Halloween is a very big deal when you are 4 or 5 years old. My PreK students have been telling us all about what they are dressing up as and how excited they are for the big night! Whenever there is an event or holiday that is a big deal for my students, I use that to theme to build excitement for learning activities. In this case, my math center activities, specifically, unifix cube activities. Last week I put out my regular unifix cube tower cards at my math center and realized very quickly the numbers ( 1-7) were way too easy for my students. So I made these Halloween unifix cube printables. Not only are they Halloween-themed math they are now more appropriate for their specific level of understanding. If a task is too easy, not only are we not supporting our students’ learning that is also when boredom can lead to challenging behaviors. Teaching the child in front of you means making sure that we get them in the just-right learning zone ( aka The zone of proximal development) for this activity that meant increasing the number of blocks for each tower.
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What do students learn while doing this unifix cube activity?
Great question. When a student sits down to complete these math activities, they learn the math skills of number recognition and one-to-one correspondence as they count each block while placing them on the squares or clicking them together into a tower. They are also working on essential skills like visual discrimination as they match the colors and build fine motor skills as they manipulate the cubes, placing them on the squares or connecting them.
How To Use Halloween Unifix Cube Printables in Your Classroom
First of all, you need some unifix cubes – buy some here!
I like to use them for free choice and at small group time, and I tend to call children over to centers for quick little one-on-one activities. During free choice, I may introduce the activity as well as see where they are at with specific skills. If you have a dedicated math center, these are great to add to it as well.
When I created these Halloween math printables, I decided to make them in two sheets instead of individual cards. I did this so they would fit well on a tray and encourage students to do four towers at a sitting. We all know we have students who will do one and be done, but if there are four on a page, they will complete all four happily. For my students that I created this unifix cube activity for four towers is just the right fit. I hope it works for your students too. Of course, you can cut them into individual cards.
Please note these printables are just for numbers 8-15.
There is no wrong way to do this Halloween math activity. Some students make standing towers, lay them down, and others place the unifix cubes on each square. The goal is to work on one-to-one correspondence and fine motor skills. No matter which way they use the blocks, they will be doing just that!
Download these Halloween Unifix Cube Printables for $1.99 and print them off now!
* for a perfect fit with unifix cubes, your printer should be set to “print in the printable area.”
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