Grade Two Math Game Bags

Grant Information:

Project Manager: Julie McElaney-Gorman

School: Admin

Type of Grant: Collaborative

Target Grade: Grade 2

Curriculum: Mathmatics

Start Date: Fall 2024

Grant proposal

Summary:

The idea for second-grade math game bags for at-home play sprang from a similar program piloted this year for first graders. During this school year (2023-24), the first-grade teachers and I piloted sending home math game bags with every first-grader in the district. The initiative, which sent home bags with a combination of retail and dice/card math games, was very successful. Teachers reported that most families played the games each of the four rounds they received them and the children’s enthusiasm for the bags remained high throughout the year.

This program was run jointly by the first-grade teachers and me. Teachers passed out bags on a rotating schedule so that all families received bags with different games four times throughout the year. The Grade Two At-Home Math Game Bag initiative will build off of the first-grade program by continuing to send home math game bags filled with a combination of retail and dice/card games five times during the year. A major difference is that this time, families will have two opportunities during the year (September and January) to opt into the program, thus the games will be going to families who have experienced the bags the previous year and enjoyed the additional math practice and play.

I am so excited to offer the opportunity for interested families to continue their at-home math play. Historically, teachers and schools have rightly emphasized at home-reading and we will continue to encourage and support that critical, research-based practice. However, current research also supports at-home math play as it benefits students by: providing engaging practice opportunities to improve math fluency and number sense encouraging students to be self-directed learners and with growth mindsets offering flexibility for learning math outside of the classroom allowing students to take academic risks in a safe environment supporting the development of 21st-century skills like problem-solving and decision-making Being able to extend those benefits in a program that also increases a home/school connection and is rooted in fun is an exciting venture.

GRANT DETAILS

Educational Issue:

The games in the game bags will target the second-grade Massachusetts State Standards and Mathematical Practices listed below, providing additional opportunities to practice and build skills and knowledge of these concepts. 2.OA.B.2 Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies. By the end of grade 2, know from memory all sums of two single-digit numbers and related differences. .2.OA.B.3 Determine whether a group of objects (up to 20) has an odd or even number of members, e.g., by pairing objects or counting them by 2s. 2.NBT.B.5 Fluently add and subtract within 100 using strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction 2.NBT.B.6 Add up to four two-digit numbers using strategies based on place value and properties of operations. 2.MD.A.1 Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes. 2MD.A.3 Estimate lengths using units of inches, feet, centimeters, and meters 2.G.1 Identify triangles, squares, rectangles, rhombuses, trapezoids, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes. Mathematical Practices: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Use appropriate tools strategically Attend to precision Look for and make use of structure Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

Goals & Outcomes:

The goals of this project are three-fold: to extend math learning into the home by providing simple, engaging games for families to enjoy together while building foundational math skills to create opportunities for young children to develop positive feelings about math that they can continue to build upon in years to come. to build and strengthen home/school connections with some of the district’s youngest students by providing an opportunity that can work for all families’ busy schedules

Activities:

Over the summer, I will purchase the materials needed for the bags. Then, with the coordinated support of caregiver volunteers at each of the five elementary schools, the game bags will be assembled and passed out to participating families five times throughout the 2024-25 school year. Detailed Tasks and Responsibilities: https://docs.google.com/document/d/ 17qKwC4GY07 NVMS1OQZJC GzkdIzgjOoM6UAhV0Ikm5CI/edit?usp=sharing

Innovation & Collaboration:

This collaborative project addresses a need to increase math competencies, especially around number sense and operational fluency as well as develop growth mindsets and positive feelings about math. This project relies on the collaboration of variety of stakeholders for its success: Caregiver volunteers will spearhead the family sign-up periods and coordinate the assembling, distribution and collection of the math game bags. The Elementary Math Coordinator will purchase and create the games, write directions as needed and coordinate all necessary translations of materials as well as connect with the volunteers around distribution/collection The caregivers who sign up to participate and play the games with their child to build enjoyable, math learning opportunities for their child.

Budget:

Total: $6,698.67