A volunteer placed the symbol in the center of the board to complete our number sentence. We looked through our symbols and found the picture showing the alligatorВ head facing right. The class unanimously agreed that the bigger number would go first. вЂњIf a hungry alligator came along looking for a snack, what cookie would he want to eat: 17 or 58?вЂќ I asked. We read each number and talked about the one that was bigger. I placed the first cookie in the stack on the box marked вЂњ1st NumberвЂќ and the second cookie on the right covering the box labeled вЂњ2nd NumberвЂќ. I showed my students the manipulative mat and the record sheet and worked through an example. My first graders loved this activity! To play, I gathered my students on the carpet and reviewed the greater than, less than and equal to symbols, reminding them that it helps to think of the greater than and less than signs as hungry alligators that want to eat the biggest number. I was good to go! Greater Than and Less Than Alligators Then, I placed the cookies in one stack and the symbols in another. To make the activity last from year-to-year, I slid the pieces through my laminator. To prep the activity, I simply printed the greater than, less than and equal to cookies and alligator symbols on cardstock and cut along the grey lines to separate them. TheyвЂ™re a perfect addition to our popular Place Value Cover Up activity from the shop! Luckily, these hands-on alligators help make sense of the complicated math signs and motivate kids to practice again and again. ThatвЂ™s certainly true for greater than and less than symbols! Some math concepts are harder for kids to learn than others.

Symbols greater than less than equal to