Do you ever use dice as a math learning tool? How do you do it without dice flying all over the room and splitting your ear drums?
One quick tip I learned from a fabulous math coach was always to give students 60 seconds with the manipulative you would be working with just to “play.”
That way they get it out of their system and have had a chance to explore the item.
Then, after the 60 second timer ends, the item becomes a learning tool and we only use it for that specific purpose and follow the teacher instruction.
That small tip has saved me countless minutes of asking students to stay on track and not just “play” with the math manipulative.
Speaking of math manipulative, I came across these awesome Dice in Dice and just knew you all would love them! There is so much you can do with them in your classroom!
Teacher Tips for Using Dice in the Classroom
How about a few ideas from fellow colleagues? On my Instagram account:
@theuniqueclassroom said “Addition or multiplication games!”
Several good ideas from @larnww “I used them for addition all the time… Like: create your own addition story using what you rolled. And greater than/less than discussions.”
@asunnydayinfirstgrade also suggested “I use them for addition and subtraction!! :)”
@savbruski “My math consultant was just showing me dice in dice today! I had never heard of them before. We are going to try to do a multiplication dice game.”
and @robinf639 mentioned “My favorite! Addition practice!”
All awesome ideas! I love collaborating and chatting with other educators on Instagram!
Free Printable Dice Worksheet
I decided to incorporate some of that addition and multiplication and toss together a fun freebie for you today called Telling Time Rollers!
This freebie includes a color AND a grayscale version for those who aren’t able to get to a color printer. Another idea to save paper: Toss it in a sheet protector and have the students use dry erase markers.
These little dice are awesome and so much fun!
They even include some fun learning ideas, such as having students create some addition numbers sentences using the 2 dice, representing quantities in any way they see applicable (tallies, circles, arrays, etc), and writing more or less sentences with the results they toss.
The possibilities are endless using these manipulatives. All math classrooms should have some dice available for games – the students love them and there are just so many ways to be used!
Do you have additional ways to use dice in the classroom? Share with us in the comments below! #sharingiscaring
~Charity
This post originally appeared at Organized Classroom.
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