Building Number Sense
In first grade, our goal is to write our numbers to 120. For some students, this is an easy task while others may struggle. To help students understand our number system and increase their number sense, we create number scrolls. I’m going to share with you how simple this task is to set up and implement in your own classroom.
Paper Towel Roll
At the beginning of the year, I send a note home to parents asking for them to send in an empty paper towel roll. This is what we use for our scrolls.
Print Number Scroll Pages and Begin
As a class, we complete the first page together. We start at number 1 and write to 100.
Attach Page
Next, I tape the first page to the paper towel roll. After it is taped, they can begin the 2nd page. They will just continue to count by ones. Once they are finished, they will trim off the top and glue it to the scroll where it says “glue here”. **I usually check their second page before having them glue just to be sure they are on the right track**
Organization & Storage
In my classroom, we have seat sacks. My students keep their number scrolls in their seat sacks at all times. They are allowed to work on their number scroll if they finish a task and have free time. We get these out a lot in Master Math Rotations. Read more about MASTER math here! I have an empty bin filled with the second page in my classroom. When they need a second page they grab one and go. ***HELPFUL TIP*** Don’t let them unroll the scroll every time they work. It can be very distracting. We do scroll checks every once in a while to make sure they are on track and to allow them time to share how high they have written.
Here is a picture from the end of the year. They were so excited to open their scrolls and show off their progress from the year. This activity had my students writing their numbers in the thousands and definitely increased their number sense throughout the year. Even some of my students who struggled with this pushed themselves and eventually got it.
If you are looking for a fun way to increase your student’s number sense CLICK HERE!
Read more from my blog about Master Math and building number sense:
