Author: Sanchez, Jana L.

2nd Grade
Math Choice Board

Directions: The purpose for the activities is to have fun with math and see math in daily life. Encourage a “growth mindset” by communicating to your child that he/she has unlimited math potential and that what’s most important is having a positive attitude and working hard. / Math Tools You May Need: Blank paper or a spiral notebook for problem solving and creating, ruler (https://printable-ruler.net/), pencils, colored pencils, scissors, internet access.
Make a calendar or chart to keep track of the number of minutes you read this month. Estimate the total number of minutes you will read.	Choose three objects from your home (for example a pencil, a glue stick and a marker). Order the three objects and use math words to express the length of these objects. (For example, the marker is longer than the glue stick.)	Choose two different two-digit numbers and record them on paper. Compare the numbers using math symbols.	Pat made a cake for his sister’s birthday. He cut the cake into 4 equal pieces. He gave one piece to his sister. Draw a picture of how Pat may have cut the cake.	Make a calendar or chart to keep track of how many minutes you read each day this month. Estimate the number of minutes you think you will read.	Sort the laundry by owner, size, color, or item type. Which family / member had the most socks?	How many ways can you make 25 cents using pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters?
Roll two dice and add or subtract the two numbers. Write the number sentence and solve. Make a story to go with your number sentence.	Jump rope and count by 10s to 100. Try counting backwards.	What time do you typically go to bed (to the closest hour or half hour)? Draw a picture of the clock with the hour and minute hands.	Today’s number is 12. Make 12 by: adding two numbers, subtracting two numbers, adding three numbers, etc.	Blow a marble, a bottle cap and a pencil across a table. Measure how far they go. Which goes farthest? By how much?	Make a 3-D shape using mini marshmallows and toothpicks. How many corners (vertices) does your shape have? How many edges?	Solve the problem / below. You may use / counters or draw a picture. Keira was 6 years old when she lost her first tooth. Now she is 3 years older. How old is Keira now?
Draw a picture of 47 (tally marks, flowers, circles, stars, etc.) and organize them so that it’s easy to see there are 47 .	Make a tally chart by collecting data on something of your choice (how many doors, windows and beds in your house, how many people like chocolate ice cream, etc.).	Use your tally chart from yesterday’s activity and make a pictograph of your data. Be sure to add a title, labels, and a key.	Write your own word/story problem and have a parent or guardian solve it. Then have your parent or guardian write a word problem for you to solve.	Roll 2 dice and record your numbers. Use the numbers to create a fact family. Write your 4 fact family number sentences and solve.	Look at the clock at four different times throughout the day and record the time to the nearest hour or half hour. Remember to use a.m. or p.m.	Draw a picture by / composing at least 3 / different shapes. Share with a friend or family member telling about the different shapes you used.
Partition a circle into halves and fourths. Explain to a family member or guardian what happens to the shares when you partition them from halves to fourths.	Write a two-digit number on paper. Mentally find the number that is 10 more and 10 less than your number. Explain to a family member or guardian how you know that.	Count backwards from 30 to 0. / Count backwards by 10s from 110. / Count backwards by 5s from 40.	21 How many books do you have? First make an estimate. Then count them. How close was your estimate?	22 I have a machine that adds 5 to every number I put in. If I put in 4, what comes out? If I put in 16, what comes out?	23 Estimate how many pieces of cereal are in ¼ cup. Now estimate how many ¼ cups fill your cereal bowl. Check.	Go to / illuminations.nctm.org and search for Concentration. Click on 1 – 6 and play.
Play a board game or put together a puzzle.	Count by 2s to 50 starting at 12. Count by 10s to 64 starting at 4. What did you notice about the numbers you said?	Find an example of a triangle in your bedroom, the kitchen, and outside. Share with a friend or family member.	True or False? / 5 + 7 = 7 + 5 / Draw a picture to explain your thinking.	When you go outside, count how many people are wearing shorts and long pants. Compare. Why might that change on / another day?	Go to / illuminations.nctm.org and search for Concentration. Click on 1 – 10 and play.	Add up the number of minutes you read this month. How close to your estimate was your actual number of minutes read?

Additional options:

Go to a store or a market with an adult. Make a list of all the fruits (or vegetables) you would eat. Sort them by color. Make a graph to show your sorting.	Write your phone number and address. Read them aloud.	Add up the actual number of minutes you read this month. How close was it to your estimate?		Write two different numbers that make the sum of 14. Now write 4 number sentences to complete the fact family.	Beat the Clock! / List 5 things you could do in 1 minute or less. Try each one. Were you successful?	Hold an ice cube in your hand. Count by 2s until it melts. Did you count to more or less than 100?
Sit outside and use tally marks to record how many birds you see in 10 minutes.	Go to a park and draw the solid shapes you see. Label your picture and share with a friend or / family member.	Use a ruler to measure the length of something in inches. Would this measurement change if you measured in paper clips? Explain to a parent or guardian.	Make a calendar and record the temperature each day this week. What did you notice? Compare it to the temperatures in Spokane, Washington.	Ask 10 people their favorite kind of pizza. Record your data in a table, chart, or graph.	The three numbers in my fact family are 7, 3 and 10. What are the two addition and two subtraction facts you can make using these numbers?	Describe a shape of your choice by writing (or telling a riddle). Have a parent or guardian guess. Now switch and you guess the shape described in someone else’s riddle.
You have 15 flowers. You gave some flowers to your mother. Now you have 6 flowers. How many flowers did you give to your mother? Show how you know.	Roll 2 dice and record the sum. Do this 20 times. What sum did you get the most often? Why do you think that happened?	A small pack of gum has 5 pieces of gum. How many pieces are in 2 packs? What about in 3 packs?	Find a ball. Estimate the length of string you’d need to fit around the ball. Cut the amount of string that you think will work. Test your prediction. What did you notice?	Tell an adult an addition story to go with / 4 + 8. Now tell a subtraction story problem for 12 – 4.	Hiding Game / Get 7 – 10 pennies. Put some in one hand and some in the other hand. Show one hand and have them figure out how many are hiding. Play 10 times.	Make a tally chart of the number of fruits and vegetables you ate today at your meals and for snacks. Did you eat 5 servings?
If I see 9 people, how many eyes do I see? How many fingers? How could you prove your answer to an adult or a friend?	If there are 30 toes under the table, how many people are sitting at the table? How could you prove your answer to an adult or friend?	Make a list of 2-D shapes (flat, plane) and 3-D shapes (solid). Go on a scavenger hunt to look for those shapes. Bring your list and check off the shapes you find.	Play Count On with a family member. Grab a pile of pennies (small blocks or macaroni, etc.). Start counting the pennies and stop (such as at 37). Then the person playing with you must count on. Continue stopping and starting until all objects are counted.	Play a board game with a friend or family member or put together a puzzle.	Read a book of your choice. What math ideas did you find?	Ask your family how they use math around the house, in their job, or doing daily activities.