Making Subitizing Cards and Double Flap Cards with First Graders

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Here is a peak inside one of my favorite boxes

It is simply a pencil box, blank index cards,dot stickers and binder rings.  I use these to create subitizing cards and other projects with K-2 kids.

Today I want to show you 2 of the things I have been working on with these materials with a group of first graders.

Subitizing Cards

Subitizing is the ability to recognize a quantity without counting.  It is further broken into perceptual subitizing and conceptual subitizing.  Need more information on these words?  Check this out!

I use the dot stickers and cards to work with students to create different arrangements and combinations of a given number.  You can see on this day we were working on combinations of 6.  See how the different arrangements and color patterns lead you to see 6 in different ways?  This is a great example of conceptual subitizing and is a great way to work on combinations of numbers.  The hole punch in the top lets me put these on a binder ring and then we use them in class and small groups.  We flash a card at a group of kids and they tell how many they saw and how they figured it out.  

Double Flap Cards

I actually made these this week in first grade and with some intervention second graders.  These are a great way to work on combinations of numbers and fact families.  The particular kids I had that day were really needing more work on combinations of 10 so we made double flap cards for 10.  I used the same stickers and a few sheets of card stock.

This is what is written on the back of each double-flap card

Here is the 3+7 card with both flaps open.  We can use this card to generate all the facts in the fact family for 3+7=10

I might open one flap and ask kids how many they see.  I then might ask them how many are under the other flap.  

I vary my language a bit and ask other questions such as, "how many do we need to add to 6 to get to 10?"  I also might open both flaps and ask what will be left if I cover up the 10 (or take the 6 away etc)