Skip to main content

Every Picture Tells a Story, Don't It? Well, Math Storymats do!

Hi All,

Kids like stories. Kids like touching and moving things around. Here's a way to use both those "likes" to enjoy some math exploration: Storymats!

Storymats are simple templates where students can use manipulatives to "act out" a story and actively solve word problems. For example, the storymat attached here has two ladybugs side by side. Neither has spots. I know you already see where this is going, you teacher-types!

 

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j5v_iu0n0FXFVgwvk3HWtB0laIzdJ06b/view?usp=sharing

I usually begin by making a copy of the storymat for each student and letting them color in their mats and put their names on them. Just caution them not to add dots. This step is a good free-time or home activity. 

Now you have some choices. You can laminate the mats and give kids dry erase markers to use or provide each student with either a set of black dots that have been cut out or small circular manipulatives like bingo chips or bottle caps.

Once they have these materials, tell a simple story problem for them to act out/manipulate and solve. For example:

Adding: The first ladybug had 3 dots. The second ladybug had 4 spots. How many spots did they have all together?

Subtracting: The first ladybug had 5 dots. The second ladybug had 6 spots, but then she lost 2. How many spots do they have all together?

Logical Thinking/Open-Ended: The two ladybugs had 9 dots in all. The ladybug on the right had fewer than the the ladybug on the left. How many dots could each ladybug have?

The manipulatives or dots students draw provide them with a way to solve, learn, explore the problem, and show proof that their solutions are correct.

The more elaborate and interesting your story, the more fun the experience can be. You can always add distractors such as:

The ladybugs had 6 legs all together. The second ladybug had 1 spot more than the fingers on your hand. Each one also had 4 antennae. The first ladybug had 3 spots. How many spots did they have all together?

If you poke around you can find some books that consist entirely of storymats. One of my favorites is Instant Math Storymats by Mary Beth Spann (Scholastic, 1999) https://www.amazon.com/Instant-Math-Storymats-Grades-K-2/dp/0590603396

You'll find storymats that feature barnyards, classrooms, street scenes, and so on. You can easily make your own simple storymats to fit whatever themes you might be working on or interest your class.

Have fun! All the best to you and your students!

Bob

Ladybug Storymat from Fresh and Fun: Summer by Pamela Chanko (Scholastic, 2000)

PS - Did you know? That in the UK, ladybugs are called ladybirds? There is a well-known series of books for early readers called Ladybird Books. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladybird_Books


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Does Not Belong?

 Hi All,   "What Does Not Belong" is such a great little concept and can be applied to so many different areas of math as well as other content areas. Great little game when you are waiting, like for buses to be called or for the day to begin. Also a great game for long car or bus rides where if there are no written numbers or pictures you really have to do the mental math. Present a group of numbers. Start with maybe six. Say, 10     56     17     122     4     98 Ask the players to identify which number does not belong and have them explain why. We want players to look at the characteristics of the numbers and compare them to try to find the selection criteria or "rule" so they can determine which does not belong. For example, we have a mix of 1, 2, and 3 digit numbers, so it's not the "rule" is not the number of digits. We have five even numbers and only one odd number. That's it! 17 does not belong,...
2 comments
Read more

EGG BOX SHAKE! IT'S WHATEVER YOU WANT IT TO BE.

Hi All, Shake it up! Egg Box Shake is noisy and fun! That's a big plus right there for most kids. Students like to create and keep their own math tools, and this is a great opportunity to do that as well. And, teachers can adapt the game to fit any level or mathematical operation. Win. Win. Win. Egg Box Shake originated as a coin identification and addition game for grades 1 – 3. I had students bring in an egg carton from home and then provided them with play money or coin stamps, ink pads, and card stock. They stamped out pictures of the coins onto card stock, front and back images, and then cut out the pictures. Students glued these pictures into the bottom of the twelve sections of the egg carton. Each player would get two beads, beans, chips, marbles, or any other small manipulative. They put these into the box and closed it. They then shook the box. When they stopped they opened it and saw where the beads had landed. Players added those two coins o...
1 comment
Read more

Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum? No! FIDDLE, FADDLE, FLOP!

Hi All, Ready for another great game? Ready for Fiddle, Faddle, Flop? It's a great game for place value, mental math, and number work. You can play anywhere at any time. All you need is a pencil and paper or board and markers. Tell students that you are thinking of a number. Explain that it has two digits. Invite them to guess the number. You will respond to their guesses by saying one of four words: Fiddle, Faddle, Flop, or Correct. Here is the translation for those words: Fiddle: one of the digits is correct, but is in the wrong place Faddle: one of the digits is correct and in the correct place Flop: none of the digits is correct Correct: both digits are correct For example, if you are thinking of the number 17 and my guess is 68, you would say Flop since none of the digits is correct. On your next guess, if you were to say 76, I would say, Fiddle, because one of the digits is correct, but in the wrong...
Post a Comment
Read more