All the Fish in the Sea Math Warm Up

 fish math game

Here is a math warm up you can use to engage your students at the beginning of a small group lesson. Play it with a small number of students. 

Your students can:

  • recognize numbers 1-20
  • count on from various starting positions within 1-20
  • represent numbers with actions

To play All the Fish in the Sea

  • have a set of number cards in your range (here we're using 1-20)
  • you could print number posters 6 to a page to make cards
  • put all the number cards (fish shaped if possible) into a dish 
  • tell your students to watch and try to catch a fish and ask them to call the number
  • the first child to call the number correctly can be said to have 'caught a fish' and they keep the card
  • all students say the number and clap/count forward to 20
  • e.g. you pull 4 from the dish, students race to say 4 first, all students say 4 (and then count and clap 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 ,18, 19, 20)
  • once all your cards have been used, you can tell students that all the fish in the sea have been caught and its time to put them back
  • call a number and the student who has this number passes it back

You can also do a quick number identification warm up by having your students quickly call each number after mixing up the cards. Extend it the following day with the number +1. Or, play this video on the side of your electronic board workspace! 



I hope your students enjoy this math warm up. You may also like: