Addition with Regrouping - Let's Go Shopping!

When it comes to teaching addition with regrouping do you run and hide? Or do you tackle the skill head-on with enthusiasm? I’m somewhere in the middle. I know just how hard it is for second graders to accomplish, but I also try to remember how proud they feel when it finally clicks for them. As always, students are grasping this skill at their own pace which leaves the question – what do I have the other students doing while I’m reteaching, reteaching, and oh yeah – reteaching?

I tend to fall back on my one of my favorite activities, shopping! The good news is this set won’t put you into debt and can be used in a variety of ways!

When it was first created, the purpose of this pack was to provide students with a lot of real-world practice when finding the sum of 4-addends (CCSS 2.NBT.B.6). I figured shopping was the perfect way to address this standard so a variety of stores had to be included! Each shop includes a full-page color poster, eight task cards, and two options for recording sheets (with or without grid lines).

If you’re worried that there are too many pieces to manage, you can relax. Each task card has some distinctive features that will help students keep them organized all year long.

And here’s a look at the matching recording sheets. These contain many of the same features to make things easier for students (and teachers). There are also two options, depending on the needs of your students:

Your students can all be working on the same skill with varying levels of difficulty and independence. Here’s a quick rundown of how this might look in my classroom during math workshop.

In my small group, I have my enrichment kids. These kids can already complete these task cards with ease and are ready to take it to the next level. We still use the posters, but the problems might look a little different:

Students might be working with 4-addends, but they must interpret the answer:

These kids are also ready for 2-step word problems:

The rest of the students are working through their math rotations. Going shopping is just one of the math centers that day. Because there are a variety of price ranges within each store, you can choose which store to assign to your different groups. Students just need to grab the materials and they can complete the task cards at their seat or in a spot around the room:

Students can turn in the recording sheets when finished and move onto another math game. Answer keys are included in this pack, so you can check their work and return papers for student corrections, as needed.

I’ve asked a few teachers to share how they have organized the materials for student use and/or long-term storage. Here are some of their ideas:

Option 1 – Sheet Protectors
You might use this option if you don’t have the time to laminate. The store posters fit perfectly inside the sheet protectors. Here’s a view from the front:

When you flip the sheet protector to the back side, you’ll find the recording sheet(s) and task cards fit inside, too.

If you are using this math pack for centers, you can keep the station small by controlling how many recording sheets you include. When students finish, they simply put the task cards back inside and return the sheet protector to its designated location.

Option 2 – Bulletin Board
Start by hole punching the task cards. You can use ribbon, yarn, or even binder rings to keep each set of task cards together. Then attach the task card sets to your bulletin board with a thumbtack. If you have a whiteboard or chalkboard, just use a magnet instead of the thumbtack.

You can place a crate with hanging files directly below the bulletin board. Within each hanging file you can keep the store posters and recording sheets for easy student access.

Option 3 – Storage Drawers & Ziploc Baggies

Place all of the needed materials inside of a Ziploc baggie. Then file away in a storage drawer. This would also be good for long-term storage.

Option 4 – Tubs & Ziploc Baggies
Again, place all of the needed materials inside a Ziploc baggie and put into a tub that students can access when needed. This would also be great for long-term storage.

You can click on the image below to learn more about this shopping pack. If you already own it, go back into your purchases to download the latest updates. There’s a new Ice Cream Shop you’ll want to check out. I also added clickable links to the Table of Contents to make it easier to find the store you need! If you have any questions about this pack, don’t hesitate to ask.