December and January
Box
Remember, please have your child talk about what they have
learned in class and assist them as needed. All thinking and work
should be recorded in your Math Box Journal using words, pictures
and/or numbers. One of our goals is to increase each child’s
ability to communicate his/her thinking and by doing this in math
journals, your child is getting vital practice. Please review this
piece with your child, ask questions to help with ideas about what
could be recorded, etc.
Keep in mind you don’t have to do these activities in order.
Please feel free to make up your own math games or do computer math
games, but record these as well. Try to do four a week, but if you
do only 3 that is great! Send the Math Box Journal to school each
Monday to get credit. Journals will be sent home again each Monday,
so the rotation will go from Monday to Monday. A new packet (like
this) will come home again at the beginning of February and each
month following.
Remember, we would like your honest feedback. If an activity
doesn’t make sense or you have suggestions (or you absolutely love
one in particular!)...PLEASE let us know. We will make adjustments
on future math homework based on your feedback.
Number Sense
1. Use your number line to solve the following equations:
1+8 = ___ 2+7 = ___ 3+6 =___ 4+5 = ___
2. What kind of pattern do you notice as you use the number line
and look at the numbers?
3. Using your spinner and Vis-à-vis, divide the spinner in half
and write a “+” sign on one side and a “-“ sign on the other. Use
your spinner to play a game with your die. Roll the die, write the
number down. Spin the spinner and roll the die again. If the
spinner says “+”, add the second number to the first and write the
equation. If the spinner says “-” take the second number away from
the first and write the equation. Use your total, and continue
with this pattern, adding or subtracting (depending on your
spinner) each number your roll from the previous total. If the
number you roll is too big to “subtract” (take away or minus) from
the total you have, roll the die until you have a number you can
take away.
4. Skip count by 2’s.
count to by 2’s?
5. Skip count by 10’s.
count to by 10’s?
What is the highest number that you can
What is the highest number that you can
6. Play a game of Math Card Rummy with a partner, use your deck
of number cards. Each player is dealt 5 cards, and the rest of
the cards are placed in a draw pile, with one card face up in the
discard pile. During a turn each player can choose to pick a new
card out of the draw or discard pile, make a Rummy (a group of 3
or 4 of a kind), then discards 1 card to end their turn. Keep
score of the sum of the cards a player gets when 3 or 4 cards
match. First player to reach 100 wins.
3
+
3
+
3
= 9
7. Place a bean on 5 on your number line, then roll one of your
dice and flip your +/- flipper. Move your bean forward if you
flipped a “+”, or backwards if you flipped a “-“, the number of
spaces shown on your dice. Roll and flip at least 10 times.
Remember to record your thinking about what you notice in your
Math Box Journal.
8. Estimate how many ornaments are on your Christmas tree. Write
your prediction in your Math Box Journal. Count the ornaments on
your tree and write down the actual number.
9. Count the money in your piggy bank. Look for a gift to buy a
special family member and decide if you have enough money to buy
it. If you don’t, how much more do you need? What could you buy
instead? OR Are there other ways to earn enough money to buy it?
Explain in your Math Box Journal.
10. Find all the possible combinations of your target number
using 2 different kinds of beans from your math box.
11. Separate all the beans in your math box into 2 equal groups.
How many beans are in each group?
12. Skip count by 5’s.
count to by 5’s?
What is the highest number that you can
13. Play the Sum What Dice game with an adult. Each player needs
to use the graph paper from the Math Box to make their own number
strip with the numbers 1-9. Players take turns rolling the dice.
On each turn the player may cover either the sum rolled on the
dice or any two numbers that are still uncovered. For example, if
a sum 9 is rolled first, the player may cover: 9, or 1 and 8, or 2
and 7, or 3 and 6, or 4 and 5. Later in the game if the sum of 9
is rolled again and the 5 is already covered, then the player
cannot use the 4 and 5 combination and must play one of the other
open possibilities. When a player cannot play, her or she is out
and has a score of the sum of the uncovered numbers. The person
with the lowest score wins.
14. Play Reach for the Stars game. Use the
Play with an adult. Each player takes turns
the sum on the dice and color in the sum on
first person to color in all the squares of
the star first) is the winner.
attached game board.
rolling two dice. Add
the game board. The
a number (and get to
15. Use the attached worksheet to practice writing doubles to
100.
16.
What is half of each of the following numbers?
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34,
36, 38, 40
17.
What pattern do you notice? Explain in your Math Box Journal.
Algebraic Sense
18. Make a gingerbread house at home. Using candy, create and
extend an AB pattern to decorate your creation. When you are half
way finished, predict whether or not you have enough candy to
finish your decorating. Will you have enough or will you have to
break the pattern? (IDEA: A gingerbread house can be made by using
icing to hold together graham crackers to create the walls and
roof of your house.)
19. Create an ABB pattern using any items in your Math Box or at
home. What color/shape/object will the 10th, 12th, 15th and 20st
object be if you were to continue the pattern?
20. The school bus makes four stops each day. At the first stop,
1 boy and 2 girls get on the bus. At the next stop, 2 boys and 3
girls get on. At the third stop, 3 boys and 4 girls get on. Do you
see the pattern? At the last stop, how many boys get on the bus?
How many girls? How many children get on the bus altogether?
21. Roll a die, using what you know about numbers, how many would
you need to add to that to equal ten? Do this 5 times.
22. Create and extend an AABB pattern and an AAAB pattern.
Use materials from around your house and create your own pattern.
Make sure it repeats at least 5 times. Label your pattern with
letters and record it in your Math Box Journal.
23. Use the attached 100 Chart. Color all the even numbers red.
Color all the odd numbers blue. Color all the "count by 5" numbers
purple. Color all the "count by 2" numbers yellow. What did you
notice? What did you learn? Record your findings in your Math Box
Journal.
Probability/Statistics
24. If you flip a coin 10 times, predict which will appear more
often: heads or tails?
25. Check your prediction, by flipping a coin of your choice 10
times. Record “heads” or “tails” each time you flip the coin.
Which came up more often? Was your prediction correct?
26. Do you think this would hold true if you checked it another
10 times?
27. Repeat the same problem, but now flip the coin 20 times to
see if the same thing happens.
28. Keep track of how many times your phone rings when you get
home from school until you go to bed.
29. Play 7Up: Use a calculator from your house. Play with an
adult. Clear the calculator so it reads 0. Taking turns, each
player adds 1 or 2 into the calculator. The winner is the first
person to reach 7. Going over 7 loses.
30. Play 11 Down: Use a calculator from your house. Clear the
calculator and enter 11. Subtract 1 or 2 on each turn. Winner is
the person to reach 0 first.
Geometry
31. Use the tangrams to make an animal. Draw a picture of that
animal and name it in your Math Box Journal.
32. Use your pattern shapes to design a snowflake. Copy the
design into your Math Box Journal.
33. Repeat the same activity, but use different shapes to make a
different snowflake. (Did you know that NO TWO snowflakes are
exactly alike in nature?)
34. Look at all the shapes in your math box. Write down how many
sides each shape has. The shapes are triangle, square, rhombus,
hexagon, and trapezoid.
35. Teach a member of your family or a friend the names of all
the shapes. Be sure to test them to make sure they learned them.
36. Use your graph paper from your Math Box. Cut out 5 equal
sized squares. In arranging the five squares, the rule is that
each of the squares must share a full side with at least one other
square, and that wherever the squares touch, it must be with full
sides touching. Make as many pentasquares as you can. Record your
findings in your Math Box Journal.
37. Alphabet Symmetry: Think of the capital letters of
alphabet. Pick one, say C, and write it backwards. Does
the same as it did originally? Go through the alphabet,
list of the letters that are symmetrical (look the same
sides) and those that are unsymmetrical (look different
written backwards).
the
it look
making a
on both
when
Measurement
38. Predict which is further distance from the front door of your
house/apartment: your kitchen sink or the closest toilet? Check
your prediction by counting your steps to each and write the
answer. Was your prediction correct?
39. Using your feet measure the distance from your front door to
the bathroom. Now measure the distance from your bathroom to your
bedroom using your feet.
40. Draw a picture of the people living in your house.
in order from tallest to shortest.
Put them
41. Get out 10 toothpicks. Estimate how far the toothpicks would
reach if they were laid out end to end. Lay the toothpicks out to
see how close you came to your estimate. Try this activity again
with ten paperclips, ten beans, and other objects from your house.
42. Find the length of objects around your house using
toothpicks. Draw pictures in your Math Box Journal to show what
you found.
Problem Solving
43. A glass holds 1cup of milk. How many cups will 8 glasses
hold? Use words, numbers and/or pictures to show your thinking in
your Math Box Journal.
44. A family has 3 children with 2 boys and 1 girl. They would
like to have 6 children with each boy having a sister. How many
more boys and girls do they need to have for this to happen? Use
words, numbers and/or pictures to show your thinking in your Math
Box Journal.
45. You have 8 cups but you only need 4. How many cups do you
need to put away? Draw a picture to help you solve the problem
and write a number sentence to go with it.
46. 7 people come to your birthday party and they each bring you
2 gifts. How many gifts did you get in all? Draw a picture to
help you solve the problem and write a number sentence to go with
it.
47. I have 15 crayons. Some are blue and some are red. I have
fewer red crayons. How many of each could I have? Show your
thinking with numbers, pictures and words, including a math
equation.
48. Think of your kitchen table. If you had someone sitting for
dinner at every chair and every person had a fork, spoon, and
knife, how many pieces of silverware would you need? Record your
thinking in your Math Box Journal.
Communication
49. Play Guess My Number with a partner. One partner picks a
number between 1 and 50 and secretly writes down their number on
the wipe-off board with the vis-à-vis marker. Then the other
partner tries to guess the number by asking yes and no questions.
(Try questions like: Does your number have a zero at the end? Does
your number have 1 digit? Is your number larger than 10?)
50. Write the words for each number in your Math Box Journal:
10, 22, 45, 63, 100, 213
5,
51. What do the symbols + - and = mean?
using those symbols.
Write a number sentence
52. Write about your favorite Math Box Activity from your
November Activity list. Describe it well so it would be clear
which one you liked.