Dominoes Activities and Practice Pages for the Primary Classroom

When I first started teaching primary grades, I found myself with several containers of dominoes in the classroom and I wasn’t quite sure how I should be using them. When I started teaching math workshop it made sense to put these math tools to work in a meaningful way. I decided that one of the best ways to use them was for an independent work station since the station could be differentiated based on which dominoes the students had access to. That’s when Dominoes for Days was created. These independent dominoes activities help students practice addition and subtraction, odd and even numbers, ordering numbers, and more!

DOMINOES ACTIVITIES

These dominoes activities were created for students to complete independently, allowing the teacher to work with small groups. To save paper copies, I put each activity into a sheet protector. Students grab a game board, a set of dominoes, and a dry erase marker to get started. This also allows students to get more practice because the dominoes will provide different numbers to work with each time students use the activities.

To differentiate, I select the dominoes each group works with. For my lower second graders, I remove dominoes with sums higher than 10. For my higher students, I remove dominoes with 0s, 1s, and 2s. I also make sure they have the dominoes with the highest numbers on both sides. Let’s take a look at the activities.

Addition & Subtraction

Students grab their stack of dominoes, draw the dominoes, and write the addition or subtraction number sentences.

These activities include both vertical and horizontal layout so students are exposed to both formats.

Odds and Evens

Students draw dominoes from their stack, draw the picture, determine the total, and then decide if the total is odd or even.

Comparing Numbers

Students draw two dominoes from their stack. They draw the pictures, determine the totals, and then write >, <, or = to make a true number sentence. To save time, students can just leave the dominoes in place. If your students struggle to remember which way the greater than/less than symbols face, be sure to show them this strategy.

Fact Families

This activity helps students practice the relationship between addition and subtraction. Students draw a domino and then write the addition and subtraction number sentences to show the family. For my top kids, I make sure I toss in the dominoes with a zero on one side and the doubles facts because inevitably, they really have to slow down and think about the subtraction facts with these ones!

Ordering Numbers

This activity focuses on ordering numbers from largest to smallest. Students select dominoes from their pile. After drawing the pictures and determining the total of each domino, students put them in order.

Domino Activity Practice Pages

There are also two types of practice pages (8 pages total). On the True or False pages, students help determine if the math has been done correctly.

On the What’s Missing pages, students must find the missing addend to make a true number sentence.

I have included four different versions of each. You can use them for a pre/post assessment, as daily practice, or to ensure students are doing their own work and not using their neighbor’s brain.

DIGITAL DOMINOES ACTIVITIES

Because many schools are continuing with online learning, these digital options are useful for teachers and students. In addition to the printable pack, this resource also includes a Google Slides link. Once you have assigned the activities in Google Slides, students can either use their own set of dominoes or have the program draw dominoes at random for them. Here’s a little peek at this digital option:

You can find all of these activities here:

SUGGESTED MATERIALS

If you don’t already have a set of dominoes in your school or classroom, you can find several online. To make these games reusable, here are a few other supplies that will come in handy: