It was the start of a busy working week, and I realised as efficient as I am at keeping up with outcomes expected for my year level, I had managed to let one slip my mind. Now, my class have fallen in love with their multiplication speed test booklets, so I knew we had been nailing the 2, 3, 4,5 and 10 times tables, but they hadn’t nearly had as much practice skip counting in these patterns from any 2-digit or 3-digit number. That is when ‘racing tracks’ became my go to.
Now, I have a competitive group of students, so I mainly use racing tracks as a whole class activity to start our Maths lesson. On the racing tracks page, there are eight rows, each with a starting number. Only the teacher knows which number the class will skip count by. Then, let the fun begin!
You could set a timer on your interactive board, but for ease, I use my watch. Also, projecting the time on the board may make it less daunting for kids who get anxious. The class have 30 seconds to complete the row as quickly and accurately as they can. Once finished they shoot their hand up. Keep track of whose the fastest and most accurate.
If all is going smoothly, the racing tracks page should only take around 5 minutes to complete, and your class will be begging to play again in efforts to beat their score or classmates.
You could have students complete racing tracks in pairs or small groups. Instead of the teacher calling out the skip counting patterns, a student could roll a dice, or you could have pre-made cards (skip count by 3). I get students to use their devices and take turns setting the timer and starting it.
Click on the image below to get a free copy of our Racing Tracks.
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We always love hearing how you are using our resources in the classroom, so if you have any new suggestions leave a comment so we can share it with our Rainbow Sky community.
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