Effective Ways to Teach Addition in Kindergarten
kindergarten students usually require a variety of
hands-on and engaging activities. Teaching addition in kindergarten is no
exception! In order to effectively teach this concept, students need to
understand what it means to add before they’re asked to start completing
worksheets and writing number sentences.
Here are some of my favorite's ways to teach addition to
young learners. Incorporating some of these activities into your addition
lesson plans can bring some extra engagement to your math instruction.
1. Teach (and Display) a Variety of Addition Strategies
The first step in teaching addition to kindergartners is to show them a variety of strategies. These strategies will help your young learners understand the concept of addition. Your students will be able to find and use the strategies that make the most sense to them!
A bulletin board full of addition strategies can serve as a helpful anchor chart! These strategies will help your students become more independent as they solve addition equations during independent work time, small groups, or centers.
2. Practice with Addition Task Cards
Once you have taken the time to teach addition strategies,
it’s time to put them into practice! Simply
laminate the center cards, hole-punch the corners, and add a binder ring.
During centers, students can grab a group of addition task cards and then get
to work!
I like to group the task cards by strategy so that students
can practice the different strategies as they solve simple addition problems. I
include a cover sheet on each bundle of addition task cards so students can see
which strategy they will use.
3. Use Addition Songs
Kindergartners love music and singing is an excellent way to
practice addition!
Fun addition songs give them a chance to get up and move after sitting in their seats all day. Whichever song you decide to use, be sure to encourage them to stand up and move in some way.
There are plenty of others but these are always a hit with
students! Jack Hartmann always has my whole class singing and dancing. The
songs are easy to memorize, so kids find themselves singing the songs while
solving problems.
4. Play Addition Games
Learning how to add takes practice and plenty of repetition.
In order to keep your young students engaged in the repetition needed to master
addition, try playing some games!
Students love to roll the dice, add the numbers together, and then cover the correct answer on the mat. This simple game is so fun for students that they’ll want to play again and again. Since the rules of this game are simple, it’s the perfect activity to add to your math center rotations
5. Introduce Addition Story Problems
One of the most important parts of teaching addition to
kindergarten students is how it relates to the world around them. You want to
show your students that addition is more than completing a number sentence on a
math worksheet. A great way to help students recognize math in a
relatable situation and then model it with a number sentence.
This will make addition more meaningful to your students, and
they will be more likely to understand and remember the addition strategies
they are being taught. Finding relevant information in a story problem is a
skill that students will use for years to come.
Engaging Resources for Teaching Addition in Kindergarten
In order to save you some time (and money), I have compiled
all of my favorite addition activities for kindergarten You’ll find everything you need to help your students learn
and practice a variety of addition strategies.
This resource includes the addition strategy posters,
addition task cards, roll and cover mats, story problems, and more! The best
part is that this bundle includes the same engaging resources for subtraction
as well. Just click below to take a closer look at everything included in this
bundle!
No comments:
Post a Comment