My son helped me make number bond hula hoops out of dollar store pool noodles and hula hoops. A team mate of mine made these last year and I waited impatiently for these items to return to the dollar store!
As we do our morning work students have to complete a partially finished number bond. Having this big class sized manipulative makes it such an easy concept to master! Students can physically move the pieces. {I will only place as many noodle pieces on the hoop as the whole number we are working with.}
- Step One, cut a pool noodle into pieces. You can get 20 from one noodle. It cuts like butter. No teeth gritting styrofoam nightmares.
Today for Day 10 of Christmas in July, I am featuring A Teacher’s Math Resource Units 1-9.
I use these units to help anchor instruction for both the students and myself! I have a little math wall pictured below. It’s black with shapes on it in this picture. Each time we had a new unit of study in math I would put up our essential questions, big ideas, math vocab and teaching posters.
This is one that we do with large manipulatives. I keep a tub of random koosh balls and small stuffed animals as large manipulatives. I throw a heap of critters down and ask the students to tell me how many. They just look at me strangely. Then I place a hula hoop down on the rug and have them place ten critters in the hula hoop. We count the ten and the extras. This is one of the ways I explain the importance of making a group of ten.
When we are using manipulatives to help us read the comparison symbols…
There are 9 total units to complete the year of math standards. I teach in Texas so two of the units include time, coins, and financial literacy.

I am giddy about the number bond hula hoop idea! Brilliant!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Hula hoop idea is genius!!! Thank you!!
Thanks for this and the many other posts you've written that enrich my classroom. I really appreciate how you incorporate so much substantial content that is so tremendously practical. You have so much to share, and great hands-on ideas. I also love your products and find that reading your blog is beginning to really add up on my TpT wish list (lol).
Great hands on activity to help clarify basic math understandings. Smiles and stop by anytime.
Great idea! I'm on my way to the dollar store right now. Thank you for your fabulous ideas and amazing products. I love them ALL!
I teach 5th grade math, and I am going to try this with Venn diagrams. I use hula hoops already for teaching Venn diagrams in math, but adding the noodle pieces and sliding them to the appropriate overlapping space would be a great visual. Thanks for the idea!
Ah.Mazing!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea. Thanks for always sharing such wonderful ideas…YOU ROCK!!
✰ Stacy
Simpson Superstars
This is fabulous! I’m sharing this post on my #TrendingInMath feature today!
I am going to attempt guided math in my first grade class this year. I used many of your packets last year in math centers and my kiddos loved them! I am hoping that implementing guided math will help soothe the chaos that became our math time last year. While I would try to meet with groups at my table, the other students would get off task and get too noisy. I really like your idea of 10 minute groups. Might I ask how you send your students to their "station"? Do you group them, have a station board, or let the students choose?
Caitlyn
[email protected]
Love the hula hoop idea! I made mine this weekend! I can't wait to use it. Number bonds were SO hard for my students to grasp last year. This is a FANTASTIC way to model this skill. THANK YOU! Tell your guy thanks for the demonstration as well!! 🙂
Love this! I have bracelets with beads…but bigger is better!!! Dollar store here I come. Thank you for sharing a great way to 'act on a concept'.
The Red Brick Road Teacher