Hands on Math Activities

Do you have students who struggle to complete paper/pencil tasks? Do you have kids who need hands on materials? Check out some of the tasks I have set up for our March math centers.

Color Matching Tasks
Here I use the same sorting bin but switch out the items to sort. This makes it somewhat of a routine task for my students but enough change to generalize the task.
 These are super fun, especially for March! I love themes so this is a perfect way to carry our literacy theme of the week/month over into other subjects.

This is a color matching task set up in a T.E.A.C.C.H bin style. The students can still work on color matching but have the opportunity to work on a variety of tasks throughout.

Incorporating Core Vocabulary in Math

Fine Motor

These are parmesan cheese containers. You could make them way cuter but I change them regularly and haven't eaten enough parmesan cheese to have an abundance of containers :). So I just wrapped them with computer paper and wrote what I wanted in each container.

You can differentiate these tasks by offering varying levels of fine motor.

While this may typically not be considered a fine motor task, adapted books offer tons of fine motor practice. The students have to turn the pages, hold the book with one hand and detach and attach the icons with the other hand. All of which can be done while learning new math concepts. You can check out these Read It: Number Series books here.

Number Tasks

Students can practice counting while learning where the Touch Dots go. These are perfect for all of my students (even my pencil/paper math students). You can check out these Monthly Themed Touch Dot Mats here.

 Students can do direct number matching on the tens frame. They can also add monthly themed items like hearts, gold coins or mini apples.

I love using these puzzles. I store them in baggies by number sets to make it easy to grab. I have students who are working on numbers 1-2 while I have others who may be working on numbers 18-20. Organizing it like this allows for quick center changes and differentiation.

You can work on a variety of skills here. Students can sequence the numerals, count the objects and read the number words. You can have this be a completely independent task or provide support for certain parts.

These cards are great for introducing addition. My students love to match the dots and then use the calculator to check their work.

Need Kids to Move Task?

Here is one activity I have set up in my room. The students have the main mat on the desk but the answer cards are on a board across the room. This not only offers the students movement while working but it also works on their recall skills. They are forced to look at the mat, walk across the room and then remember what they were looking for.

I would love to know what kinds of hands on math tasks you have in your classroom!

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