Daily Domino

Most of us can remember memorizing math facts when we were in elementary school. Timed tests and flashcards immediately come to mind. I can remember being quizzed over each fact family, and how hard each of us worked to memorize them all.

Memorizing math facts is essential, and so is understanding the concepts behind those facts. Even before children are prepared to be tested over the facts, they are capable of exploring and comprehending addition.

The Daily Domino is a part of our class meeting each day. It is a simple, effective way to introduce and explore addition. I make enough copies of the Daily Domino template to last several weeks. While the children watch, I circle several numbers with a colored marker and more numbers with a different colored marker. At the same time, we discuss other key concepts.

“Boys and girls, what color am I using to draw these circles?”

“Brown!”

How do we say that in Spanish, “Marron!”

“That’s right!”

“What color are we using now?”

“Orange!”

“That’s right! How do we say that in Spanish?”

“Anaranjado!”

“Boys and girls, whisper to someone next to you our number sentence for today.”

“Okay, use your fingers to show me how many brown circles we have.”

I look at the fingers the children are displaying and write the number on the template.

“What symbol do we use we use next?”

The children make a ‘plus’ sign with their arms. We discuss how we could say ‘plus’ or ‘and’ or ‘put together.’ This is an opportunity to discuss math vocabulary.

“Use your fingers to show us how many orange circles we have.” Using their fingers and arms (rather than raising their hands) requires all of the children to participate (rather than only the most confident ones).

“What do we do next?” The children show the equal sign with their arms.

“Boys and girls, show me how many circles we have circled altogether.” The children show the answer to the problem with their fingers.”

As the children indicate each number and symbol, I will write them on the template.

This activity provides a venue to explore addition, make connections to a visuals (the domino, written numerals, watching each other make symbols with their arms), and practice using math vocabulary. It incorporates visual, oral, auditory, and kinestetic senses. Maximum learning and maximum participation. This is good business and good education. Make math concepts comfortable, natural, and practice them frequently. Take the stress and drama out of addition, and replace it with efficiency and practicality.