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" Create a visual for each character you can put on the floor. You can use half a poster board or an 18 by 24in (46 by 61cm) piece of construction paper for each character. The characters should have hands large enough that students can put items in each hand. You can make them slightly larger than your hands, for instance. Tell students a story about the characters to get their brains going. For instance, you can say that Even Steven loves things to be equal and always wants the same amount in each hand. Odd Todd prefers to not have the same amount in each hand. Have several plates of items, such as candy or flat glass marbles. Count out the items together, and ask students which character the plate would belong to. Once you've decided, have a student count out the items again, placing them in the character's hands. Have the child alternate between the 2 hands of the chosen character as they count. Then, count each hand to see if they're the same or not to decide if they guessed right. Let each student grab a handful of the cubes. At their desk, each student should pair up their cubes and then count up how many they have. Ask the students who has 1 cube leftover. When a student raises their hand, ask how many cubes they have altogether. Write those numbers on the board, such as "15," "19," "23," and "11." Write "odd" above them. Explain it's because they have 1 leftover. Ask for totals from the students who don't have any leftover. Write the numbers on the board, such as "16," "22," "8," and "12." Write even above them because they divide out evenly. Have the students put their heads down on their desk. Give them a number, starting with something small. Have students raise their hands for odd numbers or put their hands on their heads if they think it's even. This game is more to see how much students are comprehending, rather than to correct mistakes. After the game, you can go over the concept again. Keep getting bigger with the numbers to see if students have caught on to larger odd-even numbers. Get each student an index card. Write a number on each one, and below it, create the number using dots. In other words, if you write "8," you'll write 8 dots below the number. These are the "mystery" numbers. Have each student take a card. Tell them to pair up the dots, then decide if the number is odd or even. Tell them to write "odd" or "even" by the number. Once they decide, have them bring the card up to the front and place it in the odd bag or the even bag. Then, ask them to tell the class the number and why they think it's odd or even.
Use the characters "Even Steven" and "Odd Todd. Have students pair up cubes or other small objects on their own. Play a heads-down game of identifying odd and even. Try an even-odd mystery game.