Section 1

Standards and Activities for Kindergarten

Counting and Cardinality: K.CC.1

“Know number names and the count sequence.”

1. “Count to 100 by ones and by tens.”

Background

When young children are learning to count, they may count some numbers more than once, skip numbers, and count numbers in the wrong order. Such instances are signs that they do not think of numbers as having any specific order or any relationship to other numbers. To count accurately, children need to understand that numbers are related to other numbers and that order matters.

Activity 1: Reading a Counting Book

The teacher reads Richard Scarry's Best Counting Book Ever to the class and discusses numbers and counting.

Materials

Richard Scarry's Best Counting Book Ever by Richard Scarry (Sterling, 2010).

Procedure

1. Gather your students around you so that you will be able to share the illustrations with them as you read. Explain that you are going to read a book about Willy Bunny and counting.
2. As you read, pause often and encourage your students to count along with the story. Show the illustrations that will help them to associate numbers with objects.
3. Explain the order of the numbers. For example, 1 comes before 2 and makes 2; 2 comes before 3 and makes 3; 3 comes before 4 and makes 4; and so on. Explain that 10 ones make 10, and that groups of 10 make 20, 30, and so on.

Closure

Discuss the book with your students and review the relationships between numbers. Ask your students to recall numbers and relate them to objects in the book. Turn to specific pages to reinforce numbers and objects.

Activity 2: Counting Floor Tiles

This activity may be divided into sessions over a few days. Students count off tiles as they walk, first by ones and then by tens.

Materials

A floor with at least 100 tiles; for example, a hallway or gymnasium floor.

Procedure

1. Explain to your students that they will count to 100, using floor tiles as a guide.
2. Take your students into the hallway or gym, or similar area where the floor is covered with tiles. Select a place that will not disturb others as your students count.
3. You may conduct the activity by having your students follow each other in a long line and walk on the same tiles, or you may divide them into groups and have them walk along tiles in separate lines.
4. To begin the activity, instruct your students to step forward, one tile at a time, and as a group count in order: . You may count with them, your voice serving as a guide. If necessary, correct students to ensure that they count accurately. Repeat this activity a few times to make certain that all your students understand the sequence of counting to 100. An option here is to have your students count tiles (quietly, of course) as they walk through the halls to gym, art, music, or other special classes.
5. After counting to 100 as a class, explain to your students that they will now count by tens to 100. (Note: You may prefer to complete this part of the activity on another day.) Lead the class in counting by tens so that all students know what they are to do. Depending on the abilities of your students, you may explain that 10 is a group of 10 ones; 20, therefore, is made up of two groups of 10 ones, or 2 tens, and other tens are similarly made up of groups of 10 ones.
6. Working as a whole class, or in groups, have your students walk and count tiles by tens. They should silently count by ones and then say every interval of 10.

Closure

Upon returning to class, discuss that counting by ones from 1 to 100 includes some of the same numbers as when counting by tens from 10 to 100 (the multiples of ten). Ask your students to name these numbers. For reinforcement, and also to allow you to check for understanding, have groups of students count while you listen.

Activity 3: Pass the Critter and Count

Sitting in a circle, students pass a stuffed animal from one student to another and count from 1 to 100. The first student says 1, the second student says 2, the third students says 3, and the procedure continues to 100. After counting by ones, students pass the critter in the same fashion and count by tens from 10 to 100.

Materials

A small stuffed animal.

Procedure

1. Have your students sit in a circle, either on the floor or in their chairs.
2. Introduce the stuffed animal who will help them count. Explain that they will pass the stuffed animal along, from one student to another, and count. Upon receiving the stuffed animal, each student will say the number that follows the number that the student before her said, and then pass the stuffed animal to the next student who says the next number. The class will count from 1 to 100. Encourage your students to count silently to themselves as the stuffed animal is passed, as this will help to reinforce the counting sequence for them. Correct students if they make mistakes in counting. (A variation of this exercise is to allow students to pass the stuffed animal to whomever they wish. In this case, you must make sure that every student gets a chance to count and that some students do not get significantly more chances than others.)
3. After students have counted by ones to 100, repeat the activity by having them pass the stuffed animal around and count by tens to 100.

Closure

Lead the class in counting by ones to 100 and then in counting by tens to 100. Ask for volunteers to count by tens from 10 to 100.

Counting and Cardinality: K.CC.2

“Know number names and the count sequence.”

2. “Count forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence (instead of having to begin at 1).”

Background

Cardinal numbers, such as 1, 12, and 57, indicate quantity. A cardinal number does not indicate order. Only when we count do cardinal numbers become part of a sequence.

Activity 1: Pick a Number and Count

Working in groups, students draw a card from two separate sets of cards. Each card in the first set contains a number from 1 to 9. Each card in the second set contains a number from 0 to 9. Together, the numbers on the cards will form a two-digit number, from which students are to count to 100.

Materials

Reproducibles, “Number Set, I” and “Number Set, II,” for each group of students; scissors or paper cutter for the teacher.

Preparation

Make 1 copy of each reproducible for each group. (Copying each reproducible on a different color of paper will make it easy to keep the two sets of cards separate. It will also allow you to make a distinction between tens and ones, should you choose to reinforce this concept.) After making copies, cut the cards out but keep the sets separate so that you may give one of each set to each group.

Procedure

1. Distribute both sets of number cards to each group. Caution students to keep the cards in separate piles, with the numbers from “Number Set, I” being in the first pile and the numbers from “Number Set, II” being in the second pile. Note that the second pile should contain a zero.
2. Instruct your students to turn the two sets of cards face down and mix up the cards in each set. One student then picks a number from each set. Explain that the first card should be selected from the first pile and represents the first number of a two-digit number (or the tens), and the second card, picked from the second pile, represents the second number (or the ones.) The two-digit number made up of both cards is the number that the group starts counting from as they count to 100. For example, if the first card picked was 5 and the second was 8, the group would start counting from 58. You may want to point out that the number 6 and the number 9 are underlined. Ask your students why this might be. Even at this age students might realize that the underlining is to make sure that the numbers are not mistakenly turned upside down so that the 6 and 9 are misread.
3. Explain that the student who picked the cards should place them aside and then start counting by saying the number. The other students in the group follow, one after the other, each student stating the next number in sequence, counting until they reach 100. As a student states a number, if a member of the group believes that the number is incorrect, he should raise his hand. The counting sequence stops and the group members discuss what the next number should be. You should then verify that the number they agree on is correct, and the counting sequence continues.
4. Explain that after counting to 100, another student in the group chooses two new cards, one from each set. The two-digit number made from the numbers on the cards is the new starting number and the counting exercise is repeated. The activity goes on until all group members pick numbers. If time remains, you may have students do another round.

Closure

Discuss some of the numbers groups counted from. Ask questions such as the following: Which, if any, numbers did you find to be harder to count from than others? Which numbers, if any, were easiest to count from? Why?

Activity 2: A Random Number Generator

The teacher uses a random number generator from a Web site to generate numbers from...