Grade K: Unit K.CC.A.1-3, Know number names and the count sequence.

Lesson Seed: Pick a Number (Lesson Seeds are ideas for the domain/cluster/standard that can be used to build a lesson. Lesson Seed are not meant to be all-inclusive, nor are they substitutes for instruction.)

Domain: CC: Counting and Cardinality
Cluster: Know number names and count in sequence.
Standard(s): K.CC.A.2 Count forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence (instead of having to begin at 1.
Purpose/Big Idea: Count from a given number forward. SMP 7: Students discern a pattern or structure in counting. (Students should notice patterns in numbers as they count.)
(This activity is a good routine to use with students in a short period of time.)
Materials: none required but…
·  Teachers may want to have tools to help struggling students (number lines, hundreds chart).
·  Teachers may want to have random number generators (dice, number cards, number sticks, random number app, etc….).
·  Teachers may want to have an object to make noise to signal the end of counting (i.e. bell, music, etc…).
Activity: Pick a Number
·  Teacher gives the class a randomly picked number or uses one of the tools referenced above to randomly generate a number.
·  Teacher asks the class (or individual student or group) to count aloud from the chosen number until the teacher indicates they should stop counting.
· 
Guiding Questions:
·  What patterns do you notice as we count?
·  What tools will help you if you forget the numbers?
·  What comes next? How do you know?
Scaffolding:
·  All students continue to count.
·  As the year progresses and students develop, increase the range of random numbers.
·  Teachers may ask students to identify the number that comes before or after instead of counting a sequence of numbers.
·  Find the number on the hundreds chart and point and count the sequence. (This can also be done on an electronic board.)
·  If students are struggling to say the number names, have them first point to the numbers in order using a hundreds chart or number line.
·  Have students snap their fingers on or between the numbers to keep students counting together.
Extensions:
·  Count backward.
·  Have students stand in a circle and count around the circle from the randomly chosen number until the teacher signals to stop. The next student picks a number and they begin counting again, in the circle, until the teacher signals.

May 15, 2013 Page 1 of 3