Calendar Time Math Activities
These quick and easy ideas are something to smile about! Not only are they simple to incorporate into your calendar routine, but they’re also sure to boost students’ math skills.
Mystery Number – Number sense activity
What do you need for this version of I Spy? Just a calendar! At least several days into a month, give students one or more clues about a date on the calendar. For example, you might say, “I spy the number nine” or, “I spy the number that is one more than eight.” After a student points out the correct date, present a clue about a different date to continue.
Kristen Egge, Lincoln Learning Center, Willmar, MN
More teacher resources
WORKSHEET & Sample PDF Activity
Sample PDF Activity
Day by Day – Yesterday, today, and tomorrow activity
Start the day with a cheerful tune! After students identify the day’s date, ask them to name the current day, the day it was yesterday, and the day it will be tomorrow. Then lead them in the song below.
(sung to the tune of “Are You Sleeping?”)
Today is [Tuesday]. Today is [Tuesday].
[August 21], [August 21].
Yesterday was [Monday].
Tomorrow will be [Wednesday].
Hip hip hooray! What a day!
Laura Disharoon, Kellogg Elementary, Chula Vista, CA
Daily Highlight – Number recognition, number patterns activity
Here’s a skill-boosting way to keep track of the first 100 days of school. Display a poster-size hundred chart near your classroom calendar. Designate highlighters of three different colors for coloring the chart—one color for each number that ends with a five, a different color for each number that ends with a zero, and another color for the remaining numbers. Each day, ask a student to use the appropriate highlighter to color the square that corresponds with the number of days school has been in session. Once a few rows of the chart have been colored, guide students to identify the number patterns.
After the chart is completely colored on the 100th day of school, write randomly selected numbers on small individual sticky notes. Direct students to identify the numbers and place them on the matching numbers on the chart. It’s a terrific strategy for reinforcing number sense!
Cathy Allmaras, Oberon Elementary, Oberon, ND
