Teaching Suggestions

0-120 Turn & Learn Number Board
Code: KB2005
Teaching Suggestions

Important
The Turn & Learn Number Board has been designed to allow you to begin activities at either zero or one, but to avoid confusion it is essential that the cubes in either the left or right column of the board are set to the blank face before commencing any activity.

The following Teaching Suggestions are extracts from the Turn & Learn 0-120 Number Board Activities Book by Mary Ferguson & Kate Anderson

Counting Forwards and Backwards

Whole Class Activity

1. Set Turn & Learn Number Board to show the white numbers, beginning at 1, left column cubes all turned to blank.
2. Select a student to turn over several random numbers on the cubes to blank.
3. Whole class counts together and when reaching a blank cube, uses the numbers before and after, or the vertical number pattern on the board to recall the missing number.
4. Reveal number and continue counting.
5. Repeat activity with different numbers hidden.

Variations

1. Begin counting at numbers other than 1 so that children do not see the counting sequence as a chain that cannot be broken.
2. Play the same activity counting backwards.

Skip Counting

Whole Class Activity

1. Set Turn & Learn Number Board to show all white numbers, beginning at 0, right column cubes all turned to blank.
2. Count by twos, turning the counting pattern to yellow on the Number Board as you and the class count.
3. Discuss pattern with class.

Teaching Conversation

What number will come next? How do you know?
What is happening to the tens?
What is happening to the ones?
Can you see the pattern?

Variations

1. Use same procedure to teach other skip counting patterns, for example counting by threes, fours, fives and tens
2. Start at numbers other than zero. Roll a die to get a start number.

Number Patterns

Whole Class Activity

1. Set the Turn & Learn Number Board to show all white numbers, beginning at 0, right column cubes all turned to blank.
2. Show children how to use the constant function on a calculator to investigate counting patterns eg press 5, +5, =, =, =,…
3. Select a pair of students to come to the front.
4. One student will use the calculator to investigate the number pattern for counting by twos.
   Their partner will turn over the first ten numbers in their counting pattern to yellow on Number Board: eg 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20…
5. Ask the other children to continue the pattern on. What pattern do you see? Counting by twos from 0, the pattern is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 0...
6. What is the rule for the pattern? Can you see what numbers will be next?
7. Check on the Turn & Learn Number Board to see if the rule is correct.

Variation

1. Extend to non-zero starts: eg the twos counting pattern starting at 1 would be 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15…

What Number Am I: Place Value

Whole Class Activity

1. Set the Turn & Learn Number Board to show white numbers beginning at 1. Turn all cubes in left column to blank.
2. Teacher thinks of a number between 1 and 120.
3. With younger children you may limit the numbers used in this activity to less than 50 or 100. Cubes greater than this number would then be turned to blank.
4. Tell the class they must ask good questions to find what number you are thinking of: eg 'Is the number greater than 30?' Or 'Is it an even number?'
5. Discourage students from guessing individual numbers.
6. You can only answer 'yes' or 'no' to the student's questions.
7. Teacher blanks out eliminated numbers as the questions are answered.

Teaching Conversation

Teacher: I have a number less than 120 in my head. What might it be?
Student: Is it less than 30?
Teacher: Yes. These numbers are all more than 30 so I will blank them out.

Variation

1. Repeat activity selecting a group of numbers on the Number Board: eg 97, 98, 107 and 108.

Benchmark Numbers

Whole Class Activity

1. This activity assumes students have a solid understanding of the number sequence and number patterns.
2. Set numbers in the first row of the Turn & Learn Number Board to white, beginning at 1. Set the numbers 10 to 120 in the right column to white. These numbers act as benchmarks. All other cubes on the board are turned to blank.
3. Roll two dice (one twelve-sided and one ten-sided) and ask students what numbers can I make?: eg 7 and 9 can be 79 or 97.
4. Ask two students to come to the front and locate the two numbers rolled and display them in yellow on the Number Board.
5. Ask children to share the reasoning they used to locate the number.

Teacher Conversation

Teacher: How did you know where the number would be?
Student: I used the two rows at the top to find the correct column and I counted by tens down the rows.
Student: I knew that 79 would be in the column under 9 and that 79 is the number before 80.
If only numbers greater than 120 can be made, roll again.

Variation

1. Repeat activity using different benchmarks:
   e.g. the second column, the numbers 1- 111 and number 10, top row in the right column.

120 or Bust: Addition and Subtraction Strategies

Whole Class Activity

1. Set the Turn & Learn Number Board to the white numbers, beginning at 1. Turn all cubes in left column to blank.
2. Divide class into two groups.
3. The aim of this game is to add numbers to get a total as close as possible to120. If you go over, you bust. As you get close to 120 you can choose to throw only one die.
4. Model the game on the Number Board by having a child roll two ten-sided dice and make a two-digit number: eg a 3 and a 5 is 35 or a 53.
5. Select one of the numbers and turn it to yellow on the Number Board.
6. A second child rolls the two dice again and selects one of the numbers: eg a 2 and a 7 is 27 or 72. This number is added to the first number already displayed in yellow on the Number Board and the total of these two numbers is turned to yellow.
7. Decide as a group whether to roll again, or to 'sit' on this total. Record the number,
   Reset the Number Board to all white numbers and repeat activity with children trying to improve on their first attempt.

Teaching conversation

How did you calculate the total for the two numbers?
Why did you choose to add: eg the 27 rather than the 72?
You have rolled a 0 and an 8. What two numbers can you make?

Variation

1. Play in reverse by starting at 120 and aiming to get as close as possible to zero. This gives the game a subtraction focus.
2. Roll only one dice so children are adding on one-digit numbers.

Subitising: Tens Facts

Whole Class Activity

1. Position the board so that the dots can be revealed.
2. For each example use every second row to visually separate the dot patterns.
3. On the first row reveal five dots:
   1. Ask children "how many dots do you see?" Show using your fingers how many more are needed to make ten.
   2. On the same row on the Number Board leave one cube blank and then reveal five more dots to show ten.
      
4. On the third row reveal another combination of dots:
   1. 
   2. Again ask children how many dots they see. Show using your fingers how many more are needed to make ten.
   3. Repeat until all combinations of numbers that add to together to make ten have been shown.

Variation

1. For younger children you may begin with five dots and the number combination that add together to make five: eg 5 and 0, 0 and 5, 4 and 1, 1 and 4, 3 and 2 and 2 an 3
2. Use the tens-frame arrangement of dots rather than the abacus arrangement.