Since the beginning of the school year I’ve been searching for different ways to incorporate guided math in my classroom. Guided math has many benefits although organizing the groupings can bring a few challenges. Guided math looks different depending on how the teacher implements the structure. For example, one math group might be working with the teacher while two other groups are using math games or participating in problem based learning activities. The groups will rotate according to a specific time schedule. I’m finding that groups that are not with the teacher need specific instructions and expectations.
For the past few months I’ve been using dice games to emphasize number sense skills. These dice games have peaked student interest and work well in increasing computation fluency. I decided to collect multiple formative data pieces to validate whether the dice games were contributing to student success. By analyzing student data and observing over a period of time, I found that students were becoming more fluent in adding, subtracting, and multiplying small/large numbers.
The games have worked for me, so I’m passing it along to others that might find it useful. Needed materials and pdf files are below.
A variety of dice (6, 10, 20, 30, etc. dice) Here are some examples:
Templates (in pdf form)
Roll to 150 (multiplication)
Roll to 125 (addition)
Roll to 100 (addition)
Roll to 45 (addition)
Roll from 50 (subtraction)
Roll from 95 (subtraction)
Roll from 35 (subtraction)