Deck o’ Dots: Resources

Nov 18, 2016

Differentiation should be invisible in the classroom. When using Deck o’ Dots in the classroom, it looks like all students are playing the game, but Deck o’ Dots allows for that seamless differentiation both in color of cards used or game board you use.

deck o dots

There are three colors:

  • Red Cards: For children learning how to subitize (instantly recognize) arranged quantities to 5 within the five frame structure.
  • Yellow Cards: For children learning how to subitize (instantly recognize) arranged quantities to 10 within the ten frame structure.
  • Green Cards: For children learning how to subitize (instantly recognize) scattered quantities through 10. The cards with quantities 6-0 have a star on Sam’s cape. Look for the stars to help you sort the deck easily from 0-5 or 6-10.

Purchase your Deck o’ Dots cards in our store! They’re available as an individual set or as a class set of 5 or 15.

Download all the game boards (for free!) here in our store! You’ll find the game boards, complete instructions, and accountability sheets. Add them to your cart (you won’t be charged!), continue through the check out process, and you will be provided with a download link to the PDFs.

deck o dots math gameThere are many ways to use the Deck o’ Dots cards, but here are few that were highlighted in our Math Mania Monday Facebook Live video this week.

Same, Less, More. This simple comparison game, played individually or in groups, helps kids look at the structure of quantity and quickly determine if the quantity they have in their hands is the same, more, or less than the target quantity.

Played similarly to the simple game of War, where the highest card wins the round, Deck 0′ Dots Duel requires students to justify how they know and why their card is the highest before they win. As students advance, they can play a double duel, where students must add two cards and compare the sum to the other sum to see who wins. Check out our previous post on this game to see videos of each of the different color decks in action!

Deck o’ Dot Difference. This game involves a bank (20 counters or pennies). Two students take turns comparing their two cards and the higher card gets to draw the difference between the two cards from the bank. When the bank is gone, the person with the most counters wins!

deck o dots stackAs students are playing the games, it is important to also provide them with an accountability sheet of some kind. It is impossible for you to oversee every game going on in the classroom at any given time. To students, it feels like keeping score, but having an accountability sheet to review allows you to check in on the students and see how their understanding is progressing. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just a simple graphic organizer for students to slow down as they play and be able to record the rounds of their games in order to explain their thinking to you later on, if needed. Check out our accountability sheets coming in the Deck o’ Dots Additional Resources bundle!

In case you can’t tell, we LOVE Deck o’ Dots and we know you will too! Be sure to check out our previous posts about Deck o’ Dots for more great info!

Deck O’ Dots Are Finally Here!

Deck o’ Dots Duel

Subitizing Combo Slap

 

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