Developing Big Ideas
Number Concepts
and Operations
Number and Operations Assessment
Understanding what your child already knows will help you decide what to teach next.
Can child say numbers correctly from 1-5? 1-10? 1-20? Beyond 20?
Does child understand that the next number in the counting sequence represents one more than the previous number?
Does child correctly apply counting sequence to determine quantity?
Does child understand that the last number said represents the total number of objects?
Does child understand that the number of objects is the same regardless of arrangement?
Can child identify numerals 1-5? 1-10? 1-20? Beyond 20?
Does child connect numerals with quantity?
Does child understand terms such as more than, less than, same as, equal to?
Can child use objects to solve simple addition and subtraction problems totaling less than 5? Less than 10? Beyond 10? (Examples: You have 3 blocks, if I give you 2 more, how many blocks will you have? I have 4 crayons, if I give you 1, how many will I have?)
Activity 1: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Counting
Materials Included: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Book, felt story pieces, laminated fruit with numerals on one side (1 red apple, 2 yellow pears, 3 purple plums, 4 red strawberries, and 5 orange oranges), laminated chart, master for reproducing.
*While reading the story, ask questions that will encourage counting-
"How many oranges did the caterpillar eat? Let's count together!", touching each orange as you count left to right (1, 2, 3, 4! He ate 4 oranges!).
*Look at the felt story pieces with the children. Encourage counting while they retell the story. Ask the children to compare them to the book- Are they the same? Are they different?
*Fruit chart: Have children put the fruit on the chart. Encourage them to compare and think mathematically- Which is more? Which is less? How do you know?
*Fruit math: "How much did the caterpillar eat all together?" "If the caterpillar only ate the strawberries and the pears, how many would he have eaten?" Let children create the story problems for the class to solve.
*Notice numerals on the fruit, help child put them in correct order and count again, noting that the last number counted is the number of items you have.
Activity 2:
Number Games:
Roll A Numeral
Materials – an open file folder. Draw 6 squares on each of the four sides of the file folder.
Example / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / (make a path like this on all four sides of game board)A large numeral die
Six poker chips or markers per player (total 24)
Directions: Four children play the game by taking turns rolling the die. If the child can match the numeral showing on the die with a numeral on his path, he may cover that numeral with a poker chip. When playing the game the object is to learn about numbers, matching and counting. It is important not to focus on winning. Even if one child completes their pathway before the others continue to roll the die until all children have completed their pathway of numbers.
Variation: Use dice with pips/dots. Child will count the pips and cover up the matching number on the game board.
Sets of 10
Materials – Make four game boards with 10 empty squares
10 wood cubes or unifix cubes for each child
Make 40 individual cards (cards should all be the same size) – on each card you will write a number – 1-5. 8 cards write #1, 8 cards write #2, 8 cards write #3, 8 cards write #4, 8 cards write #5.
Directions:
Give each child a game board and 10 wood cubes or 10 unifix cubes (make sure each child cubes are the same colors – example: child 1-red cubes, child 2-yellow cubes, child 3-blue cubes, child 4- green cubes). Mix up cards and put them in a stack with numbers facing down. Have child number 1 draw a card off the top of the pile. The number on the card will be the number of cubes the child will count out and place on his game board. Each cube should fit inside an empty square (Children should be instructed to place cubes beginning in the square in the upper left hand corner of the game board and filling in the square on the top portion of game board before moving to the bottom portion of game board). Children will take turns drawing a card and placing their cubes on game board until all boards are completed.
Bowling
Directions:
Children roll a ball to knock down a group of objects (empty water bottles, empty clean milk cartons, juice cans). After children roll the ball, they count the number of objects they’ve knocked down and begin again.
Variation: make a chart and keep track of how many objects each child knocks down. Teacher will help with recording in the beginning, but as children become more familiar with numbers and writing numbers they can begin to write how many objects they knock down.
Activity 3
Number Chart:
Make number charts to hang on wall. Begin with charts that are 1 – 10. As children become more experienced with numbers add charts 1-20. Children should be encouraged to use the charts throughout the day. When counting objects with children you might ask them to find the number that matches on the number chart. When children begin learning how to write numbers you can suggest they go look at the number chart to remember what the number looks like.
Remember- When counting for a purpose, counting becomes important.
How many children are at the table? So how many glue sticks do we need? (important)
How many cars will fit into the garage you just built? (more important)
How many crackers will each child get at snack? (very important!)
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Ideas for extensions:
*Make a chart to record the children's favorite fruits, the color of the children's shirts that day, their favorite type of pet (or what they think would make a good pet- this could start a fun conversation)... You can chart anything that would be fun and interesting to the children and would involve COUNTING and COMPARING (MORE/LESS)!
* Make a chart and use it to record and count votes for the story to be read first that day, what game to play, or the name for a new goldfish...
*Look for other books you could use to create activities that include number skills.
*Create meaningful problems for the children to solve. Example: We have 10 crackers, and there are 5 people at our table, how many crackers should each person get?
* Purchased or homemade – number bingo game, number lotto game, Candyland or homemade board games where children move markers the number of spaces indicated on die or spinners.
Vocabulary to use when teaching Numbers Concepts and Operations