Objective
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand and apply basic arithmetic concepts through fun games and activities.
Materials and Prep
- Deck of playing cards
- Counters or small objects for counting
- Pencil and paper
- Beast Academy workbook (optional)
No specific prior knowledge is required for this lesson.
Activities
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Game: Number War
1. Shuffle the deck of playing cards and divide them equally between you and the student.
2. Simultaneously flip over the top card from each of your decks.
3. Compare the numbers on the cards and determine who has the greater number.
4. The person with the greater number collects both cards and adds them to the bottom of their deck.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until one player has all the cards.
6. Discuss the concept of comparing numbers and how addition is used to determine the winner.
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Activity: Counting and Adding
1. Use counters or small objects to create a set of 10.
2. Ask the student to count the objects and write down the number.
3. Add 2 more objects to the set and ask the student to count again and write down the new number.
4. Repeat step 3 with different numbers of additional objects to reinforce addition.
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Game: Beast Academy Challenge
1. If you have the Beast Academy workbook, choose a few pages related to arithmetic.
2. Go through the pages together, solving the problems and discussing the strategies used.
3. Encourage the student to ask questions and explain their reasoning.
4. If you don't have the workbook, create your own arithmetic problems on paper and solve them together.
First Grade Talking Points
- "In this game, we will compare numbers and use addition to determine the winner."
- "Let's count the objects together and write down the numbers."
- "When we add more objects, the number gets bigger."
- "Beast Academy is a fun way to practice math skills and problem-solving."
- "Let's solve these problems together and discuss our strategies."
- "It's important to ask questions and explain our reasoning."