• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Brown Bag Teacher

Teach the Children. Love the Children. Change the World.

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Meet the Teacher
    • Disclosures
    • Professional Development
  • My Classroom
    • Back to School
    • Differentiated Instruction
    • Distance Learning
    • Management
    • Organization
    • Technology
  • 1st Grade
    • Art
    • Daily Five
    • Guided Math
    • Reading/Literacy
    • Science
    • Writing
  • 5th Grade
    • 1:1 iPads
    • Book Displays
    • Community Building
    • ELA
    • On Demand Writing
  • Shop
  • Blog

September 26, 2014

Number Lines in 1st Grade: Outdoor Chalk Style

This week, we are wrapping up our last pre-textbook unit of learning, by adding fluently within 20. My friends are absolutely rocking it, so this week we’ve taken the time to explore the closed number line. We love using unifix cubes, blocks, dice, base-ten pieces, clear counters, spinners, and all things interactive. Knowing this, I was excited to first introduce my friends to the number line through some foot-on play.

Setting-Up

In typically first-grade style, we start with some concrete learning (pun intended) with outdoor-chalk number lines on our school’s outdoor basketball court. Before school, I visited our playground and drew 3 number lines. One number line went from -2 to 20, one from -2 to 15, and the third from -2 to 10. (Why did I include negative numbers? Although we don’t touch negative numbers in 1st grade, my kids need to know they exist. My friends won’t think anything of it when they are introduced in a few years. This is an easier way for me, as a primary teacher, to bridge the intermediate-primary gap.)

Launching Our Learning

Skipping our typical number talk and whole-group mini-lesson, we headed outside. As a whole-class we practiced finding numbers on the number line, finding one more and one less, adding simple numbers together, and we stretched our brains to use the number lines to solve word problems. As a single friend was hopping on the number line, my friends joined them in hopping in their standing spots behind the number line.

Small-Group Practice

After our whole-class practice, I wanted to give my friends some small-group practice. Yesterday morning, I quickly made 3 sets of questions. We color-code differentiation in 1st grade (which is AWESOME), and I made three different sets of cards. Green (lowest) were basic addition problems. My black cards (normally yellow group) were a mix of addition facts and word problems. Then, the blue set were addition word problems to 20.

I then split students into 3 groups of 7 students (I have 23 students but 2 were absent yesterday). Each group worked as a team to read the questions and use the number line to solve them! Putting students in control, it was fun to be able to stand back and watch my kids in action.

It was easy to see who ‘got’ the number line, who preferred the hands-on learning, etc. After I made my initial rounds, I did hang-out with my green group. I asked a lot of questions (using my best math vocabulary) to get them thinking and working together.

Some friends didn’t quite trust the number line yet, and need to ‘confirm’ their answers. 😉

It was such a fun half-hour and a great way to get outside and introduce math in a FUN way. After we finished-up, we headed back inside for our guided math rotations.

I don’t want my first-grade friends thinking math is a difficult, cumbersome academic subject that is confined to a Go Math textbook or workbook. Rather, we had a BLAST hopping from number to number, solving math problems. As one of my sweet littles said, “It like we are outside and playing, but doing math too!”

Join me for weekly classroom updates and free resources that are just-right for your guided math classroom!

Sweet! Thanks so much for joining me. Now check your email to confirm your address & snag your freebies. Happy Teaching! -Catherine

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit

Related Posts

  • Math Manipulatives offer students a real, hands-on way to explore a mathematical concept, build their own meaning, and help develop number sense!Using Online Math Manipulative
  • Working our Way to 120: Games and Centers
  • Number Talks: How and Why?Number Talks: How and Why?
  • Differentiating Math Centers with Dice

Filed Under: 1st Grade, Guided Math Tagged With: Math, Number Sense

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sheri Ryan says

    September 26, 2014 at 3:10 am

    What a great idea. It's the simple things that can have the biggest impact 🙂
    Sheri
    Early years with Sheri.

    Reply
  2. Eliza Anne Thomas says

    September 26, 2014 at 8:07 am

    Fantastic idea!! May I share your post in an upcoming professional development? Kudos to you!!

    Reply
    • Kate says

      September 26, 2014 at 8:12 am

      Thank you, Eliza! Of course. Feel free to share. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Liz says

    September 26, 2014 at 10:04 am

    Thanks for sharing! We are learning number lines with subtraction next week and I'm going to borrow this idea. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Donna Boucher says

    September 26, 2014 at 12:17 pm

    Loved this post, Catherine! I shared it on my FB page. 🙂

    Donna
    Math Coach’s Corner

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

My name is Catherine Reed, and I am in Year 10 of my elementary life, residing in small-town, Kentucky.  I student taught in 1st grade and never ...

Read More

Find it Fast!

Join Me!

Join me for weekly classroom updates and free resources that are just-right for your guided math classroom!

Sweet! Thanks so much for joining me. Now check your email to confirm your address & snag your freebies. Happy Teaching! -Catherine

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit

Don’t Miss These!

Working together to meet a goal builds classroom community & encourages teamwork. As a PBIS school, check our our 20 favorite nonfood, low-cost rewards!

20 Positive Behavior Rewards that Aren’t Food

Guided Reading offers students intentional reading instruction with texts that are just a little too hard! From lesson planning to benchmarking students to word work activities, check out these awesome ideas to make Guided Reading work!

Guided Reading: 1st Grade Style

Weekly Lesson Planning Routine

Overwhelmed by math centers? Check out these SIMPLE ideas for create predictable patterns and routines that allow for streamlined planning!

Managing Math Centers

Wordless Picture Books

Categories

Archives

Footer

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No feed found.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Join Me!

Join me for weekly classroom updates and free resources that are just-right for your guided math classroom!

Sweet! Thanks so much for joining me. Now check your email to confirm your address & snag your freebies. Happy Teaching! -Catherine

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit

The Brown Bag Teacher © 2022Built with and Genesis Framework by Bellano Web Studio