Addition and subtraction are fun and easy to teach, though as a teacher, you might be wondering when you might incorporate them into your math centers. There are so many activities, and games that you can easily use that require very little prep time. And that my friend is worth its weight in gold.
There are plenty of ways to teach these skills and make them interactive and fun for your students when teaching addition and subtraction.
This blog post will share five easy and fun math center activities for addition and subtraction that are quick and easy and involve little to no prep time.
Math Center Activities for Addition and Subtraction
I know that there are so many fun activities that you can use in your math centers out there; I know I have tried a lot of them. Below are five fun and easy exercises that my students have loved over the years.
Dominoes for Addition and Subtraction
There are several ways to incorporate dominoes into your math centers simply. You just need dominoes, and you are ready to go. Split the dominoes between the players. Then the first student plays their first domino. They add up all their dots, which would be the points they would get for that round. For example, they have a domino with three dots on top and two on the bottom; the first student would have 5 points. The second student would need to find a dot that matches one of the first student’s dots (for example, a three or a 2). Then the second student would add their dots, which would be their points in that round. When the game is done, you could have them add up their points to see who won if you wanted to add a challenge.
You can also play war with the dominoes. For example, students one and two would draw a domino each and then add the dots (or subtract the dots), and whoever has the most dots wins both dominoes. Students would continue until one student had all of the dominoes.
Animals Feet for Addition and Subtraction
This is an entertaining game. You just need pictures (or clipart) of animals that have different amounts of legs. For example, you can have pictures of horses, goats, chickens, flamingoes, snakes, snails. Then you have cards with numbers on them. Students layout the animals’ photos and then put the numbers in a pile facing upside down. The first student draws a card, for example, the number 6. Then students find a combination of legs that would make the number 6, for example, a horse and a chicken. This is a great way to get students thinking critically about making addition sentences with just a few options.
Crosswords for Addition Math Center
I put this fun number sense routine into my math centers once students have the skill down. I start with a crossword puzzle with the sum of a number, such as a crossword puzzle 10. This means that the sum of all column and rows are 10. Each puzzle has rows and columns of two and three boxes. I give students some of the numbers, and they just have to figure out the numbers that go in the other boxes. For example, going in a column of 2, I give them the number 6; they need to figure out that they need the number 4 to complete the column. If I had a row of 3 digits, I might give them the number 5, and they need to figure out the other two numbers. It might be 3 and 2 or 4 and 1. They need to look at the crossword puzzle to see what numbers fit into those boxes. This is a fun, challenging activity for your students to do in math centers.
Roll and Graph Math Center
This is a straightforward game for students to use in math centers. They just need graph paper with the numbers 2-12 on the bottom (or 1-11 for subtraction) and dice. When a student rolls the dice, they add the dice together; then they find the number on the graph paper, and they can use either color in the graph or write the number on the chart. I prefer my students to write the number because they need practice with number formation, so this is a sneaky way to get that in.
Building Numbers Math Center
The last activity is building numbers. This is an excellent way for students to practice making numbers using manipulatives. You just need erasers, cubes, pop-its, counters; you name it and tens frames (if you’d like), and number cards. Have students draw a card and make it in many different ways. For example, if a student draws a 10, they can show that number using five red and blue counters. They could also show it using four red counters and six blue counters; the list goes on. The goal of this activity is for students to see that there are many ways to show a number, and it makes number sense routines easier as the unit and the year progresses.
Math Center Activities for Addition and Subtraction
Addition and subtraction are fun and easy to teach, though as a teacher, you might be wondering when you might incorporate them into your math centers. There are so many activities, and games that you can easily use that require very little prep time. And that my friend is worth its weight in gold.
There are plenty of ways to teach these skills and make them interactive and fun for your students when teaching addition and subtraction. You can use dominoes, animal legs, crosswords, roll and graph, and building numbers. These are perfect for you to use in the quick and easy classroom, and don’t forget engaging!
Let me know in the comments below what you enjoy teaching during this unit to help your students.
