Setting up a class shop is a fun and easy way of helping children to master their skills in addition and subtraction while teaching them the concept of money. A desk can be used to create the cashier's desk and children can bring in an object from home to "sell" in the shop. Price the items at $1 and $2 for younger children and use more complex prices, such as $1.25 or $2.50, for older children. Use real or pretend money and make sure children have a turn at being both the shopkeeper and a customer.
Play the minute game to help elementary pupils understand the concept of time without using a clock. The aim is to complete as many activities, such as jumping jacks or clapping hands, as possible in one minute. The teacher uses a timer to tell children when to start and stop. Put children into pairs. One member of the pair completes the activity while the other keeps track of the number using a tally chart. Alternatively, pupils can keep track by counting aloud. Once the first round is over, pupils should swap places and try again. The pupil with the highest number is the winner.
The aim of this card game activity is to win points by forming the largest sum. Remove the face cards from five decks of cards and shuffle them. Gather pupils in a circle and deal each pupil an even number of cards (this will depend on the class total). Pupils then have one minute (timed by the teacher) to make the largest possible sum from their cards. The teacher should then check each total and award one point to the winner. The first player to reach five points wins the game.
Help pupils to become confident data collectors by asking them to record how many of their classmates have blue eyes, wear black shoes or any other type of qualitative question. Pupils can then use this question to interview their classmates and turn the data into a simple tally chart. Once they have mastered this skill, move onto a more complex question, such as how many hours of television they watch per day. The results can then be turned into a bar chart or Venn diagram.