suggested first 5 days of school
Choose your own maths adventure with our interactive tools that allow you to build a custom playlist of inspirational maths activities and messages! To build your WIM week, select one video, one resource for creating a positive maths community, and one task per day and add to your playlist. Then click “See Summary” to play videos, download materials and save/share your WIM week! Check out these pre-made playlists curated by the youcubed team for first grade, middle school and high school and share your playlist on social media with #myWIM!
Share the “Why” with Students: Give the students the rationale behind the Math Talk. Let them know that they have great thinking that we can't see and this gives them a chance to share what's going on in their brains. This also gives everyone a chance to learn from each other lots of different ways we can think about a problem.
Initial Implementation : As you begin to implement Math Talks in your classroom, you will want to keep them simple. Your goal might be to have 2 or 3 students share their thinking, which you capture and record without much comment or questioning.
● Provide a safe environment. ● Start with easier problems so that students can learn the routine and to encourage wide participation.
● Present calculation problems horizontally. ● Provide quiet think time and a silent signal. ● Accept, respect, and consider all answers.
● Capture student thinking as faithfully as you can. ● Write the student’s name so that you can refer to _______’s strategy.
● Develop your poker face. Respond neutrally to students’ comments.
More information: Number Talk "Look fors" Math Talk Process Tips for Number Talks
Ten Frame Dot Talks to 5
Objective: To review math facts to 5 by subitizing* small groups of dots in a ten frame.
Description: These Math Talks are intended to have students see the total number of dots in a ten frame without counting each individual dot, in particular, to review fluency with the math facts to 5. This opportunity should also be used to connect written equations to how the students see the dots.
*Subitizing is the ability to quickly identify the number of items in a small set without counting. It is a foundational skill in a student's development of number sense.
Questions: How many do you see? How do you see them? How many more do you need to make 10? What equation could you write that matches what you see?
Suggested Steps:
Quickly show one of the dot images so students do not have time to count. Have students show a thumbs-up to the chest if they think they know how many dots. Depending on the number of students who are showing you a thumbs-up, you may wish to show it a second time.
Solicit student responses, right or wrong.
Have students do a Turn-and-Talk to discuss how they saw the dots.
Have a few students share how they saw the dots. Make several copies of the Dot Talk in order to record student thinking by circling the groupings they identify, and writing the corresponding equation. Record students’ names on the copies.
Summarize the Math Talk by connecting the equations to each other and to the dots in the ten frame.
Follow the same steps as Day 1.
Follow the same steps as Day 1.
Follow the same steps as Day 1.
Follow the same steps as Day 1.
More images: Math Talk 0-11 BLM
Ready Teacher Toolbox- Lessons 0 for the first five days: Lessons to launch to review key concepts to prepare for the start of the school year and familiarize students with the flow of the Try-Discuss-Connect instructional routine.
Guided Math expectations: For assistance on structuring guided math, click here. Guide to the first 20 days here.
Youcubed: Day 1: Let's Sort it Out
Noticing similarities and differences in shapes and designs is an important part of being mathematical. It is valuable for students to see that shapes and designs have many different characteristics and can be sorted in a variety of ways. This task is great for language development, being descriptive, paying attention to detail and being specific. These are all mathematical skills that are valuable to develop. This task also allows for them to be creative and create their own collections with a variety of characteristics. This activity is a series of sorting activities: sorting emoji, making their own collection for sorting, and sorting puzzles. You can split it into a series of 2 or 3 days of lessons depending on the amount of time you have for math in your class or chose one of the activities to do with your class. Content: Describing, comparing and contrasting, organizing
Lesson Plan Day 1 Video Day 1 Good Group Work-setting norms
Classdojo Video - Growth Mindset Video 1 Video 2 Video 3 Video 4 Video 5
Ready Teacher Toolbox- Lessons 0 for the first five days: Lessons to launch to review key concepts to prepare for the start of the school year and familiarize students with the flow of the Try-Discuss-Connect instructional routine.
Guided Math expectations: For assistance on structuring guided math, click here. Guide to the first 20 days here.
Youcubed: Day 2: You Can Count on Me
We all use our fingers to count sometimes but do we all use them the same way? This activity gives students an opportunity to use their fingers for counting and explore the multiple ways of using fingers to count the same number. Research tells us that it is very important for students to develop ‘finger discrimination’ that is, for students to know their fingers really well. In this Atlantic article we share the importance of using fingers for the brain’s development of numbers. Evidence from both behavioral and neuroscience studies shows that when people receive training on ways to perceive and represent their own fingers, they develop better representations of their fingers, which leads to higher mathematics achievement. Content: Counting, finger discrimination
Classdojo Video - Perseverance Video 1 Video 2 Video 3 ( You may have to log into Classroom Dojo)
Ready Teacher Toolbox- Lessons 0 for the first five days: Lessons to launch to review key concepts to prepare for the start of the school year and familiarize students with the flow of the Try-Discuss-Connect instructional routine.
Guided Math expectations: For assistance on structuring guided math, click here. Guide to the first 20 days here.
Youcubed: Day 3: Shifting Shapes
In this activity students get creative with making rectangles out of square tiles. This activity makes space for our young mathematicians to count, describe shapes, explore ideas, build with square tiles, investigate conjectures, organize findings, add and takeaway square tiles, and record ideas with visuals. Content: Counting, making rectangles, making borders
Ready Teacher Toolbox- Lessons 0 for the first five days: Lessons to launch to review key concepts to prepare for the start of the school year and familiarize students with the flow of the Try-Discuss-Connect instructional routine.
Guided Math expectations: For assistance on structuring guided math, click here. Guide to the first 20 days here.
Youcubed: Day 4: String Shapes
This is one of our favorite team building activities. Students work together using a rope to create 2-D and 3-D shapes. The teacher plays the role of the skeptic and asks students to justify how they know their shape satisfies its defined characteristics. You can ask students to work in small groups to build the shapes or you can use a big rope and have the class work together to build the shapes. Content: Describing and making 2-D and 3-D shapes, making convincing arguments, critiquing other people's arguments
Ready Teacher Toolbox- Lessons 0 for the first five days: Lessons to launch to review key concepts to prepare for the start of the school year and familiarize students with the flow of the Try-Discuss-Connect instructional routine.
Guided Math expectations: For assistance on structuring guided math, click here. Guide to the first 20 days here.
Youcubed: Day 5: A Game of Totals
This activity is a fun way to develop an understanding of quantity and ways to make a total of 10. In this activity students will have an opportunity to count, add, keep track of totals, and use visuals to see the sum. They will consider what quantities they will need to reach a total of 10 and will also create a strategy for reaching a total before their partner. Content: Counting, finger discrimination, making conjectures, organizing, visualizing quantity
“Closure in a lesson does not mean to pack up and move on. Rather, it is a cognitive activity that helps students focus on what was learned and whether it made sense and had meaning.” How the Brain Learns Mathematics (2007) P. 104
There are many ways to wrap up and reflect the day's activities but this step is often overlooked or rushed. Purposely plan and allow time for students to have closure each day (even if it means setting a timer or daily alarm so you don't run out of time).
Ideas for closure activities