Barrier Games

Barrier games are an easy and fun way to build listening skills, an understanding of position language, and oral language abilities in young children. They can be incorporated into the math center or sent home as an extension activity for parents. Two players sit on either side of a barrier (e.g., small screen, open folder) so that they cannot see each other. Each person takes a turn giving instructions to the other person to perform certain tasks. Players alternate between speaker and listener roles. Because they cannot see each other's work, they must learn to give clear, concise directions, and listen very carefully to one another. Players can use a variety of materials (e.g., blocks, magnet letters, shapes, crayons) for this task.

Examples:

*draw a blue circle, draw a small yellow circle inside the blue circle, write your name under the blue circle

*place the square on top of a triangle, put a rectangle next to the triangle on the left side

*write your name in the center of the paper, put a large red circle around your name, cross out the first letter of your name

The Benefits of Board Games

Want to engage your child in meaningful explorations in math and socialization while spending quality time with him or her? Play a board game together! An interesting read from the Washington Post discusses the benefits of playing simple board games (e.g., Candy Land, Snakes and Ladders) with children including:

-children learn self-regulation as they wait their turn

-children learn good sportsmanship - how to be a gracious winner and a graceful loser

-one-to-one correspondence in math is reinforced as children count out the number of moves their player makes

-children practice using simple probability tools like dice and spinners

-children learn to instantly recognize the numeral that corresponds with the number of dots on the face of a dice

-playing face-to-face games with children provides an authentic opportunity for families to engage in conversations about the game and other important events as the conversation gradually steers from the game to other things

-other important ideas like shape and colour recognition often are reinforced through simple childhood games

Tangram Puzzles

Tangram puzzles, like the one in the picture above, are an excellent way to engage young children in abstract interactions with shapes. After discussing the tangram pieces including the name and colour of the shape and its attributes (e.g., number of sides, number of corners), children can first explore how to create a picture (or design) by matching the shapes to a pre-made picture. In this picture we are using the pieces to make a snake. Once a child has mastered the concept of representing an object with the shapes, encourage him or her to create his or her own pictures and designs. This is a great opportunity to use positional language (e.g., above, below, beside, next to) in an appropriate context. Encourage the exploration through higher-level questioning such as:

-how can you build a?

-what shapes will you use?

-describe the steps you will take to make a

-what does that remind you of?

-can you show me how to?

Once a child has created a design or picture using the pieces, encourage him or her to draw a representation of their creation. Help scribe the words that the child uses when describing the creation and picture. Encourage rich, descriptive language in your conversation! Tangram puzzles are excellent tools for engaging children in concrete, logistical math explorations that move towards the creative and abstract!

Art Center Idea

Curriculum Expectation: Geometry and Spatial Sense: build three-dimensional structures using a variety of materials, and begin to recognize the three-dimensional figures that the structure contains (Ministry of Education, 2006)

Learning Opportunity: At this center, children will have the opportunity to build three-dimensional structures (e.g., buildings, machines) using empty food containers.

At whole group learning time the teacher will read the story The Shape of Me and Other Stuff (Seuss, 1973) in order to introduce the concept of different shapes to students. This book introduces the notion that three-dimensional objects (e.g., people, spider webs) are made up of many shapes. After the read-aloud, the teacher can introduce students to specific three-dimensional shapes (e.g., sphere, cube, triangular prism) by displaying and discussing various plastic or wooden 3-D shapes (math manipulatives). A poster with pictures and the names of the shapes can also be shown to students (and later hung near the visual arts or math center). The teacher can first model and then children can practice building structures using the plastic/wooden 3-D shapes as a whole group. This will provide an opportunity for students to experiment with the shapes and brainstorm what they might like to build at the visual art center during center time. The teacher can then model for students how the structures that were created out of math manipulatives can also be made using 3-D materials (e.g., cereal boxes, paper towel rolls) at the visual arts center. Once the structure is made, students can discuss the different shapes that were used to create it. The 3-D shapes and Dr. Seuss book can be left on the carpet or placed in the math area for further student exploration at center time.

Students can spend time building their structures at the visual arts center. A future activity might be for students to paint and decorate their dried and completed structures so that they realistically resemble the intended object. Students can also write about their structures at the language center.

Props:

Circle Time – The Shape of Me and Other Stuff (Seuss, 1973), various three-dimensional plastic or wooden shapes (math manipulatives), poster with pictures and names of various 3-D shapes

Visual Art Center – numerous clean and empty paper packaging that represent 3-D shapes (e.g., food boxes, frozen juice cans, paper towel rolls), glue sticks, white glue in bottles, paint, paint brushes, various materials to be used as decorations for the final structures (e.g., stickers, glitter, dried pasta). Prior to doing this center, a teacher may wish to explain the center and invite families to send in clean materials that can be used by students as collecting and cleaning enough materials for this center can be time consuming for one person. By informing parents about an upcoming project, families will feel connected and informed regarding the classroom centers and activities, will have an understanding of how math experiences are incorporated into play activities, and many enjoy helping out the classroom by sending in materials for student use.

Play: At center time students would have the opportunity to use the wooden/plastic 3-D shapes together to create various structures. An adult (teacher, teacher candidate, volunteer) at the center can engage students in math talk regarding what they are building (e.g., using positional language to support oral language such as “you’re putting the cube above the rectangular prism) and how many of each shape is in the structure (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2003). Students can also be encouraged to draw pictures of what they are building using the math manipulatives.

At the visual art center children can take turns to create their own 3-D structure by gluing various containers together. An adult can be encouraging children in their exploration and heightening the experience through various discussion prompts and questioning (e.g., “That’s a great tower you’re building. How can you make it even taller?” “Wow! I like your boat. How can you make a flagstaff for it?” “ I wonder how I can use the rectangular prism to build a…”)

What might children say or do: I believe that most children will want to visit this center in order to build their own structures. Kid talk might include “I want to build a house like we did at circle.” “Can you help me make a train?” “I like your car…how did you make that?” “Can I make another house?”

Assessment: This experience can be assessed in a number of ways including: a teacher recording anecdotal notes of what children say and do at either the manipulative or visual arts center; having children draw a picture of what was made and describe the structure (how they build it, what shapes were used) and this can be scribed by an adult on the picture; taking a number of photos of students in the process of structure creation (one as they gather the shapes needed, one as the structure is half-complete, one of the student holding the finished structure). Students can be shown the photos and can describe what is happening in each. The photos can be mounted on paper and the adult can record what was said next to them.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2006). The kindergarten program (revised). Toronto:Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

Seuss (1973). The shape of me and other stuff. New York: Beginner Books.