In Y5 and T1, we started our Toy Story STEAM Mania off with some Potato Head Math. We started off with the Toy Story book and then practiced some of the number recognition and number correspondence skills that Y5 students were working on. We used the Potato Heads to practice some of those skills, and it was a hit!. Students were partnered up and then had to roll a dice, identify the number, match the number to a chart to find out what body part to add to their Potato Head, and then select the appropriate part and put it on the Potato body. We are really working on how we work with partners, use our words to share ideas, and how to share materials, so this was a perfect opportunity to practice some of those skills. We even had some time at the end to have some free play and design whatever Potato Head they wanted.
In T1 we did the same activity, but then took it one step further to incorporate some of their math skills - patterns. After the number recognition activity, I told the students that they could build whatever Potato Head they wanted to - and they came up with some great creations! I told them that they were now the teachers and their Potato Heads were now their students. It was their job to teach their Potato Heads about patterns by building patterns with pattern blocks and explaining why it was pattern. The students really seemed to enjoy mixing something that was normally "play" with learning - and it was so fun for me to see what they came up with they had the opportunity to be creative.