Hundred Chart Ideas

Name that Pattern

Provide each student with a hundreds chart and clear chips. If you do not have clear chips, laminate the
hundreds chart and provide each student with a dry erase marker (they will be able to shade in the
numbers that you call out). The students can work in pairs during this activity to explore and discover
various number patterns.

Solve Number Riddles

Keep a list of riddles for students to solve daily. Example: find a number that is greater than 22, but less
than 26, or find the number that is 10 less than 72, etc.

Discovering Patterns of Skip Counting by 5’s, 10’s, etc:

When you first introduce students to this activity it is important to start with familiar patterns or
numbers. From this point you can progress to patterns that are not as obvious to students.

Ask the students to place clear chips on or shade in the following numbers: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30. Allow
the students to discuss the patterns they notice with partners. Select several speakers to share what he
or she noticed with the class.

Next, ask students to place the chips on another set of familiar numbers like: 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70.
Allow the students to discuss the patterns they notice with partners. Select different speakers to share
with the class

Important Questions to Ask During this Activity Include:

What patterns do you notice?

How did you see these patterns? Prove it by showing it to us.

What do you think will happen if I change the starting number? Will the patterns remain the same or
will they change? Will you still skip count by the same amount?

Do you notice any patterns with the digits in the numbers? What are they?

The most important part of this activity is to allow the students’ time to discuss and share the patterns
they notice.

On another day, allow time for students to look at less conventional patterns that skip count by 5’s like
23, 28, 33, 38, 43 and 48. Use the same guiding questions from above to provide meaningful
discussions.

How many numbers are there from 11 to 25? Are you sure? What does it mean to count from one
number to another? When you count, do you include the first number, or the last one, or both, or
neither? Talk about inclusive and exclusive counting, and then make up counting puzzles for each other.

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Cut up a hundred board into irregular pieces to make a puzzle. For more of a challenge, cut a blank chart
into puzzle pieces, writing in one or two numbers per piece. Can your student fill in the rest of the
numbers?

Play “Arrow Games”: Starting at the number given, each arrow means to move one square in the
direction shown. What number is “45 ← ← ↑ → ↑”? How would you use arrows to say, “Start and 27
and move to 59”? Make up your own arrow code for someone to follow.

Guess My Number Warm Up Activity

As another warm up activity idea, I ask the students to guess my number. With the hundreds chart in
front of each student I provide clues to the students and give them the opportunity to guess which
number I am thinking of. For example I give the following clues:

My number is a two digit number.

My number is greater than 7 and less than 17.

You can only land on my number by skip counting by 2’s.

The two digits in my number add up to 5.

What’s my number? Answer is 14.

Play Race to 100 with dice- print out a chart for each person playing and take turn rolling dice. Cross off
the squares as you roll the numbers. If you correctly predict your landing place before you move
(without counting squares!), then you can go one extra space as a bonus. The first person to reach or
pass 100 wins the game.

Rounding to the nearest 10 — say a number and have the child put a marker on that number. Then let
him decide which 10 that number is closer to and put a marker on it (or, if you’re using a paper chart,
draw an arrow to the nearest 10).

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Make a peek-a-boo cross that shows kids the relationship between a number and the other numbers
touching it.

Use the hundred chart as a number line to do addition and subtraction beyond what your child normally
can handle. Take turns making up problems for each other to solve. Develop mental math skills by
showing how to add or subtract the tens first (counting up or down) then the ones (counting left or
right.)

Look for addition and subtraction patterns. 3+9=? Now go to 23+9, 33+9, 63+9. What do you notice?
What do 15-7, 25-7, 45-7, etc. have in common? Find other patterns.

Look for counting-by (multiplication) patterns. Colored disks are nice for this, or use pinto beans. Mark
the numbers you hit when you count by 2. What pattern do they make? Make the counting-by-3
pattern, or mark the 7s, etc. You may want to print several charts so you can color in the patterns and
compare them. Why does the counting-by-5 pattern go down the way it does? Why do the 9’s move
diagonally across the chart?

Making 100

Give out a number and ask how many more you need to make 100. For example, say I have 70. How
many more do I need to make 100?

When the students become efficient making 100 using the 10’s, have them make 100, using the 5’s. for
example, I have 75. How many more do I need to make 100?

Then move to any random number off the decade and off the 5’s, so that students are practicing to
make compatible numbers.