Math Warm Ups...

I have nicknamed my class...the squirrely drummers. In other words, I have 20 out of 23 students who are kinesthetic learners.  They are sweet as all get out, but man do they move, wiggle, drum, bang and squirm.  It's a good think I'm okay with this...just have to add a lot of movement into my already jam packed day.

In the past, I have written warm-ups on the board and students have copied them into their math journals.  This year my team decided to move to a more "study journal" for math reflections and note taking.  So what should we do for warm ups now?

Enter mini-white boards.  Do you have these?  I got some made a few years ago from showerboard at Lowes, but now you can pick these up almost anywhere - Target $1 spot, the dollar store, etc...

We start warm up by passing out a tissue to each child (to be our eraser) and then I write the target number on the board.  How many ways can you make equations that equal 425 using addition?

Students will write the equation on their white board while I post an online timer to count down how much time they have to do it. 

Once they have written down a few equations, I have the students stand behind their chairs.  When time is up, they need to find 4 people to share their equations with. (Hence the movement...kinesthetic learners need!)