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Attribute Spinner Game
Mathematical Practices
SMP2, SMP4, SMP6, SMP8
Content Standards
K.MD.1
Objective
To introduce a game to help children focus on
multiple attributes of attribute blocks.
Key Concepts and Skills
• Choose blocks based on multiple attributes. [Patterns, Functions, and Algebra Goal 1]
Whole Group
Small Group
Partners
Center
Terms to Use words describing size, color, and shape; thick, thin, attributes
Materials Game Masters (Math Masters, pp. 118 and 119); set of attribute blocks; cardstock; glue; paper
Planning Tip Prepare four
clips; sharp pencils
attribute spinners by attaching the
circles on Math Masters, pages
118 and 119, to cardstock. (See
Activity 2-4, page 94 for
information about making and
using paper clip spinners.) Shade
each section of the color spinner
with the appropriate color.
A
Core Activities
► Playing the Attribute Spinner Game (Math Masters, pp. 118 and 119)
Remind children how to use paper clip spinners and demonstrate how to play the game.
Begin with three attribute spinners: shape, color, and size. On their turn, children spin
the spinners and choose the block that reflects the attributes shown on all three spinners
(the large, blue triangle, for example).
Children take turns spinning and
Adjusting
collecting blocks until all the blocks are
gone. Encourage children to decide as a
the Activity
group what to do if the designated block
Remove one spinner for children who need a
has already been taken (skip a turn, spin
simpler game.
one spinner again, spin all three spinners
AUDITORY KINESTHETIC TACTILE VISUAL
again, and so on). Leave the spinners and
attribute blocks in the Math Center and
encourage children to play with a partner or in small groups. Add the thickness
spinner when children are ready for more complexity.
Ongoing
Assessment:
Informing Instruction
Watch for children who are not
able to work with multiple
attributes simultaneously. Children
who are having difficulty should
start playing with two spinners
and add a third when they are
comfortable doing so. Before
they play, these children should
also practice describing attribute
blocks using multiple attributes.
► Tallying Class Data (Revisit Activity 5 9, p. 252; Math Masters, p. 43)
Show children the blank Cookie Survey Tally Chart (Math Masters, page 43). You might
want to enlarge it or draw it on the board or on chart paper. Call on each child to name
his or her favorite cookie on the chart. Use tally marks to record and total their responses.
Then count the tallies together and compare the totals.
Name
Date
Attribute Spinner Game Spinners
Red
Yellow
B
Blue
Teaching Options
Circle
► Describing Blocks and Other Objects
Hexagon
with Multiple Attributes
Rectangle
Have children choose attribute blocks and describe each block’s color, size, shape, and
thickness. Use simple pictures or the spinners to remind children of attributes to
include in their descriptions. Also invite children to describe multiple attributes (length,
weight, shape, and color) of other objects, such as unit blocks, books, and items from
nature. Help children use tools to measure the items in various ways.
ENRICHMENT
► Making Attribute Trains
(Center Activity Cards, 25)
Children can create a train of attribute blocks in which each part of the train differs
from its neighbor by only one attribute. For example, a blue, small, thin triangle can
be placed beside a red, small, thin triangle.
size
color
shape
change change change
Activity 5 14 Attribute Spinner Game
thickness
change
Triangle
Square
118
Math Masters, p. 118
Copyright © Wright Group/McGraw-Hill
READINESS
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