Introductory Lesson
This introductory lesson is part of a series of lessons covering the Miquon Math Orange Book (Orange Book Pdf). Some of these activities will only be possible if you have a copy of that book. You can choose activities below to combine together for a one hour class for 1st grade level math.
Activity: Read aloud Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. The main character has anxiety about math in a humorous way. Afterward, ask how kids feel about math. Positive? Negative? Accept their attitudes.
Activity: Paraphrase What’s Math All About? pages 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 to give the children ideas of where they might see math outside the classroom. Afterward, ask kids to suggest their own examples of math.
Activity: Show a pattern in a beaded necklace or blocks such as ABABAB or ABCABCABC or ABCBAABCBAABCBA. Patterns are basic to mathematics, and many kids find patterns fun. Ask children to make their own patterns with blocks or beads. Each child can then ask other students to find the pattern.
Activity: Logic is another building block in mathematics. Suduko is a way to practice logic to solve a puzzle. Here are a few sources for 4 x 4 Sukduko puzzles appropriate for 1st graders (possibly with help) such as Free Printable Suduko and Jump Start Suduko.
Activity: Logic Links Activity Cards are another way to introduce logic. This combines logic with spatial thinking. The difficulty level of the cards ranges greatly. Only the early level cards are appropriate for first graders.
Bookwork: Orange Miquon Math Book pages A20 and A21.