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This post has been co-written with Ben Wolfson, a full-time educator and assistant principal in the USA.
Math partner games are a great way to build collaboration in your classroom, and these fun ten frames Thanksgiving activities for kindergarten have multiple uses to get students working together.
Ask any professional who uses math in the workplace and they’ll tell you that math is a collaborative adventure. It makes sense therefore to begin this teamwork approach in school so that students are encouraged to share their thinking and build their social skills by helping and listening to each other.
Teaching With Ten Frames
Ten frames have seen a dramatic rise in popularity in recent years as they bridge the gap between students counting individual objects and being able to subitize (recognize a group of objects as a certain number). While using number flashcards is a great way for students to recognize how each number is represented on ten frames, this ten frame printable gives you a full Thanksgiving themed set to use in a variety of math partner games.
Preparing Your Ten Frame Printable
For this activity you will need:
Paper
Printer
Optional: laminator
For a series of Thanksgiving activities for kindergarten, these number flashcards are simple to prepare – just download and print a set for each student. It’s a good idea to get 4 or even 6 to a page so the cards can be used as a small deck.
If you don’t have the materials needed, don’t sweat! You can get it delivered to your doorstep really quickly with Amazon Prime. You can get a 30-day free trial here.
5 Math Partner Games Using Ten Frames
Once students have filled out this ten frame printable worksheet, you can build in some collaborative math work with these games:
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War – both students need their set of ten frames face down in a deck. At the same time, both partners turn over a card and announce the number that is shown. The card with the highest value takes both cards. In a tie, both students return the card to the bottom of their deck.
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Memory – have both partners bring their sets together and place all 20 cards face down. Students then take it in turns to turn over two cards to find a match. Have them read out the numbers they turn over as extra practice.
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One more, one less – building flexibility with numbers is an essential kindergarten skill, so have your students work together to talk about one more and one less. Have one student pick a card in secret and announce the number and the words “one more” or “one less”. Their partner has to find the card that satisfies the equation.
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Combination – this activity helps students practice counting and single digit addition. Start with each student’s cards in a deck face down, then have both turn over their cards. The students work together to add together both numbers. For a simple extension, have them record the equations that they discussed and for further work, have them keep all 10 equations and have them put them in size order of their solution.
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Number bonds – learning the pairs of numbers needed to make 10 is an essential skill as students move towards formal equations for addition. Have one student turn over a card and the other student has to say or show the number that would be needed to make 10. For an extra challenge, time the partners to see how quickly they can complete this task and then have them beat their time.
Like this? Then you’ll love my 10 Turkey Themed Literacy and Math Centers. These easy-prep games will get your students working on math, literacy and fine motor skills.
Games included:
1) Turkey Ten Frame Matching – Number 1 to 10 included
2) Turkey Number Writing Mats – These mats come with handwriting lines and prewritten numbers that will teach the child how to do it correctly.
3) Turkey in Disguise Shadow Match – This game will help improve the child’s visual discrimination skills while also develop their fine motor movement when using the clips.
4) Turkey Counting Mats to 10 – Give the turkey the correct number of feathers either by drawing, playdough or using real feathers.
5) Turkey Arrange By Size – 6 different turkey characters included, each in 6 different sizes for the child to arrange.
6) Gobble Gobble Turkey Vowel – 40 different cards that you can laminate and have your students fill in the correct missing vowel.
7) Tommy Turkey’s Alphabet Pie – Pick up a letter card and find it on the provided alphabet mats. There are uppercase and lowercase versions included.
8) Turkey Alphabet Matching – Print out and cut the cards in half. Ask the child to match the upper to the lowercase letters. This is great in sensory tubs, as a hunt around the room or just on its own.
9) Turkey Rhyming Clip Cards – Kids will work on rhyming and fine motor at the same time with these 24 cards provided.
10) Turkey Sounds Game – Song poster and letter cards provided. Kids will choose a letter card and can practice saying the sound or you could ask them to name an object that begins with the letter.
Check it out for more ready-to-go fun!
Tools To Make Learning More Fun:
Browse My Most Popular Math Printables:
1) Parking Cars Tracing Lines – More than 10 different tracing line patterns to choose from, all of which help with pencil control.
2) Scarecrow Arrange By Size – 3 different scarecrow-themed image sets that they will arrange from smallest to biggest.
3) Bumblebee Addition Game – Solve the sum and help the bee land on the correct flower!
4) Farm Shapes Mats – Use playdough, pompoms, stickers etc to learn 2D shapes.
5) Popsicle Stick Number Formation – Kids will love forming the numbers 1 to 10 when ice cream and popsicles are involved!
6) Valentines Printable Worksheets Pack – 50 pages of mixed literacy and math activities.
7) Zoo Animals Number Puzzle Strips – Complete these cute puzzles and learn the numbers 1 to 20.
8) Counting Colorful Bugs – This printable book will help kids count to 10 while also learning about color words.
9) Humpty Dumpty Numbers – In this printable game, your students will practice number recognition using 1 dice or simple addition when using 2 dice.
10) Build A Number Santa – Match the number to the correct number word, tally mark and domino to form a Santa Claus
