Guest Blogging at Minds in Bloom

Today you'll find me guest blogging over at Rachel Lynette's blog Minds in Bloom.  She is the queen of task cards!  Not sure what task cards are?  They are little gems of paper that have a question or action to be done by a student.  Task cards are loads of fun and there are many ways to use them; one of them being with file folder game boards!  Head on over to Minds in Bloom and read more about how I expand the use of my file folder game boards.

Follow this link!

Have you seen all the fun file folder game boards I've created lately?  There are over 15 different designs with more being added every month.  Check them out in my shop.  They are on sale for 10% off until Tuesday, October 15, 2013.  Use promo code:  GamesGalore

Math Games for Learning

Today, I am linking up with Laura of Corkboard Connections.  The end of the school year is upon us and most students (and teachers/tutors) are getting worn out.  It's a great time to get math games going in the classroom.

It's no secret that I love any kind of game that involves playing cards.  I like the convenience of cards and that in a flash I can pull them out along with any of my playing card math mats.


Awhile back, I collaborated with Heidi of Raki's Rad Resources and we made this mega pack of playing card math mats.  The age range is pretty wide too!  You'll be able to find mats that work with the little ones and older kids too.


This mat features subtraction.  Students draw cards and put the biggest numbers on the top row and the smaller ones in the bottom row.  Then subtract!  They keep working through the deck until they have finished the pile.  You can download this freebie below:

Playing Card Math Mats

$0.00

If you love playing with cards too, make sure to check out my Math with a Deck of Cards Pinterest Board.

Playing Card Math Mats have worked out so well, that I decided to dig into the Common Core Standards more and make two packs of math mats that cover more topics.  There's some for grades 3-5 and 6-8.  They make great early finisher activities and allow for differentiation.

Below shows you how a math mat works.  The standard is written in the  right hand corner, directions at the top, and skill being worked on in the upper left hand corner.  I slide mine into sheet protectors and students write the cards they draw with a dry eraser marker in the boxes.  It's a nice feature to be able to use them again and again.

You can pick up a set for your classroom or tutoring kids at my Teachers Pay Teachers store or right here on the blog.  Click on the images to take you over to TpT.

3-5 Common Core Aligned Playing Card Math Mats

6-8 Common Core Aligned Playing Card Math Mats

Teaching Math with a Deck of Cards 3

One of my favorite creations is my Playing Card Math Mats shown in the picture above.  Isn't it funny how she chose to shade in the fraction?  She was a wiz at partitioning fractions after going through the deck of cards.

These playing card math mats are perfect for tutors or for centers in the classroom.  They involve minimal set up and the directions are easy to read.  For centers, all you would need to do is model quickly what would be done in that center and then let the kids have at it.

I've also discovered that these math mats make a great early finisher activity.  You could store them in one location and let the kids browse through the different mats and choose some.  The mats are categorized into several different grade levels allowing you to differentiate for students as well.

Let me show you the anatomy of a Playing Card Math Mat...

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Each mat has been meticulously aligned with the Common Core Standards for Mathematics.  There are detailed instructions, a title of the skill being worked on, and plenty of space to write in.

I like to print my math mats out and then slide them into page protectors.  This allows me to use dry erase markers so that they can be used over and over again.  They also store nicely in a binder with page protectors.

My time is so valuable and I am sure you can relate.  These math mats have saved me a ton of time in planning.  I can go over my lesson plans from the previous week and pull exactly what I need or in the moment when I see a hole in their math knowledge, I can pull out one of these mats and work on it right then.  You should check them out, as always...I like to give people a full preview.  You can check it out here for 3-5 Playing Card Math Mats and 6-8 Playing Card Math Mats.

I think they are so awesome!  I wanted to do a giveaway for some of my math mats.  There are two giveaways you can enter:  3-5 Playing Card Math Mats and 6-8 Playing Card Math Mats.  Enter both, that is totally okay with me!

Enter to win starting today, March 8th through March 11th 11:59 PM Central Time.  Winners will be notified via email.  If I don't hear from the winners within 48 hours, other winners will be chosen.  I will be verifying Pinterest entries, so if you are chosen and I find that you didn't pin anything of mine, I will move onto another winner.

Thanks for entering!  If you don't want to wait to win these awesome math mats, you can pick up a set in my store.

3-5 Playing Card Math Mats Giveaway.  Two winners will be chosen!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

6-8 Playing Card Math Mats Giveaway. Two winners will be chosen!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Teaching Math with a Deck of Cards on Pinterest

There are so many fantastic ideas that I've found over the years.  I love that Pinterest provides a way for me to share all my good finds with lots of people!  Instead of writing a blog post with links to all the wonderful games, I put them all on one board so that the people that work so hard to create them get credit!

Come on over and visit this board.  Any time I find a great card game, I will add it here.  What's your favorite playing card game?

How do you store your playing cards?  In the box or a plastic bag?  I have a special cubby for my cards and dice.

I loved this idea as well that I found from Shady Tree Diary, she came up with using a soap box that you can get from your local dollar store or even Walmart.

I have more in store for you tomorrow!  Make sure to come back for a giveaway that goes through the weekend.

Teaching Math with a Deck of Cards 2

No matter the age, I always introduce my students to Pyramid Solitaire.  In just a few minutes of watching them, I know a lot about their number sense.  In this game, the player must add up two cards to 13.  As I watch them play, I can see if they are counting on their fingers and how long it takes them to come up with the number combinations to make 13.

The  more and more we play this game, the faster my students get at making pairs.  They start to see that numbers are flexible and that there is  more than one way to make 13.  I know that sounds strange, but even my middle school students have struggled with this too.

The other reason I like Pyramid Solitaire is because of the strategy involved.  You have to pay attention to which cards you are putting together and the ones above that you haven't gotten to.  It's also a quick game to pull out and fill time with.  There's no need to gather another player because you play it all by yourself.

Here is my newest student playing Pyramid Solitaire.  She actually won on her first try!  A feat that my other students would have been shocked at.  This game has been a favorite for a long time at tutoring.

Here is the procedure for Pyramid Solitaire:

Materials:

52 Deck of Cards

Objective:

Remove all the cards from the pyramid.

Card Values:

King = 13
Queen = 12
Jack = 11
Ace = 1

Setting up the Game:

Shuffle the deck of cards and then create a pyramid starting with the first row of one card, then the second row of two cards, continuing on until you have made seven rows with seven cards in it.

Use remaining deck of cards to pull from (a draw pile) when you can not combine cards to make 13.

Playing the Game:

The player will select two cards from the pyramid to add up to 13.  If they are unable to do so, they can pull from the draw pile.  Any card laying on top of another card is available to be matched up with another, if the card is under a card, it is unavailable for play.  Refer to picture above.

The game is over when the entire pyramid is cleared or the draw pile is empty.

Teaching Math with a Deck of Cards 1

One thing you will always see in my office and during tutoring is a deck of cards.  After a long day at school, a deck of cards is a welcome change for my students.

This week I wanted to dedicate all of my posts just to card games and all the ways I use them with my students.  Feel free to leave a comment if you have card games you like to play with your students too.

Awhile back, I collaborated on a project with Heidi of Raki's Rad Resources.  We worked to together to make Playing Card Math Mats which is available for free in my TpT store.  They are simple to use, just print them out and place in a math center or use in tutoring with a deck of cards.  I also like to add a spinner that we draw with a dry erase marker.  It adds another level of difficulty to the game if you are trying to win.

When adding a spinner, pair up students to play against each other.  Start by spinning to see if you are playing for the highest number or the lowest number.

Then players draw their cards and place them where they want on the mat.  Next they do the math and compare their answer to their opponents.  The person with the number that matches up with the spinner wins.

I like this twist on the math mats because if you are a competitive person, it adds another layer of difficulty to the game.  You have to access some estimation skills to see where you should place the cards to make it most likely for you to win.  Lots of fun!

I don't have a printable with a spinner on it because they are so simple to draw.  Either my student or I draw a circle with a line dividing it into two equal parts.  Then in one half I write HIGH and the other LOW.  Finally, use a pencil and paper clip to make a spinner.