5 Low-Floor High-Ceiling Math Tasks: First Grade Building Thinking Classrooms Tasks

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When starting the Building Thinking Classrooms framework, the most challenging part can be finding tasks that work for 1st grade. Let’s talk about some of my most loved, bestselling 1st grade math tasks. 

Each task has an original task, and thin-sliced follow-up tasks designed to be completed within the same problem-solving session. Each thin slice is a little more challenging than the previous one, perfect for groups who tend to finish early. After students have completed the task, they have either 3 differentiated levels of a check your understanding follow-up tasks, or a game or activity to reinforce the learning, perfect for consolidation or a lesson wrap-up.

These tasks cover a range of topics like composing shapes, addition and subtraction to 20, measuring objects with nonstandard units, graphing with up to four categories, and numbers to 120!

Composing Shapes Challenge

This task is set up in the form of challenges. (Most students love the idea of challenge as it helps “gamify” a task.) In each challenge, the students need to create the shape or item named, like a boat or a house, with pattern blocks. Each new challenge increases in difficulty, as do the check-your-understanding challenges!

Addition and Subtraction Within 20

In this task, your students need to figure out the value of all of the symbols. For example, if the symbol was an image of an umbrella plus another umbrella equals 10, then the value of the umbrella is 5. From there, they fill out a chart that gives the value a letter and use the letters to crack the code and figure out the codeword or phrase! This task is great because it feels like a puzzle, and students can use addition or subtraction to figure out the value of each symbol.

Measuring By Laying Multiple Copies of an Object Math Task 

This task takes your students on a little medieval adventure! The Cube Queen and the Popsicle Stick King are renovating a room in their castle. They need to measure various things around the room before their renovations can start. They will have to measure objects with cubes and popsicle sticks and discuss which item is best for measuring various items and strategies for accurate measurement.

Graphing and Data Math Task

In this graphing task, a group of friends planned a trip to the carnival! They voted on rides, snacks, and games. Each thin slice has your students counting the votes, graphing, and answering questions about the data. For the check your understanding mild, medium, or spicy questions, students need to see which prizes were chosen between two, three, or four choices.

120 Chart Math Task

In this task, a thief has stolen numbers from the Hundred Chart! They have stolen numbers in the same pattern, so students have to use the numbers around each missing number to figure out which number is missing. This task starts with one missing number, and gradually has more numbers missing as it increases in difficulty. 

In addition to thin-slices and check-your-understanding questions, there are printable worksheets included to reinforce the number patterns they are working with that can be used as work for early finishers, morning work, or in a center!

You can save on all of these tasks, or be set with tasks for each common core standard here!