Every kid dumps the candy out. Might as well count it.
Get the candy graphsFree. Three levels, two pages each. Black and white prints fine.
Pick the level that fits your child today, not the grade on their backpack. If it's too easy, move up. If they get stuck, sit next to them. That's the whole method.
Your email unlocks all six pages right here. No account. No email to go dig for.
Find it, count it, color a box for each piece. For kids still learning that one piece means one box.
Free PDF · 2 pagesBuild the graph, then question it. Which pile is biggest? By how many? Kids get sharp fast when it's their candy on the line.
Free PDF · 2 pages
Totals, graphs, and word problems. Inventory may mysteriously decrease. That is also math.
Free PDF · 2 pagesIf this helped, send it to one parent staring at a candy pile tonight.
I'm Dee. I earned a B.A. in Communication Studies with honors from the University of Iowa, then a Master of Science for Teachers in childhood education from Pace University. I taught elementary school through Teach For America, and I hold an Iowa K–6 teaching license.
My graduate coursework was in assessment, teaching one lesson to kids at different levels, and teachers as researchers. In practice, I watch what a child does, write it down, and let what I see decide the next step.
I'm also the mom who graphs the Halloween candy.
Age tells you where a kid is supposed to be. Watching them work tells you where they actually are. I start there, with my own three girls first.
This is where I put the things I make for them. More coming.
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