Hey, Friends! It has been a BUSY couple of weeks. I am finding myself dabbling in all sorts of things and I just don’t know when it will end. Seriously, is anyone else feeling like they’re being pulled in all directions? Well, I just want to let you know that you are not alone. We’re in this together!
Now, on to the topic at hand. Due to the above struggle (Haha), it took me longer than I wanted to get this post out to you! I have been anxious to get back into some tips on using household items during class instruction. Today, we’re diving into POMS which I believe is everyone’s favorite. Am I right?! They are super flexible and easy to work with from decorations and crafts to math activities, which is what I have for you PLUS a Freebie!
Here are five fun ways to use poms in the classroom during your math instruction. And under the current circumstances, they can definitely be used at home! If you don’t already have some lying around, the poms I used can be found here. {Amazon Aff Link}
Have you ever played red light, green light as a kid? So fun! Well I found a way to adapt it to the classroom and I’m giving you this activity for FREE below. Here’s how to play: Students will work with a partner to play Red Light, Green Light. Students toss a pom onto the stoplight mat and they use tally marks to record where their pom landed. After 20 tosses each, students analyze the data that they gathered.
Just for kicks, you can have them freeze if they land on red, hop if they land on yellow, or run in place if they land on green! You know since we’ve been sitting around in our PJs all day, we probably should get some type of exercise. Ha!
Students can easily model division problems (or even multiplication/repeated addition) using poms. The cups are the “groups”. The poms are what needs to be shared equally among the cups. Students pass out poms to each cup until there aren’t any left over. For example: Angie had 12 pieces of candy to give to 4 friends. How many pieces of candy does each friend get? Students would place four cups in front of them. They would pass out 12 poms equally. Then they would see that each friend gets 3 pieces of candy each!
Have you ever been to Fractiono’s Pizza Cafe? They serve up pizza fractions left and right! Students become pizza chefs by creating pizzas with toppings (also known as poms). For example, if their pizza is divided into sixths, they will put pepperonis on 4/6 of the pizza. The remaining slices get peppers. Now they will compare the two fractions 4/6 is greater than 2/6. Students don’t even realize that they are dealing with difficult work like comparing fractions because they have so much fun becoming chefs!
One of the easiest ways to use poms in the classroom is to create equations. Place number cards out in front of the students. Students toss poms to create a number. They can do this with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division! You just tell them how many poms they need to toss to get their number! Don’t have the cards? That’s okay, use sticky notes or index cards!
Your kids are going to have a blast with this one, especially if they’re competitive! And poms are perfect for measuring distance because they tend not to travel too far. They are lightweight and SILENT… which is KEY! For the partner showdown, students get with a partner and complete a variety of tasks. They blow the pom, kick the pom, push the pom, etc. Each partner starts at the same place, holds their pom, and completes the same task at the same time. Students are measuring to see which pom went the farthest. You can also have them measure using a yardstick or ruler!
These are just a few ways to use poms in the classroom, so get creative and don’t let those poms go to waste! After completing some fun math activities, your little learners can turn to arts and crafts creating some pretty cool pieces with those poms. With Easter right around the corner, they can even be used to decorate some fun Easter eggs for a community wide Easter Egg Hunt. Yes, even while social distancing! More details about that can be found here.
I hope you all are keeping safe at home and taking care of yourselves. In the meantime, stay tuned for more tips like this to help you make it just a little bit longer through the homeschooling era!
Don’t want to forget these fun ideas? Pin the image below to save for later!
Hey, y’all! My name is Amy Lemons and I am passionate about providing students with both engaging and effective standards-based Math and ELA lessons.
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