How to Make a Rekenrek with a paint stirrer, beads and pipe cleaners
Would you like your students to have their own Rekenrek with 20 beads that shows the relationships between 5 and 10?
They are actually quick and easy to make and because they are on a wooden paint stirrer base, very study. Click the link above, Google rekenrek and check out this pdf for more ideas – Rekenrek activities
Earlier this year I presented a webinar for the Global Math Department. Here’s the link to the recording that is about an hour.
Scaffold the teaching division / sharing: Use this template to teach sharing or division. For example if you were just starting out with 15 ÷ 3 = 5, your student has 15 counters to share between 3 people so would start going down the 1 for each group (3 counters) then check if they could go again with the 2, yes! and again, and again and again – a total of 5 times.
I have also made a short 5 min clip to show how it works!
This scaffolds the structure of short division with the 3| on the outside of the vertical line, the |15 on the inside and the answer above.
Here are some summaries for students of the strategies used for multiplication and divsion
Make the patterns of the last digit of times tables visual.
I watched a clip from Waldorf maths and loved these times tables stars! Join the last digit on the circle to make a pattern. The templates are here https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/times-table-stars-11183992
Here’s another clip to show you 4s and 6s but I have made templates for 2s up to 13s!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1ALx5q6jO4
Division is one of the hardest concepts for students to understand (other than half for you and half for me!). Here are a few alternative strategies other than rote to support your students. Check out this video to improve your teaching of division.
This video shows you how to teach multiplication simply, using strategies. The only strategies that you must ‘learn’ by heart are doubling and 10 groups all the rest follow on from those.
Single and double digit multiplication are also shown using Multiplicative Thinking Blocks.
Our students need to ‘see’ number bonds to understand maths, for example 8+3 =11 even and it doesn’t matter what the unit is ones, tens, hundreds, tenths even sevens! These A3 posters are designed for students to see that every combination (10+1, 9+2, 8+3, etc) is 11. If you print the student copy in b&w, they can colour the ones, tens and hundreds to match the middle box which shows this relationship. See the number bonds example.
I have uploaded both Word and PDF so that if you would like to edit them you can.
Click the link to download files : What makes my number
All students love a game of Bingo! I roll the dice, but this time the students choose where the numbers go, depending on what I roll. Using either a 6- or 10- sided dice (6-sided dice = 4 in a row or 10-sided dice = 5 in a row) will determine the level of difficulty 
Have fun!
Here is a great puzzle link http://www.kenken.com/ These puzzles are a Sudoku type with a twist instead of just making sure the numbers from 1-9 are in each column or row, these must add, subtract, divide or multiply to specific (given) numbers. Teachers can sign up for a free email every 2 weeks and recieve the puzzles (and answers ) ready to go!
Happy Ken Ken-ing, C