Number Sense and Operation
Activities
Grade: Kindergarten
By: Kristi Albright
Solway Elementary School - [email protected]
Cathleen Stevens
Laporte Elementary School - [email protected]
June 29, 2007
Number Sense and Number Theory
Bemidji State University
June 11-29, 2007
Executive Summary
1
These lessons are designed as a supplemental tool for our district’s current math
curriculum. They will help the students to have additional practice for their math
knowledge. One Friday a month, a lesson will be chosen based upon the
curriculum subject matter to extend their learning.
The lessons in this unit cover all the Minnesota State Standards and benchmarks
for kindergarten.
Activities
Unifix Cube Activity #1 - pg. 4-5
What’s Next? Game #2 - pg. 6-7
Number Book #3 - pg. 8-9
Ten in the Bed #4 - pg. 10-11
Monster Squeeze #5 - pg. 12-13
Ladybug Number Puzzle #6 - pg. 14-15
Card Combos Game #7 - pg. 16-17
Addition/ Subtraction Bottles #8 - pg. 18-19
Kite Activity #9 - pg 20-21
Kindergarten Standards
Number Sense
Standard: Understand the relationship between quantities and whole
numbers up to 31.
1. Recognize that a number can be used to represent the number of objects in a
set or the position of an object in a sequence. Recognize that rearranging the
objects in a sequence does not change the total number of objects in the
sequence, but it does change their position.
2. Read, write, and represent whole numbers from 0-31.
3. Count, with and without objects, forward and backward to at least 20.
4. Find a number that is 1 more or 1 less than a given number.
5. Compare and order whole numbers, with and without objects from 0-20.
Standard: Use objects and pictures to represent situations involving
combining and separating.
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1. Use objects and draw pictures to find the sum and differences of numbers
between 1 and 10.
2. Compose and decompose numbers up to 10 with objects and pictures.
Unifix Cube Activity #1
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Standard #0.1.1.1 :
Recognize that a number can be used to represent how many objects are in set
or to represent the position of an object in a sequence.
Materials:
Unifix cubes, unifix cube worksheet, and crayons.
Objective:
The students will practice recognizing that switching the color order the
connected unifix cubes does not change the number of objects.
The students will practice understanding that numbers can be represented in a
different sequence using the same color of connected unifix cubes.
Launch:
What are some ways that you can show me six by connecting the unifix cubes?
Each student will take a turn showing the class what their six connecting cubes
looks like? The teacher will also show some examples. If I hold up six blue
connecting unifix cubes, is that the same as if I hold up six red connecting unifix
cubes? How about if I hold up three red connecting unifix cubes and three red
connecting unifix cubes. Does that equal six? What if I hold up a sequence of a
red, blue, red, blue, red, blue connecting unifix cube is that still six?
Explore:
The students will then compare their connected cubes with the class. They will
lay their tower in the middle of the circle, so that all of the students can see the
towers are the same length. The class will then take their connected cubes back
to their spot. The teacher will ask them to take them apart and put them back
together in a different color order. As a class, everyone will share whether they
still have six cubes or not. They will then take their cubes apart to get different
colors and put them back to make another connected set of six. This will show
that they still have six cubes, no matter what color.
The students will show, by coloring in their worksheet, the ways that they have
represented six with their connected set of six cubes.
Share:
Each student will share with the rest of the class the new way they have
represented the number six. The students will also show the class their
worksheet with all of the different ways they have found to represent six with their
connected set of six unifix cubes. The teacher will ask the students different
questions to find out how the students represented the number six.
Do you think we could have more colors and still find towers of six?
Could we use only one color and get a tower of six?
If I take the tower apart and give the unifix cubes to each student will I still have
six?
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I will hold up different lengths of towers and see if the kids can tell me whether I
have six or not, if I do not have a tower how can I change my tower to get six?
Summarize:
Today we explored various colors of six connecting unifix cubes. We learned,
that no matter what way the colored cubes were rearranged they still made six.
Tomorrow, we will use bigger numbers (8, 10, 12) to see if rearranging the
colored cubes will still make the same number.
Extension:
Use various other objects, such as the students, to check for transfer of
understanding.
What’s Next Game #2
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Standard # 0.1.1.1 :
Recognize that a number can be used to represent how many objects are in a
set or to represent the position of an object in a sequence.
Materials:
Deck of cards (Ace through 10)
Materials Can Be Found at:
Yeatts, Karol L. (2000). Mega-Fun Card-Game Math. New York: NY: Scholastic
Professional Books, 7.
Objective:
1. The student will practice the number sequence 1-10.
Launch:
The teacher will ask the students to line up as she calls their names. (Call
students from shortest to tallest or vice verse) Then ask the students what they
notice about the line (in line from shortest to tallest). The teacher will then tell the
students that the numbers 1-10 work the same way. The smallest numbers are
at the beginning and the biggest numbers are at the end. The students will
continue practicing the concept by beginning very low to the ground and start
counting. As they count to bigger numbers they will get bigger too.
Explore:
The teacher will then share the rules to the game “What’s Next?”.
1. The cards are placed in four equal piles.
2. Each player picks a card. The highest number begins the game.
3. The player must collect all the cards from Ace =1 to 10.
4. The first player picks a card. If it is not a Ace= 1, then they turn the
card back over and it is the next players turn.
5. The first player with the cards from Ace=1 to 10 wins.
The students will then play the card game with their partners.
Share:
The students will come back together as a group and the teacher will ask the
following questions:
Was the game fair? Why or why not?
What could we do to make the game harder?
Did you learn what numbers came or before another? Name a sequence
of numbers. (1 is before 2 and 2 is before three.)
The student partners will each share one thing they learned from playing the
game.
Summarize:
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The teacher will tell the students that it does matter what order numbers are in.
For example, it would not make sense to count like this: 2,5,1,3,6,7. By playing
the game today, we discovered that we have to have the numbers in order from
smallest to biggest (Ace=1 to ten). We will play this game again tomorrow, but
we will practice counting from the big number 10 and go down to the small
number Ace=1. The teacher will ask the students to show her how numbers
grow from 0 up to 10. (crouching on the ground and growing as they get to bigger
numbers.)
Number Book #3
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Standard # 0.1.1.2 :
Read, write, and represent whole numbers from 0 to at least 31.
Materials: Pre-made number book for each up to 35 (one page per day), pencils,
crayons, counting manipulatives, and stamps.
Objectives:
The students will to be able to recognize numbers 1-35.
The students will to be able to write numbers 0-35.
The students will to be able to represent numbers in a variety of ways using
manipulatives.
Launch:
What are some ways that you can show the number 5? Call on volunteers to
show us their representations of the number 5. The teacher then will then give
examples like who is five years old, who has five brothers or sisters, who has five
pets, who has a five in their phone number? Today we are going to show the
number five in several different ways by writing, drawing and reading it in their
own number books.
Explore:
The students will explore the number five with the bodies, their fingers and their
elbow. We would also represent five by five kids standing up. Example five boys
or five girls still is an equal representation of five. Also showing that five kids
standing or five kids sitting is still five. When all of the students have had a
chance to represent five we will practice writing five. The class will work together
on writing the number 5 by echoing the number 5 poem.
Go down and around then you stop. Finish the 5 with a line on top. The teacher
will write the number incorrectly on the board and the students will tell her how to
correct it. The students will then have a chance to write 5’s in their number
books.
Share:
Each student will need to go and find five similar objects in the classroom and
bring them back to the group. Each student will show what objects they found
with the rest of the class. They will then draw those objects on the back of the
five page in their number book. The teacher will ask the students different
questions about the number five.
Examples:
How many ways did we find to show the five?
Do you think there is more and way?
How do you know that the things you collected are five?
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Hold up numbers and ask the students if it is five. If it is, how do you know? If it
is not, explain why?
Summarize:
After the students completed writing and drawing on their number page, they will
come back together as a group. The teacher will explain that each number can
be represented in several ways (5, one hand, five, ! ! ! ! ! = 5, five crayons). She
will demonstrate how to write the number and then have the students use
different parts of their bodies to write the number in the air. Lastly, she will tell
the class that the next day they will learn the next consecutive numbers.
Ten In The Bed #4
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Standard # 0.1.1.3 :
Count, with and without objects, forward and backward to at least 20.
Materials:
The book Ten In The Bed, a paper that has a picture of a bed on it, bear
manipulatives and a premade book titled “Twenty________________” with a
paper for each student to write their own page, and crayons.
Book can be found at:
Dale, Penny. (1988). Ten in the Bed. Pleasant, CA: Discovery Toys.
Objective:
The students will practice counting with objects.
The students will practice counting without objects.
The students will count forward to at least 20.
The students will count backward to at least 20.
Launch:
Has any one heard or read the book Ten In The Bed? Who would like to tell the
class one thing about what they know about the book? We are going to read the
book together one time. Then we will read it again a paper bed and the bears to
show how many bears are still in the bed.
Explore:
The students will explore with the manipulatives before we start reading the
book. We will talk about how many manipulatives they think should start with on
the bed and how many will be on the bed at the end. We will then read book. As
a character falls out of bed, in the story, the students will take off one
manipulative. The concept of zero will be shown when the bed is empty. Then,
we will go through the book again looking at it backwards until all of their
manipulatives are back on the bed.
The students will then talk about other ways they could represent the story using
new characters that show forward and backwards. Example: Twenty Cookies on
the Plate, twenty frogs on the lily pad, twenty cows in the barn etc. We will then,
as a class, decide what example they like the best. Each student will pick a
number to represent and draw a picture of it.
Share:
Each student will share what number page they drew and then we will talk about
what page goes first in our book. (smallest to largest or vice verse) When we
have them all in order, I will put the book together and we will read it as a class.
The teacher will hold up a number and ask the students various questions like:
Does the number nine always come after the number eight?
How do you know that it does?
Does the number 13 always come before the number 14? Why does it?
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Are there any other examples we could use?
What number comes before and after the number 7? (number can be changed)
Did you notice what happens to the numbers as a manipulative was added?
(gets bigger)
What happened to the numbers as you took a manipulative away? (gets
smaller)
Summarize:
Today we learned that numbers have an order. We can count forward and
backwards like in the story and the book we made. The teacher will share with
the class that as they added more manipulatives to their bed, the number got
bigger. As they took the manipulatives off the bed, the number got smaller.
Where does this happen in real life?
Monster Squeeze Game #5
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Standard # 0.1.1.4 :
Find a number that is 1 more or 1 less than a given number.
Materials:
Monster picture worksheet for each child, two craft sticks for each child, crayons,
scissors, glue, and a number line or a place to write a list of numbers
Game can be found at:
Everyday Mathematics, Third Edition, Kindergarten, Copyright (2007) Wright
Group/ McGraw-Hill.
Objectives:
The students will practice using the vocabulary of more and less while playing
the game.
The students will identify numbers that are “more” than a certain number or “less”
than a certain number. I.e. 5 are more than 4. 3 is less than 4
The students will practice number order.
Launch:
The teacher will ask the students to stand in a circle holding hands. Then she
will ask the students to show her what it would look like if the circle would
squeeze together. Then she will ask the circle to make more room. The teacher
would ask the students to sit down and answer the following questions with a
partner:
-What happened to the circle when I asked you to show me what
squeezing looking like? (Gets smaller)
-What happened to the circle when I asked you to make more room?
(Gets bigger)
Finally, the teacher would introduce the vocabulary of more and less and relate it
to what happened in the circle.
Explore:
The teacher will show the students two monster pictures and a number line. (For
the beginning of the year, use numbers 1-10. As the year continues, add
additional numbers to challenge the students.) The teacher will tell the students
that she has a number in her head and wants them to guess what it is. Then
depending upon the number the teacher will move the monster down or up and
say, “My number is less than 10, but more than 4. What number do you think it
is?” The teacher will continue to call on students until the number is squeezed
out. The teacher will play the game several more times to allow the students to
understand how to play and to use the correct vocabulary. The students will
make their own “monsters” and play the game with a partner, using only 0-5.
Share:
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The teacher will call the groups back together and ask them to share what
happened while they played the game.
She will ask them students to share their answers to the following questions:
Did one person win more than the other? Why do you think that was?
Was any part of the game difficult? What was it?
How could me make the game harder? Explain?
Did you use the words more and less while playing the game?
Can you give me an example or a number that is more than 5 and less?
than 10?
Summarize:
The teacher will ask a student to share how the games works? She will then ask
the students to tell her what they learned about the “Monster Squeeze” game and
where they might need to use what they learned in real life. Lastly, each student
must share a number sentence with the class. For example: 3 is more than 2.
8 is less than 10
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Ladybug Number Puzzles #6
Standard # 0.1.1.5 :
Compare and order whole numbers, with and without objects, from 0 to 20.
Materials:
ladybug pictures, markers, ladybug paper, tape, and pencil
Objectives:
The students will practice their counting skills.
The students will practice their ordering skills.
The students will practice identifying numbers.
The students will correctly write the numbers in order from 0-20.
Launch:
The teacher will ask the students to count from zero to twenty as she writes the
numbers on the board. She will go through each number and practice the name.
Then each student will be given a number and asked to stand anywhere they
want on a line of tape. The students will then start counting from 0 and stop at
each number. When the number they hold in their hand is called, the student will
step off the tapeline and stand next to the last consecutive number.
Explore:
Each student will be matched up with a partner and given a set of ladybug puzzle
pieces (half of the ladybug will have a number and half will have the number
represented in dots 2 = O O ), a ladybug paper and two pencils. The students
will then take their materials and match up all the ladybug pieces. After all the
puzzle pieces have been placed together. The students will order the pieces
from smallest to largest and write them on their ladybug paper.
Share:
The students will join another set of students in the classroom. Then, they will
share how they figured out how to match the number puzzles, how they decided
to put them in order, and how they know the number order is correct. The class
will then come back together and answer the following questions:
How do you know if you numbers are in the correct order?
What did you and your partner do to help each other understand what to
do?
How did you decide to put them on your paper?
Was this easy or hard?
Summarize:
Today we learned that numbers have an order and cannot be in out sequence
when counting. They always have to be from smallest to biggest or biggest to
smallest. We can represent numbers many different ways. Today we used
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pictures, and numbers, but we could use other objects, symbols, or a number line
also.
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Card Combos Game #7
(Addition and Subtraction)
Standard # 0.1.2.1 :
Use objects and draw pictures to find the sums and differences of numbers
between 1 and 10.
Materials: 1 deck of cards (face cards removed), a Card Combos Game Sheet
for each person, a sum or difference sheet for each person and pencils
Materials Can Be Found at:
Yeatts, Karol L. (2000). Mega-Fun Card-Game Math. New York: NY: Scholastic
Professional Books, 30-31.
Objectives:
The students will practice their basic addition and subtraction facts.
The students will practice writing down the addition or subtraction facts.
The students will use critical thinking to choose what operation to use.
Launch:
The teacher will write the numbers 1 and the numbers 4 on the board. Then she
will ask four students to stand up. She will tell the class that using the four
students standing, they need write either an addition or subtraction problem to
get to the number 1 or the number 4. The teacher will ask the students to talk to
their neighbor about how they would get to 4 or 1. The teacher will call the
students back together and ask for volunteers to show how they got the answer.
Explore:
The teacher will explain how to play the game. Each person draws two cards off
the pile. They then decide if they want to add or subtract the numbers on the
cards. They will then write down the problem on their sheet and cross off the
sum or difference on the number board. The first person to cross out all the
numbers wins. The teacher will demonstrate the game with the class to make
sure the students understand the concept of the game. The teacher will hand
out the materials and let the students play the game. (The teacher can go
around the room and monitor the groups by looking at the written addition or
subtraction problems.
Share:
The students will come back together and share their number board and
sum/difference sheet with the class. The teacher will ask them to explain how
they decided to use either addition or subtraction on the problem. If time
permitted, the class could make a list of all the ways they composed or
decomposed the numbers.
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Summarize:
The teacher will tell the class that the concept of addition is (bringing parts
together) and that the concept of subtraction is (taking things away). She would
then ask the class for volunteers. She would demonstrate using the students
how to make addition or subtraction problems. (I.e. 1 + 3 = 4 1 student in a
group plus 3 more students in another group. Then all together they would equal
4). The teacher will post the game boards and sum/difference sheets on a
bulletin board for students to look at.
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Addition and Subtraction Bottles #8
Standard # 0.1.2.1 :
Use objects and draw pictures to find the sums and differences of numbers
between 1 and 10.
Materials;
Empty plastic 20 oz. bottles or smaller, dice, glitter, water, food coloring, addition
worksheet, subtraction worksheet, and a pencil
Objectives:
The students will practice their basic addition and subtraction facts.
The students will practice writing down the addition or subtraction facts.
The students will use critical thinking to choose what operation to use.
Launch:
The teacher will pre make the bottles before class. An extension of the activity
would be for the students to help make the bottles the day before. The teacher
will hand one student two dice, ask them to roll it on the floor. The teacher will
ask the student if they know how many dots are on the two dots. After the
teacher gets the answer from the student she will ask them how they got that
answer. The student will say something like; I counted all of the dots on both
dice. That student will hand the dice to the next student until we have gone
around the circle and everyone has had a turn.
Explore:
The teacher will hold up a bottle that has the water, glitter and dice in it. The
teacher will show the students that they can shake the bottle for a few seconds
and they stop. When they stop they need to look at the bottom of the bottle and
write down the numbers that they see on each dice. After they have wrote down
both numbers then they added them up and show their answer on the worksheet.
This can also be done with subtraction also. The teacher will remind the
students to start with the bigger number when they subtract.
Share:
The teacher will ask the students to come back together and bring their
worksheets. The teacher will ask each student to tell the class a couple of
problems off their paper. Then, she will ask the students if they can share a
subtraction problem and then an addition problem, to check for understanding.
She will ask the following questions:
How do you know which problem is which?
Do you have any problems that have the same numbers in them like 2+2?
Do you have any subtraction problems that have the same numbers as an
addition problem?
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The teacher will ask the students if they learned any new addition or subtraction
facts that they did not know before
Summarize:
We learned that putting the two dice together made a bigger number. We also
learned that taking the smaller number away from the bigger number left us with
a smaller number. The teacher will tell the students that today we learned a
different way to practice our addition and subtraction and tomorrow we will
practice addition and subtraction in another way.
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The Kite Activity #9
Standard # 0.1.2.2 :
Compose and decompose numbers up to 10 with objects and pictures.
Materials:
The kite activity sheet, unifix cubes, the unifix cube worksheet, and crayons.
Objectives:
The students will practice, using objects, to decompose a number.
The students will practice, using objects, to compose a number.
Launch:
What are some ways that I can get to seven using these unifix cubes? Can I get
to seven using two groups and putting them together? Are there different ways to
show two groups that are equal to seven? If I have seven and take two away can
you show me how many I would have left? Are there different numbers of unifix
cubes that you can take away from seven?
Explore:
The students will put their seven unifix cubes on the kite. They will then show
different ways to take the unifix cubes apart to show two groups of seven. Using
their kite worksheet they will put one group on one of the kite bows and another
group on a different kite bow. When they have showed the two groups they will
color in the two groups on their unifix cube worksheet.
The students will then show how to decompose the numbers by starting with
seven on the kite and taking some away and putting them on the bow and then
count how many are left on the kite. They can show this on the worksheet by
coloring in seven, crossing out a certain number and circling and writing how
many are left.
Share:
The students will come together as a group and show the class their worksheet
that they colored the unifix cubes on. We will talk about whether they see any
that are different or any that are the same. The students can show examples on
their kites of how they got certain answers that they colored in on their unifix
worksheet.
The teacher will ask the following questions:
Are there are any other ways that you can show seven?
How about if you have three groups?
Is there any other way you can take away from seven if you use three groups?
Does it matter what color the students used to color in their cubes?
Could we use anything else besides unifix cubes to show adding numbers and
taking numbers apart?
Can we go up to show ten by composing and decomposing numbers?
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Summarize:
When adding, there is more than one way to get to a number. (I.e. 1+6 = 7, 2+5 =
7, 4+3=7) We also learned that there are many ways to take a number apart.
(I.e. 8 - 2 = 6, 8-4 = 4, 8 - 5 = 3) You can also compose and decompose objects,
food, shapes and other manipulatives in a real world situation. As you go
through school, you will also learn many different ways.
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