Math Activity to Teach Doubling: Spinning for Doubles

Math Activity: Spinning for Doubles

Strand: Number Sense and Numeration, Addition & Multiplication
Math Strategy: Doubling

English:

French:

Materials:
• a copy of the board game and spinner
• counters, a pencil,
• a paper clip
• 2 players

Overview:
During this game students develop their understanding of the making doubles strategy as they work to find all the doubles needed to fill their game board. They take turns spinning the spinner; once the spinner stops, the student needs to identify what the double of that number is and place a counter on their side of the game board.  The players continue taking turns until one of them fills their entire game board.

How this Supports Student Learning: 
This game provides students an opportunity to practice learning their doubles.  Learning their doubles is an important milestone towards adding and multiplication.  Once students know their doubles, they can are quickly able to recognize near doubles and doubles plus one. This allows students to work with numbers flexibly, as they adjust numbers to make them easier to work with.

Where to next?
Concentrating on Doubles, Magic-Doubles, Over-Easy Doubles and Last One to School are all games that support the making doubles strategy. Practice with a variety of games will help the student to develop mastery of this strategy. Once the student is confident with making doubles you can introduce games that support the near doubles strategy, like Snappy Doubles, Find a Friendly Neighbour and Spinning for Near-Doubles.

These activities can be found, beginning on page 72, in the English Guide to Effective Instruction in Math Volume 5 https://bit.ly/2FNcQju and in the French Guide d'enseignement efficace des mathématiques, de la maternelle à la 6e année:Fascicule 5 on page 74-77 here.

Math Strategy: Doubles and Near Doubles

Math strategy: Doubles and Near Doubles

Math strand: Number Sense and Numeration

French Videos:
Doubles Difference of 2

Doubles +1

Overview:
Doubles are facts that have two addends that are the same. By familiarizing themselves with the doubles facts, students can efficiently use them to solve near-doubles problems. Near-doubles are facts that have one added that is one more than the other addend. Students need to be comfortable with their doubles before they can attempt to use this strategy effectively. Doubles and near doubles appear in the Addition & Subtraction continuum.  Doubling, a similar strategy, can be found on the multiplication/division continuum.

Addition and Subtraction:

Multiplication and Division: 


How this supports student learning:
To ensure students grasp what is happening when they double have them build the amount with a concrete item, like snap cubes, and then double it.
Once students have automatic recall of their doubles facts they will be able to transfer this to solving questions with near doubles.




Being familiar with doubles and near doubles makes repeated addition much easier as well. For example, 12x6 can be seen as 12 groups of 6. If students are comfortable with doubling, they might do this:  6+6, 6+6, 6+6, 6+6, 6+6, 6+6.

When students are comfortable with their doubles facts, this will support their understanding of multiplication tables. For example, the two times tables (doubling 2’s) can then use these facts for the three times tables. For example, if 2x4 is 8, then 3x4 is 8 plus one more 4.

Where to next: 
There are many games and activities that can be used to support doubles and near doubles practice.
In the Lawson text, What To Look For, there is a mini lesson for whole class or small groups around the doubles/near doubles strategy (pg. 199).



In the Guides To Effective Instruction, Vol. 5 (pg. 72-76), there are many games to support this strategy, such as:
• Concentrating on Doubles
• Magic Doubles
• Over-Easy Doubles
• Snappy Doubles
• Find a Friendly Neighbour
• Spinning for Near-Doubles

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