5 Ways to Build Number Sense in Your Classroom

A.     Math warm up has a 10-day cycle. Days 1-4 are teacher led and days 5-9 are student led. Day 10 is an assessment.

B.     It has 4 math problems with concept statements so they know what they are doing. This helps build that math vocabulary where they can explain it in their own words on the days that’s student led.

C.     Teacher led days (days 1-4): the teacher will read the concept statements and have the students chorally respond. The teacher will model how to solve the problem using metacognition. Then the teacher will give the student a few moments to fill in the answer on their paper. Then the teacher will read the closing statement for that problem and have the students chorally respond. This same process will be done for each number. I like to have the students self-correct their work, so after each problem I have them give themselves a dot under their answer if they got it correct.

D.    Student-led days (days 5-9): The teacher will still read the concept statements and closing statements as the students chorally respond, but when it comes down to solving the problem, the teacher will give the students a minute or so to complete the first problem. Then have the students talk with their partner how they solved the problem. You will need to model this many times before it’s done correctly. I give them a sentence starter like “I solved the problem by _______.” Then pick a student to come up and solve the problem. Make sure you pick someone who answered it correctly. They are to explain to the class what they did. You will probably need to walk them through this many times before that conversation comes easy to them. Then I tell the students, if you got that answer right, give yourself a dot, if you did not, circle it and write the correct answer. Continue this process for each problem.

E.     Assessment day (day 10): I spread the class around the room, and they have day 10 on their desks, floor, etc. They are to work quietly and do the problems on their own. I collect them and this is how I assess if they have mastered a concept or not. For those who haven’t, I go over it in a small group during our math block.

F.     Now you’re probably wondering what this all looks like, and the logistics of it. I print it out and make an individual packet for the student. They are labeled day 1-10 at the top. I keep a teacher copy and lay it under the document camera. Some years I have the class sit on the carpet, and some years I have them at their tables. It just depends on your class and how well they behave. So that part is up to you! Here is a sample from the first week of school:

G.     Notice that each day has the same concepts, just different numbers. In the beginning of the year, I make everything teacher led. They are not ready for student-led yet! Usually after the first quarter, I start to have them try it out on their own. Here are a few more samples:

Al  All the skills covered in math warm up are all common core based standards that deal only with number sense, no shapes, measurement, etc.

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If you are interested in Math Warm Up, I have it available to purchase in my store! I have bundled it for the ENTIRE year as well as sold individually for the beginning, middle and end of year. Click here to find Math Warm Up in my store!

4. Problem Solving: 

This a really fun way to build number sense, and the kids love it too! I don’t usually start this until the 3^rd quarter, but it can definitely be done sooner if you choose to do so. I do this every Friday morning, and it follows a structure that is the same each week. Problem-solving days include solving a story problem with either addition or subtraction. I type out a problem with room for student work, a place to record their answer, and how they solved the problem. 
The first time we do problem-solving, I create an anchor chart with the class. We choose different strategies to solve a math problem. Then they can refer back to this when working independently.

This is the format I follow when doing problem solving:
A. Read Together: Have the students sit on the carpet, and read the problem several times. I point out the numbers and circle them. I don’t want to give away what method to do or if the question is asking for addition or subtraction. So I keep it pretty basic when I introduce the problem.
B. Student Work: Students work independently for about 3-5 minutes at their tables. At the tables, I provide buckets full of manipulatives. Inside are Unifix cubes, 10-frames, number bonds, and their pencils and crayons. Students are able to choose whatever method works for them.
C. Solve With Partner:This part is tricky, but since we have been doing math review for 2 quarters, it’s not that difficult for them to discuss with their partner how they solved the problem. I had to model it a few times pretending like I was a student. Basically, they are to show their partner how they solved it, and I give them the sentence starter, “I solved the problem by _____.” This should be roughly 1-2 minutes.
D. Class discussion: I have the students bring their paper and pencil and I usually pick one manipulative to bring to the carpet. Usually, I say bring 10 cubes. Then I call on about 6 students to give me their answer. That’s it. No explanation yet. I write down correct answers and incorrect answers. Then I go back and call on the students so they can tell the class how they solved the problem. I usually illustrate or model what they are saying on my white board or doc camera. For example: If the student says, “I drew a picture of 5 balloons.” I ask them, “why did you draw 5?” They can explain that it says 5 in the sentence. So then I go ahead and draw 5 balloons on the board. Then the student continues to explain, “then I crossed out 2 balloons.” I again ask why. I proceed to cross out 2 balloons. Then I ask what did you do after that? They say, “I got 3 balloons.” I ask the class if that makes sense. I love it when they go further and write it into a number sentence. 5-2=3. Then I move on to the next kid. I make sure to pick kids who solved the problem differently this way the class can see multiple ways to solve a problem. I make sure that the students who provided the incorrect answer explain their way. Then we realize that their way didn’t make sense and I cross out their answer.
E. Class Solution: We pick one way to solve it and have everyone try it together with their own manipulatives, paper, and pencil. Most of the time, I just pick it. I have everyone count out 5 cubes and then take 2 away. We then all write the number sentence on our paper.
F. Class Write Up: This is teacher led and can be done on your white board or on chart paper. I pretty much sequence our steps in order using First, Next, Last. For example: “First, we counted out 5 cubes because Jack had 5 balloons. Then, we took 2 away because have gave them to his friend. Last, we counted how many cubes we had left.” We know that Jack has 3 balloons left so we wrote the number sentence 5-2=3. Then after we come up those steps, we all read it together, and that’s problem-solving! This process should take about 30-40 minutes, but don’t be surprised if it takes you up to 45 minutes to even an hour the first few times!
I was actually filmed teaching these problem-solving steps as a model for the district! Kindergarten problem solving takes a lot of practice, but once you and your class get the steps down, it’s like clockwork, and it’s really beneficial!

5. Assess and reassess:

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Last but not least, I make sure I am on top of my students and what they know or do not know. This way I can move them around in their math groups if needed. As we know, some start slow, but really pick up the pace once they are in school and fully submerged in our classroom content. I usually assess them every 2 weeks. Assessing also helps me direct instruction on what I need to teach. If 90% of the class has mastered a skill, then I feel it’s ok to move on, and I will attend to that 10% who still do not have it. I love to use my common core math assessments as well. They are not just geared towards number sense, they assess every common core standard in a very organized manner. If you are interested in my assessments, they are available for purchase here in my store!