K–8 Math Routines

Start your instruction off on the right foot with our wonderful warm-ups and math routines. These are designed to encourage students to talk and think, and to develop their number sense.

Grades: Kindergarten - 5th Grade

• Number Sense Warm-Ups

  Students explore and deepen their understanding of number sense through 'number talks' and visual pattern warm ups. These activities were added in July 2026.

• How Many Do You See?: Considering Different Arrangements of the Same Quantity
• Which One Doesn't Belong?: Comparing Different Representations of Decompositions
• Notice and Wonder: Moving on a Number Path
• Notice and Wonder: Splitting Food Into 2 Equal Parts
• How Many Do You See?: Determining the Value of Base-Ten Blocks
• What Do You Know About ____?: A Rectangular Prism
• Number Talk: Multiplication 2
• Visual Pattern: Stars 1
• Number Talk: Division 1

• Polygraph: Guess My!

  Students are shown an array of cards, and have to guess which one you're thinking of by asking questions. Take turns with the student or students, encouraging deep thinking and discourse.

• Grades K–1: Guess My Number 1–10
• Grades K–5: Guess My Shape
• Grades 1–3: Guess My Number Up to 100
• Grades 2–5: Guess My Number Up to 1000
• Grades 3–5: Guess My Fraction
• Grades 4–5: Guess My Decimal Place Value

• How Many Do You See!

  Flash an image to your students or class, and then ask them how many they saw! Students will use their knowledge of base ten, arrays, and groupings to push their understanding.

• Grade K: How Many Do You See? Numbers 1–5
• Grades K–1: How Many Do You See? Numbers 6–10
• Grades 1–2: How Many Do You See? Base-Ten Blocks

• More Class Openers, Warm-Ups, and Quick Games

  These short activities provide students with opportunities for rich mathematical thinking and discussion and exploration. They are designed to be used inside or outside a math block and can be used repeatedly over the course of a school year.

• What Sum Do You See?
• Making 1–10 With Dice
• Using Number Bars to Balance the Scale
• Which One Doesn't Belong?
• Order the Numbers
• Composing and Decomposing Numbers
• Estimate the Area
• Draw What You Hear!
• Exploring Area of Rectangles
• Exploring Perimeter of Rectangles
• Rolling Dice: Predict How Many!