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Routines and procedures are GOLD in my classroom.  My kids know what to expect, I know how to plan, and things just run smoother in general!  For the most part, my math block looks like this each day:
  1. Student-Led Math Calendar on the SMART board (5 min.)
  2. Teacher-Led Math Warm-Up Questions (5 min.)
  3. Teacher-Led Math Mini-Lesson focused on the Objective of the Day/Week (15 min.)
  4. Partner Game or Activity! (10 min.)
  5. Independent Practice Sheet (15 min.)
  6. Math Notebook Cut-And-Paste and/or Math Center (15 min.)
  7. Math Free-Choice —> Students can read books about math, write problems on a whiteboard, or they can do an online math program that tracks their progress (Any extra time left)
      

The math partner games have been SO helpful for me to see how much my students understand after my mini-lesson, but since we partner up almost every day, I needed a new way to pair students.

Instead of making them go with the person next to them everyday or let them pick (and take forever) to find their own partners, I decided to make these Buggy Partner Cards!

I simply pass them out randomly and have students silently find the person who has the matching card.  This mixes students up from their “regular” partners, but still has a math-related purpose.  
Most students will likely just count or read the number on the card, but you could also point out that when there are just a few dots on a card, math smarties can just look at it and “see” the number!
If you don’t have a huge class that you need to quickly get partnered up, these Buggy Cards could also be used for a quick review of number words.  Students would need to match the bugs with the correct number word!
Another idea for these free cards would be to play the game of memory with them!
Flip them all face-down and let students take turns flipping two over at a time to try and find the matches.  This would be a fun game for small-group tutoring or even in a homeschool setting.
Lastly, I always encourage teachers to laminate things like this!  In my first-grade classroom, I’m pretty much doomed if I don’t laminate something.  You can also print them on cardstock if you are serious about trying to keep things nice from year to year… 🙂
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Happy teaching and don’t forget to check out the other bug activities below!
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Ladybug Life Cycle Wheel // The STEM Laboratory
Bug Subtraction Cards // The Kindergarten Connection
Ladybug Editable Sight Word Puzzles // A Dab of Glue Will Do
Ladybug One More One Less Activity // Fantastic Fun and Learning
Bug Jar Addition and Subtraction Mats // Fun Learning for Kids
Counting Ants Math Game // Mrs. Jones’ Creation Station
Insect Theme Prewriting Practice // Stay at Home Educator
I Spy Bugs Sensory Bin // Teach Me Mommy
Bug Counting Clip Cards // Playdough to Plato
Ladybug Counting Cards 1-20 // Powerful Mothering
Homemade Butterfly Playdough Kit // Sugar Spice and Glitter
CVC Bug Matching Game // Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten
Bug Story Problems // Recipe for Teaching
Bugs: How Many Syllables? // Liz’s Early Learning Spot
Bug Theme Bingo Cards // Schooling a Monkey
Ten Frame Game More and Less // Sara J Creations
Buggy Partner Cards // Simplified Classroom
 

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