Hundreds Chart Shake-Out

Hundreds Chart Shake-Out

Here’s a quick and easy activity for your class, small groups, or individual math students.

Use your pocket chart with individual hundreds cards (as you can see from the picture, I have had to re-create a few of mine over the years).

In front of your students (they love this part), invert your chart, and holding it by the bottom, gently shake it so that some of the numbers fall out. If your students are just starting numbers to 100, you’ll only want to shake it for a second or two. As your students become more advanced, you’ll do longer “shakes” to release more of the numbers.

Hang the hundreds chart back on the board/wall. Now comes the math part. Students can take turns putting the loose numbers back into their proper spots on the hundreds chart. I’ve found that creating small groups of students with similar abilities works out great, because they really work together to complete the task, and can more or less be left to complete the work without a lot of adult supervision. This is a great opportunity for students to use problem-solving strategies, and to learn about math patterns using their own reasoning skills.

As students gain proficiency, they will begin noticing more patterns in the hundreds chart, and instead of always searching for the specific numbers in order (1, 2, 3, 4…), they will be able to pick up a number and find its proper location using the correct vertical and horizontal markers. This is an awesome way to practice “1 more,” “1 less,” “10 more,” and “10 less” than a number. You can even require students to place all of the loose cards upside-down before selecting a card if you want to make the task more challenging.

Please let us know how your students enjoyed this activity by adding a comment below!