We are always exploring numbers in the classroom but this was an activity that really captured our students attention…
My students love to explore electronics and so before school began, I picked up a bunch of these large button calculators from the Dollar Store…
I set out the calculators, small clipboards, chart paper and pencils for the children to explore…
Before the children began, I showed them where the on and off buttons were. We practiced hitting on and off so the children could clear the numbers when they wanted to start over. Â The chart paper was for the children to look at the numbers on their screen and see if they can write one of them on their chart while they played with the calculators…
Oh my goodness, my students loved playing with the calculators and I don’t think I ever saw so much attention spent on writing numbers than on this particular day…
There was no right or wrong in the process, just a way to explore numbers, the writing process, and the calculators. Â We started this towards the end of our day and the children played until it was time to put coats on. Some of the children kept on writing long after they were supposed to get coats on. Talk about engaged, these kids were engaged….
Super simple way to bring numbers into the classroom experience…