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Math Strands

Types

for

Audience

Special Topics

Spatial Relationships

Children between the ages of 3 and 6 are more than ready to develop their skills at expressing directions from different locations and understanding relative positions. They are fundamentally interested in modeling their world, whether in the block corner or the housekeeping area, and spatial relationships are a large part of what they grapple with there. The more such experiences they have, particularly in the company of adults who help to mathematize them, the easier it will be to make their own representations of space mathematically precise when they get to geometry class.

Copyright: Erikson Institute’s Early Math Collaborative. Reprinted from Big Ideas of Early Mathematics: What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know (2014), Pearson Education.

Chores for Kids Help Find Math Around House
Series: Ideas at Work

Chores for Kids Can Help Them Find Math Around the House

October 14, 2020

With young children at home, there’s always cleaning to be done. So why not include them in completing the chores? Chores can engage everyone in the household in a little “math all around us” problem-solving.

  • Topic: Precursor Concepts, Spatial Relationships
  • Age/Grade Level: Infants, Toddlers, Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Family Math
outside activities for kids math obstacle course
Series: Ideas at Work July 13, 2020

Taking Math Out for a Spin: Outside Activities for Kids That Have Math

En Español También. Warm weather and more daylight hours mean now is a great time to take advantage of outdoor spaces. There are so many ways to incorporate math into your child’s outside activity.

  • Topic: Measurement, Spatial Relationships
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
  • Tags Play, Family Math
dishes-math-tasks-chores-636x363-2
Series: Ideas at Work April 28, 2020

Dishing Up the Math: Tasks at Home Can Become Math Time

En Español También. Every day dishes need to get cleaned, and every day dishes need to get put away. By involving children in tasks like doing the dishes, you can help them see mathematics in…

  • Topic: Measurement, Spatial Relationships
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
  • Tags Family Math, En Español
math talk_636x363
Series: Ideas at Work April 26, 2020

We’re Going on a Math Walk, Going to Find Some Math Talk

En Español También. Going for walks is an excellent time to talk about math with your child. You’ll be surprised how much math talk you can have when you look for the math in your…

  • Topic: Number Sense, Counting, Spatial Relationships, Shape
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
  • Tags Family Math, En Español
diy puzzles spatial thinking
Series: Ideas at Work April 24, 2020

DIY Puzzles Develop Spatial Thinking

En Español También. Jigsaw puzzles are a great way for children to develop their spatial thinking and problem-solving skills. Children enjoy doing all kinds of puzzles and making ones from materials found around the house…

  • Topic: Spatial Relationships
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
  • Tags Games, Family Math, En Español
Tangram Shapes with Do-It-Yourself Puzzles
Series: Ideas at Work June 8, 2019

Build Tangram Shapes with Do-It-Yourself Puzzles

A tangram puzzle consists of seven pieces — five triangles and two quadrilaterals made from one square. Tangrams originated in China hundreds of years ago. They traveled to Europe in the 1800’s, where they gained…

  • Topic: Spatial Relationships, Shape
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade
  • Tags Play, Family Math, Grandfather Tang's Story, Ann Tompert
three dimensional shapes
Series: Focus on the Child December 12, 2018

Transforming Three-Dimensional Shapes with Child 36

This child successfully attempts to match geo-solids using triangular prism-shaped blocks. Focus on the Child videos are taken from one-on-one interviews with individual children. The interviews are designed to elicit evidence of children’s mathematical thinking.…

  • Topic: Spatial Relationships, Shape
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags English Language Learner, Child 36
NEWS029 spring math activities for kindergarten
Series: Book Ideas May 2, 2017

It’s Picnic Time. Don’t Forget to Pack the Math!

Many classrooms are planning year-end picnics, so it’s the perfect time to read We’re Going on a Picnic! by the beloved author Pat Hutchins.

  • Topic: Spatial Relationships
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade
  • Tags Animals, Mapping, Food, Books, Pat Hutchins, We're Going on a Picnic
Series: Hear from the Experts March 26, 2017

Tangram Puzzles: Make One For Your Kids

Instructor Lisa Ginet explains how to make tangram puzzles, an ancient Chinese game made from seven shapes cut from a square. Over 6500 different arrangements can be made from these seven simple shapes!

  • Topic: Spatial Relationships, Shape
  • Age/Grade Level: Adult Learners, Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
  • Tags Games
Series: About Early Math January 31, 2017

The Importance of Spatial Reasoning in Classrooms

This article outlines the benefits to spatial reasoning and expanding the learning that children experience regarding spatial reasoning in the early years.

  • Topic: Spatial Relationships
  • Age/Grade Level: Infants, Toddlers, Pre-K, Kindergarten
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