Dominoes are a great tool to use when teaching addition to your students.  They easily lend themselves to use with addition because students can take the dots on one side of the domino and the dots on the other side of the domino and combine them together.  I also find that my students think that dominoes are just the best thing ever.

  I wanted to share some domino activities with you that you can use when teaching addition.  I have math stations (see the picture below for how I organize math stations) in my classroom and I like to do math activities with my students that can be put in a math station basket once they have learned the activity and can do it independently.  Once we learn these domino activities, they will be put out at a math station.

  I suggest printing the following domino resources and then laminating or putting in a plastic page protector for durability.   For each domino activity, I have included a version where students are recording with and without the + and = symbols.  This is so you can easily differentiate the domino fun for your students who need to practice just combining objects and those who are ready to record the number sentence.   Here students pick a domino, draw the dots, and combine the dots.  Then, they write the total in the circle.  This is great to use for early addition because you will notice there are no symbols.  Students just need to combine the dots together and write the total.

  This is similar to the activity shown above, only now the + and = symbols are included.

  For this activity students pick a domino, draw the dots, and record the numbers on the correct lines to combine the dots.

  This is similar to the recording sheet shown above, but the + and = symbols are on this recording sheet for students who are ready to record the number sentences.

  For this activity, students use counters to represent the domino dots.  Then, they record the numbers on the correct lines.

  This is similar to the above activity, only this has the + and = symbols.

  Math Talks are a great way to hold your students accountable for their math work.  Students pick a domino, record the numbers, and then read the math talk to their friend.  Some of my students like to hold it above their head like a speech bubble.

  If you are looking for some good math literature, Domino Addition is a great book to use when beginning addition instruction with dominoes.  You can find it on Amazon by clicking here.

You can grab all of these activities for FREE by clicking the image below!  Happy Math Teaching!

You also might enjoy reading my Edible Dominoes post.  Just click the image to check out that post and grab another FREE download!

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Recipe for Teaching

So we did one of my all time favorite math lessons in kindergarten yesterday!!  We made EDIBLE DOMINOES!!  I have done this lesson in the past and it is always one of my favorites!

  We have been using dominoes to add so the kids were thrilled to make a domino they could eat!   Last week in math, I gave my students a math talk for them to record about the dots on their domino.  We also looked at the book Domino Addition.

This group decided they wanted to hold the math talk up like a speech bubble!!  So cute!

Making an Edible Domino

To make an edible domino you just need Graham crackers (one full cracker for each student), icing, a pretzel stick, and candy pieces (I used m&m's).  I have my students use a popsicle stick to spread the icing and it works really well.  You will also need real dominoes.  I had my students pick their favorite domino and then show that on their edible domino. 

Have your students put the Graham cracker on a plate.  Let them spread icing on the cracker using a popsicle stick.  Have your students put a pretzel stick in the middle of the cracker.  This way they can put some of their candy pieces on one side and some on the other.  Once your students have made their domino, have them record what it looks like on their recording sheet and complete the addition sentence/number sentence.  And finally...<insert drum roll here>...they get to eat their math!!  The best part!

 Here are some pictures of the work my students did! 

I am including the recording sheet as a FREEBIE for you!!  If you use it, I would love to hear what your students thought of the lesson!  To grab the freebie, click the image below!

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Recipe for Teaching

Brrrrrrr....it's so cold outside!!  Who else is thinking warm thoughts?!?!  Here is a warm picture for you:

I wanted to write a blog post about Math Talks because I LOVE using them in my classroom and my kindergarten students also love using them.  My students seriously ask me if they can say the Math Talk or ask me for a Math Talk if I don't give them one to use.  I love that they get so excited about math because math is one of my favorite subjects to teach!  

I have been reading Debbie Diller's Math Work Stations book this year and have recently started incorporating math work stations in my classroom.  She talks about using Math Talks during math stations in her book.  They are an easy way to make your students accountable for their learning.  They also keep your students engaged and on task during math stations or partner work.      Math Talks are super easy to incorporate within your lessons.  They are a speech bubble with the math language you want your students to use during the activity.  You can laminate Math Talks and have your students record on them or you can just simply have it next to your students as a reminder of how they should be talking to their friend during math.  I have used them both ways with my students and found both ways to be successful.     Here are a few pictures of my students using Math Talks in my classroom:

 In the picture above, this student could use the Math Talk to say, "19 is more than 15."

 You can see that the Math Talk would be great for keeping students on task with the work they are doing.   I love that they are using math vocabulary throughout the activity.

In the above picture, I incorporated the Math Talk right on the activity I had for my students.  There are so many different ways to use Math Talks within your lessons! 

 

I created a Math Talk Pack and it is for sale in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  Click the image below to check it out!

  If you want to try a preview of my Math Talks pack, I've created a preview for my blog followers!  Let me know if you try them with your students!  Click below to grab the free preview! Math Talk Preview     Do you use Math Talks in your classroom??  If so, I'd love to hear ways you are using them!     

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Recipe for Teaching