Do Your Students Struggle With Using A One Hundred Chart?

 

A tool that is often used in kindergarten through second grade, or higher is the One Hundred Chart or the One Hundred Twenty Chart. This post deals with how to help children get ready for using the One Hundred Chart.

Before children are ready to use the One Hundred Chart, they must have had lots of practice with one to one correspondence, and counting with manipulatives. The One Hundred Chart is abstract. Students need many concrete materials. Concrete materials include anything that can be counted – pennies, buttons, beans, and commercial counters.
Once the students have had these experiences, they can still be overwhelmed by the One Hundred Chart. I like to begin with a Twenty Chart. With only two rows, it is much less overwhelming. I use the Twenty Chart with a small group, during math rotations time. I give each child his Twenty Chart and we practice naming the numbers in the top row (I – 10) and naming the numbers in the bottom row. (11 – 20). Then I give each child 1 counter and give them directions such as the following:
• Put your counter on the 9.
• Put your counter on the 11.
• Put your counter on the number that comes before 8.
• Put your counter on the number that comes after 13.
• Put your counter on the number that comes between 14 and 16.
Once the students have mastered the Twenty Chart, we move on to the Fifty Chart using the same activities, but continuing to 3o the first week, 40 the second week, and 50 the third week. I give directions including all the numbers on which we have focused, so the students have a spiraling review.
I have found that students who use the Twenty and Fifty charts before The 100 Chart find it much easier to use the 100 chart. For a free Twent Chart and Sample Directions to give students when using a twenty chart, Click Here