The math bulletin board in my 2nd grade classroom is the best teaching tool I have to help support my students. Not only can my students refer to our math bulletin board when they need help, but it helps me in my math instruction.

 

 

Math Bulletin Board

 

Our math bulletin board has different pre-teach and review activities. I laminate the pieces and use velcro dots where needed. This makes it an interactive math bulletin board! Students love how engaging it is.

 

Each day before our regular math lesson, I gather my students around this board and we do a few activities. These activities help me pre-teach tricky 2nd grade math standards. And it only takes a few minutes! It’s actually one of my favorite times in our classroom schedule.

 

Here’s a quick example on how this bulletin board can help pre-teach difficult 2nd grade math standards. Counting coins is always a big standard in 2nd grade. It is not a standard in 1st grade or Kindergarten. However, our math curriculum starts our money unit expecting students to already recognize the coins and know their values. To prepare students for this lesson I have the coin cutouts up on our math bulletin board and rhymes that help students memorize their values.

 

This math bulletin board also helps me review important math concepts. I want students to practice math fact strategies all year long, so I have a couple different number talk activities that we do to help students review these. Students talk with a neighbor and share their reasoning out loud. It promotes fact fluency! Learn more about each math fact strategy I teach in my free workbook for 1st and 2nd grade teachers: The 7 Steps to Ensure Math Fact Fluency

 

Ready to use this math bulletin board in your classroom? Find all the pieces here.

 

There are many things you can include on a math bulletin board. So let’s get into some math bulletin board ideas for elementary.

 

Math Bulletin Board Ideas for Elementary

 

Here are the different sections of our math bulletin board and how to do the activities with your students. You can use them for your own math bulletin board ideas.

Number Talks: There are 3 different number talk activities on my math bulletin board. I love number talks because they get students talking about their reasoning and how they think about the numbers to solve. It shows students that there can be more than one way to solve or look at things. Plus, number talks increase number flexibility that helps students down the road with more advanced math strategies. So let’s look at the 3 number talk activities I include on our math board:

 

 

Math Fact of the Day: Each day, I put up a new math fact equation card. I have my students think about how they would solve it. Then they share their way with a partner. After that, I call on a few students to share their reasoning with the class. I record the numbers and equations students use on the sheet so that the class can follow along. This helps to keep the math fact strategies I’ve taught fresh in students’ minds & increase fact fluency.

 

What Equations Do You See: For this number talk, I post up a new sheet and ask students what equations they see. The sheets feature a mix of double ten frames, subitizing images, and arithmetic rack cards. I have students share the equations they see with a partner and then call on a few to share with the class.

 

Students learn to be flexible with numbers and get quality math fact practice that has a strategy focus. They learn that they can break apart numbers and use them to make equations. This helps with math fact strategies like the Make Ten Strategy. It helps with 2-digit strategies like the Break Apart Strategy. I love these kinds of strategies because they promote mental math skills.

 

Which One Does Not Belong: This is the favorite number talk among my students. Each day, I display a sheet. Each sheet has 4 equations. Students analyze them and decide which one they think doesn’t belong. The fun part… There’s usually more than one answer! As students explain their reasoning, they are solving the math facts. This activity gets such a great class discussion going.

 

Later in the school year when we are in the middle of our shapes unit, I surprise students with a shapes version of this activity. The sheets have 4 shapes and students have to look and think about the shapes’ properties to find ones that don’t belong. Find all of these number talk activities in my Math Bulletin Board resource here.

 

Learn more about the importance of number talks and get more number talk ideas in this blog post here.

Hundreds Chart: I like to have a hundreds chart on my math bulletin board because students can go up and use it whenever they need a hundreds chart.

 

 

I start the school year by having students learn the patterns of a hundreds chart. Students need to learn where to go when they want 1 more, 1 less, 10 more, and 10 less. I have a sheet that goes with the hundreds chart where we can pick a number on the hundreds chart and record 1 more, 1 less, 10 more, and 10 less of that number. Students have to use the patterns to get these numbers. Soon they can use mental math to get these numbers. 

 

After that, I like to teach students how they can add and subtract on a hundreds chart. I have sheets up on our board where I can write equations. Then I can model moving on the hundreds chart to get the answer. Learn more about adding on a hundreds chart in this blog post here and subtracting on a hundreds chart in this blog post here.

Place Value: I believe that place value is the most important thing we teach in 2nd grade math. It gives students the foundation of how our number system works. Place value also sets students up for success with the 3-digit addition and subtraction strategies we teach later in the school year.

 

 

That’s why I like to pre-teach place value early on in the school year with our math bulletin board. On the board I have Velcro dots so that I can post up 3-digit numbers using base ten blocks. Students look at the number and tell me how many hundreds, tens, and ones the number has. I record these on the chart I have on the board. Then students help me get the standard form, the expanded form, and the word form of the number. Students also have to give me 10 more, 10 less, 100 more, and 100 less of that number. When students know these skills, it helps them out greatly with the open number line strategy for addition and subtraction.

 

Learn exactly how I teach each 2nd grade place value standard in this blog post here.

 

I also have a sheet up on the board that reviews 2-digit place value concepts from 1st grade. I write a 2-digit number up on the sheet. Then students tell me how many tens and ones to draw to make the number. We also put the number in expanded form. This helps students when I teach 2-digit addition and subtraction strategies. Learn about each of these strategies in my free guide: The Ultimate Teaching Guide for 2-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Comparing Numbers: Students need to use place value concepts to know how to compare numbers. I use this page to have students balance equations and compare numbers. I write up the numbers and students have to help me make the comparisons correct.

 

 

For the “>” and “<“ sections, I write one number on one side of the symbol and have students give me a number for the other side that would make the comparison correct.

 

On the bottom section with the circle, I write numbers on both sides. Students give me the correct symbol to make the comparison correct and I write it on the sheet.

Fact Families: I put up related numbers in the points of the triangle. Students have to come up with the 2 addition equations and 2 subtraction equations for the numbers. This helps students think addition to subtract, increasing their fact fluency!

 

 

When students get the hang of this, I replace one of the numbers with a question mark. Students have to give the 4 equations with the question mark in them. Then they choose one equation to help them solve for the question mark. This prepares students to solve world problems using a part-part-whole diagram. To learn more about that, read this blog post here. 

 

Later on in the school year, you can use 2-digit and 3-digit numbers. This will help students see how you can add to subtract for 2-digit/3-digit strategies like adding up to subtract on an open number line. Learn more about that in this blog post here.

 

Telling Time: I help students learn the difference between analog and digital clocks with the cutouts and labels. Students can refer to these when they need help telling time. To get students practice, I write a new time on the blank analog clock. Students have to help me write the time or draw the hands on the clock to match the digital time.

 

 

I like to also give my students differentiated practice with telling time throughout the school year. First, I have them play telling time games where they tell time to the hour and half hour. Eventually, I have them play games where they tell time to 5 minutes. This prepares them for our Time unit and helps remember the skills they have learned. Learn more about all these differentiated telling time games in this blog post here.

Counting Coins: I include coin cutouts on our math bulletin board so students can easily recognize the coins. To help students learn their values, I display rhymes and students recite them daily. I use the treasure box activity to post up coins. Then I have students help me count them up and record how to write the amount with cents and in dollars.

 

 

I also have students play differentiated counting coin games throughout the school year. Learn more about these games in this blog post here.

Skip Counting: I have cards for skip counting by 100s, 10s, and 5s to 1,000. To help the cards go up on the board easily, I put Velcro dots on the back of each number card. On the bulletin board, I space out Velcro dots so that I can put a line of numbers for counting by 100s, a line of numbers counting by 10s, and a line of numbers counting by 5s.

 

 

You don’t need to include all the numbers. Throughout the school year I can include different sections of the number sequence. Each day I have my students skip count following those numbers. Once they get that down, I remove a couple numbers and have students use patterns to know which number should be there.

 

Math Board Ideas

 

Now you might be thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot of activities… how do you find the time?” The important thing to remember is that you only do a few activities a day. Just pick a few to do depending on the time you have that day and what your students need.

 

 

These math board ideas will make your math lessons on tricky 2nd grade standards go so much smoother! Your students will already have a foundation! Students will score well on tests and be ready for 3rd grade math because they have reviewed important math concepts all year long with this math talk bulletin board.

 

And what I’ve noticed most… It will help your struggling students find success. They are getting the daily math review they need. All your students are getting a start on learning important math concepts so that when you get to those actual lessons in your math curriculum, they will have a foundation of understanding.

 

You will notice that students will need less intensive math intervention. It’s like they are getting a mini math intervention lesson daily using this math bulletin board.

 

Students can refer to this math board anytime they need support. Need help recognizing a coin? They can check your math bulletin board. Can’t remember which one is the expanded form? They can check that on the math bulletin board. Need help quickly adding 2-digit numbers? Students can go up to your math bulletin board and use the hundreds chart.

 

I love this board because once I get it set up. It saves me so much time! I don’t have to use a lot of brain power to plan out what to review with students. I just look at the board and choose a few activities. It saves me time because I don’t have to switch this bulletin board out every month or year. I’ve used it all my years teaching 2nd grade!

 

Want this math bulletin board in your classroom. Find all the pieces and parts here.

 

The resource has instructions, examples, and math bulletin board pictures. That way you can have an easy set up experience and know exactly what to do. You can get started right away! Find it here.