120 Chart ... Fun and a Freebie!

Hello, Teaching Friends!

How are your first graders doing with the 120 chart?

At first, with the boosted level of the core standard, I have to admit that I was among those saying, "Are you kidding me?? How much more can we ask of these little ones?".  But now, having seen it in action, I do see the benefits of extending the range to 120. Most of our first graders seem able to handle it, it's a good transition to exploring further understandings about place value, and the higher expectation will motivate some students to do even more!

My main concern with 120 being the new 100 is for the strugglers (and those of you who read my blog know that that is always my concern). Can we really say that a six-year-old who has some rough spots in counting to 120 is already behind?? Mercy, I hope not!



In any case, today I'd like to share a few activities and games that will strengthen control of the numbers 1-120, as well as counting up and back on the charts.

Here's a hundred chart activity that I've previously written about on my blog.  Reading Keiko Kasza's great little book Wolf's Chicken Stew is a super way to kick it off and make a math/literacy connection.

This is a fun math activity to save for the 100th Day next year... but why not use it now for hundred chart practice?  Keeping it seasonally fun, the basic idea is that you'll be hiding 100 (paper!) chicks around your classroom while your students aren't there. Then they'll go on a "chick rescue mission" to find them and gather them all up. But once they've all been found, how will you know if any more are still "on the loose"? Well, how about arranging them in a giant hundred chart? As your students construct the hundred chart on the floor, you'll be able to quickly assess who understands the patterns of lines and columns.

Fun!! In this photo, I was working with a group of about ten children. With a larger group, you might print two sets of the chicks, for building two separate hundred charts. Some groups I worked with were able to complete this with very little assistance, other than some reminders about taking turns and not crawling on top of the numbered chicks! :)  Another support you might try as needed is to put a few pre-labeled sticky dots on your floor before you begin, to help your students structure the chart.


Here's a free set of the chicks for you, along with a follow-up writing activity for the book and the hunt. There are some extra blank chicks, too, in case you want to extend your chart to 120.

If you're looking for math center games for the 120 chart, I've just put three sets of them into a bundle on TPT. There are 11 games in all, for lots of practice moving up and back by ones, tens, and multiples of ten. Here are a few of the games.

If you buy them bundled, you'll save $1.50 over the cost of purchasing separately. Click on the cover to see the details.

Here's a free 120 chart game for you! More chicks, but, hey... 'tis the season for chicks and bunnies! :)  Plus, these adorable little chickies from Educasong were just begging to be used!

Please share your interesting idea for teaching with the 120 chart!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you'll hop on over and visit my Primary Inspiration blog! 

Happy Teaching!