tiles at a local teacher supply store. Most teacher stores do carry colorful 1 square tiles without numbers, that you could either write on with a permanent marker, or glue paper number squares to. Also, some games use number tiles Rummikub, by Pressman Toy Corp., is one such game. You may already own a game from which you could borrow the tiles. Didax carries a set of clear plastic, 1 tiles with numbers 0 to 9 printed on them in black. There are five of each number, and 7 operations signs. for learning.com This company carries a set of place value cards which are the numbers zero to ten, tens to a hundred, hundred to a thousand, and thousands to ten thousand. Dark blue numbers are printed on white plastic which is thin but sturdy. They are a little larger than 1, and slightly rectangular. The advantage of using these tiles is that they include number ten. However, it would be necessary to purchase four sets to be able to have enough number tiles for numbers zero to ten. Rainbow Resource carries plastic colored 1 tiles, without any printing on them. Lakeshore carries plastic magnetic numbers that are 1 ½ inches tall. These aren t tiles; they are 3-D numbers, like the kind put on refrigerators. But they could be used instead of tiles. The extra kinesthetic value would be nice for very young children.

8 Pattern Page for 1 square number tiles (for black tiles, print out in black and white mode)

9 Pattern Page for rectangular number tiles page one

10 Pattern Page for rectangular number tiles page two