Activities to support Numeral identification
Where are they now?
Students:
- identify numerals to 100
- represent numbers up to 100 in a range of ways
Where to next?
Students:
- identify and sequence numerals beyond 100
- represent numbers beyond 100 in a range of ways
Outcomes
The following activities provide opportunities for students to demonstrate progress towards the following outcomes. A student:
MA1-1WM describes mathematical situations and methods using everyday and some mathematical language, actions, materials, diagrams and symbols
MA1-2WM uses objects, diagrams and technology to explore mathematical problems
MA1-3WM supports conclusions by explaining or demonstrating how answers were obtained
MA1-4NA applies place value, informally, to count, order, read and represent two- and three-digit numbers
How?
Celebrity head
Display a number line showing numbers from 1 to 100 so that all the students in the class can see it. Place movable marker tabs at either end of the strip. Have one student wears a headpiece to which a numeral card is attached. Ensure that the student does not see the number on the numeral card. Ask the student to have the class help to identify the “secret number”. The class, however, can respond only with a yes or no reply to each question. In response to the answers, the selected student then moves the tabs along the number line to indicate the range within which the “secret number” lies. Continue the process until the student is able to identify the number.
Variation
- Ask a student to think of a number on the number line. The student chooses a volunteer who makes a guess about the chosen number. The student then states if their number is higher or lower than the number the student guessed. Have the volunteer move the marker tab. Continue until the number has been identified
Make me big
Organise the students into pairs and provide each pair of students with a set of numeral cards in the range zero to nine. The students shuffle the cards and place them face down on the floor. They then take turns to select two numeral cards, forming the largest two- digit number possible and writing in on a sticky note. The two students then compare their numbers. The player with the larger number scores ten points. Continue playing until one player gains a score of 130.
Students then order their numbers from the smallest to the largest along a string number line and record their work by taking a photo or drawing a picture.
Variations
- Turn over three cards to make 3-digit numbers and change the target number
- Make the smallest and largest numbers possible, recording them on a number line with each turn
Thumbs up
Give students a pack of playing cards, using ace-9. Student A shuffles the cards anddeals 3 cards to each player. Each student arranges the cards to make a 3-digit number, screened from view from their partner. The remaining cards are placed face down in a central pile. Student B flips over a card from the central pile and chooses to keep or discard the card. If the student chooses to keep the card, they have to ask their partner about the value of the card. For example, say the student has turned over a 3. He or she might ask “does your number have 3 tens?” Student A responds with either a thumbs up, indicating student B is correct; thumbs horizontal, indicating the digit is in the number but not with that value; or thumbs down, indicating the digit is not in the number. Students may keep the card that they received a horizontal thumbs for and use it in their next turn, trying to work out the value of their digit. Unwanted cards are placed on a discard pile.
Students swap roles and continue to take turns, trying to be the first person to correctly identify and name their partners number. Students can guess their partners number at any time during their turn, however, an incorrect guess means they miss a turn. Students should be encouraged to record the questions they ask and the response they received in order to use that information to help them work out the hidden number.
Variation
- Combine 2 decks of cards and play with 3-4 players with students having to ask a particular player about the card they took from the central pile
Number of the day
Select a particular number, for example, 42. Ask a range of questions, such as:
- When is 42 a large number?
- When is it small?
- If we counted from 42 by tens, would we say the number 63?
- What is half of 42? How could you work it out?
- Write as many number sentences as possible that total 42.
- Use only addition and 2 addends
- Use 3 or more addends
- Use only subtraction
- Use any operation - How many ones are in 42? How many tens? (e.g. There is a 2 in the ones place but there are 42 ones altogether. There is a 4 in the tens place but there are 4 tens in total.) Use Unifix to show students 42 as ones and 42 as 4 tens and 2 ones
- Can we share 42 into 4 equal groups? Use counters to explore.
- What is the number before 42? After 42?
- What might you do with $42?
- What might you do with 42 minutes?
- What might take you 42 seconds to do?
- Where would 42 go on this number line?
- What about on this
- Compare 42 to 24.
Have students record their responses on mini whiteboards before sharing with a partner and then with the class. Teachers should use these opportunities to address any misconceptions and highlight the flexibility of numbers.
What can you say?
Write, for example, “eighty-three” in words so that students can see it. Ask students to write the corresponding number on their whiteboards. Ask students to talk to a thinking partner, and then record everything they know and can observe about the number. Discuss their answers. Encourage students to suggest things such as:
- It has three digits
- There is a 3 in the ones place
- There are 8 tens in the number
- It is grater than 50
- 83 is an odd number
- You need 7 more for make 90
- The 8 means 80 in 83
Guess my number
Students work with a partner and choose a number, identifying it on a screened hundred chart. The students write clues to give to another pair to help them guess their number. For example;
- Our number is an odd number
- It is a 2-digit number
- It is less than 70
- It is greater than 50
- If I add the 2-digits together, they make 9
Collections: counting-on-and-back
Present the students with a stack of mini ten frames (BLM - Mini Ten Frames), a few counters (less than 10) and containers. They will also need three sets of numeral cards ranging from zero to nine, a mini whiteboard and a marker. Divide the whiteboard into “groups of hundreds”, “groups of tens” and “remaining ones” places. Present the collection of items to the students and allow them to count the items, encouraging counting by 10s as a more efficient way of counting. Each time 10 ten frames are collected, the students make a group of one hundred by placing the 10 ten frames into a container, moving it to the left hand side of their chart into the “groups of hundreds” place. Students then place a numeral card below the “hundreds” place, indicating how many groups of hundreds have been collected. As succeeding hundreds are collected, have the student continue to add them to the left- hand side of the chart and replace the numeral card accordingly.
Remaining ten frames are placed in the middle place, students labelling them appropriately. The teacher should explain that there are not enough items to make another group of one hundred and so the remaining ten frames are counted and placed in the “tens” place. Remaining counters are placed in the right-hand side of the whiteboard, in the “ones” place. Students then place a corresponding numeral card below the “ones” place to form a 3-digit number. Have students record their work by taking a photo. Students could annotate their work sample by recording an explanation of their photo after teacher modelling. For example, “I had 243 dots altogether. I had 2 groups of 100, 4 groups of 10 and 3 more.”
Why?
Developing an understanding of groups of hundreds, tens and ones helps demonstrate the multiplicative nature of place value. Understanding how our number system works may support students in using more efficient strategies.
Flip and make: counting-on-and-back
Make a base board by folding a piece of paper or cardboard into quarters to form four columns. Label the columns as “ones”, “tens”, “hundreds” and “number”. Provide a set of “hundreds” cards, “tens” cards and “ones” cards (see example below). These cards will be used to represent digits in the chart. Provide MABs. Shuffle the three decks of cards separately. Place the cards face down between the students, in three piles. Have the students take turns to turn over a card from each pile, place the cards onto the chart. The students then read the number that they have formed and collect corresponding MABs. Instruct the students to place the MABs in the appropriate place and allow their partner to verify that the number of MABs is correct. Take a photo or draw a simple picture to record thinking.
Discuss with students the difference between positional value and the number of, for example, tens in the number. In 597 there are 9 tens in the tens place but 59 tens altogether in 597. Use the concrete materials to show students the 50 tens in 5 hundreds.
Variations
- To make this a game, the student with the highest number in each round, for example, could win a counter. At the end of 5 rounds, the student with the most counters wins
- Alternatively, the student with the number closest to a target number wins the round (for example, who was closest to 600?)
- Use photos, Unifix cubes or multiples of ten frames in place of MABs
- Have students swap their digits around to form a new number (for example, 975). Have ;students make their new numbers and make comparisons between the numbers. Discuss with students how the value of the digits change based upon the place they occupy
