Creating
Summer Math Tool Kits
Sarah
Picard Taylor
As
summer approaches many teachers and parents marvel at what the
students have accomplished in one school year. You will want their
mathematical thinking to continue over the summer so your students
will not lose all they gained during the school year. Creating
summer math tool kits can be a fun way to spend the last week
of math time during the school year. Here are some recommendations
for setting up tool kits in your classroom.
First, you
will want to get a container for the tool kits. Large 9x12 inch
envelopes or one gallon plastic bags are simple solution. However,
some teachers and students spend a little bit of money and buy
small cotton or canvas tote bags. They can be purchased in bulk
for the whole class at websites for about $1.50 or $0.75 each.
I found some bandana
print and tie
dye bags online.
You can add
notebooks and special
pencils to the bag. These can be found at any school supply
store, but if you are looking to buy in bulk, try Staples
online.
You
might also want to include a tape measure to encourage kids to
measure things around the house or in the backyard. These
tape measure key chains sell for less than fifty cents each!
You will also
want to give them a 100 chart to help them visualize the base
ten system as they solve math word problems.
If you study
coins and counting money throughout the year, you may want to
give students fake
coins to practice with over the summer.
Students can
use notebooks to keep track of their mathematical thinking over
the summer. You can make a list with the students of all the possibilities
that might go into this notebook. Here are a few to get you started:
- Measure
the sizes of things around the house or in the back yard. Sketch
a picture of the thing you measured and then write the measurements
next to the picture.
- Make lunch
for your friends and invite them over to play restaurant. Write
a little menu and then use fake coins for your guests to pay
and for you to give the correct change. You can use your notebook
as a place for the menu or a place for you to record their order.
- Cut out
coupons from the Sunday newspaper. Find coins that add up to
the amount of the coupon. Then glue the coupon to a notebook
page and write the names of the coins that add up to the amount
on the coupon. For example, if you cut out a coupon for 35 cents,
glue the coupon in your notebook and write “1 quarter
and 1 dime” on the page.
- Make up
your own two digit addition and subtraction problems in your
notebook. Use your 100 chart or your baggie of buttons to help
you solve each problem.
Celebrate
these new tool kits on the last day of school. You can invite
students to bring in a special pencil or eraser for each of
their friends as a way of encouraging math thinking throughout
the summer. Invite them to play with their tool kits together
and then bring their notebooks back at he beginning of the next
year to show their teachers all the hard work they did over
the summer. |