When it comes to those basic math facts, there's nothing like practice, practice, practice. But making them interesting is quite another matter. Here's an irresistible activity you can use with your second grader to send messages in “secret code.” Next time you pack a school lunch, for example, try putting in a special note with your love and good wishes … in a code that your child and her friends can decipher over their meal.
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What You Need:
- Paper
- Pen
- Math fact "decoder" key
- Message
What You Do:
- Make up some addition problems for your child to solve. Make a decoding sheet to correspond with the answers, and write a letter for each answer to create a message!
- Write your message on the decoder key, by making a small line for each letter of the alphabet in the message.
- Write out your message lines, and then let your child take a whack at the math facts to decode your words. The sum of each pair of numbers appears under each line of the message, and matches up with a letter. For a child who is making good progress on math facts, this is a fairly fast activity … but one that will bring a sense of accomplishment that lasts all day and beyond!
Related Guided Lesson
Based on your interest in Math Facts Secret Codes.
Addition 3
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Second grade
Subject
Math
Multiplication within 25 and Rectangular Arrays
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