Lara Carnovali – the famous teacher and blogger known online in social networks as “Teacher Larissa” – has created a new briefcase to gradually bring children and mathematics closer together

Dedicated to children in first and second grades of primary school, Teacher Larissa’s Mathematics Briefcase offers many games and activities which aim to engage and entertain while dealing with mathematical concepts.

In this way, mathematics transforms into something interesting and exciting!

Teacher Larissa’s Mathematics Briefcase is made up of 10 decks of cards, with 55 cards in each, two boards with dice and tokens to use with over 30 activities that cover the most important didactic objectives in mathematics in the first and second grades of primary school.

The decks of cards in the briefcase should not only be considered as teaching tools to be used in the classroom. Being games, first and foremost, they can very well be used at home as an activity for consolidating learning or simply for leisure and pleasure.

Some games require two players to participate, others involve a larger group of children, while others still are solitary games. 

THE GAMES IN THE BRIEFCASE; FUN, INTRIGUING AND ALWAYS NEW

MORE OR LESS

Addition and subtraction to 12

MOVE THE BUSH

Mental calculations to 50

MONSTROUS TIMES TABLES

Times tables and logical associations

TASTY OPERATIONS

The 4 operations and logical associations

EVERYBODY LINE UP!

Positions of objects in space

A DOMINO… MORE OR LESS

Addition and subtraction to 20

IT’S TIME TO PLAY!

Knowing and recognizing time

LET’S STAY IN SHAPE

The main geometric shapes

A MIND LIKE A STEEL TRAP

The representations of numbers

A DELICIOUS PIZZA

Recognizing the parts of a whole

THE NUMBERS OF THE PLANETS

Calculations with different operations

THE TIMES TABLES POND

The times tables and answers

HOW TO USE THE DECKS OF CARDS

The teacher who proposes a game to the class using the decks of cards has numerous possibilities for organizing the activity.  For example, he/she can:

• Provide one hour per week of "educational playroom", where children can be divided into autonomous groups and are free to choose which games to play.  In this case the decks are used more as a tool for revision and consolidation than for learning.
• Include card games within the lesson, along with other activities with the same objectives, which children can choose independently.
• Propose games in moments of unstructured free play, such as at break time and after lunch, always letting children choose whether to play or not.
• Use the briefcase with the decks as a useful "filler", to involve those children who finish their work first in a playful review activity.  For just this reason, some games are designed to be solitary self-correcting games that children can use independently.

SOME ADVICE BEFORE YOU PLAY

• Each deck contains some blank cards, which should be removed before use.  It is possible to personalize them with additional pictures, numbers and/or operations, or use them to replace any eventual lost cards.  
• It is advisable for the children to become familiar with the cards before starting the activities. 
• In some games the order in which the children must take turns is not specified, leaving room for customizing the game according to individual needs

Lara Carnovali
Primary school teacher, she is involved in the direction of the Italian School in Portland (USA), a non-profit teaching organization for teaching Italian to mainly English-speaking adults and children.
Known on the web as the Teacher Larissa, thanks to her blog, she is a reference point for teachers and parents.