Use a School Readiness Activity to provide early mathematical thinking experiences for preschool children that will prepare them to do well in the early grades.
Grades:
Subjects:
How Many Do I See?
- To make quantities to 5
- To count to 5
Materials
Classroom materials such as chairs, crayons, pencils, books
how many?
count
Literature Suggestion
Read Five Trucks by Brian Floca. As you read, help children count the trucks.
Warm-Up
Teach children the "Five Little Fire Trucks" finger play, in which they start with a thumb on one hand folded into the palm and fingers folded over the thumb.
| 1 little fire truck (thumb up) |
| 2 little fire trucks (index finger up) |
| 3 little fire trucks (middle finger up) |
| 4 little fire trucks (ring finger up) |
| 5 little fire trucks all in a row (pinkie finger up) |
| Back to the fire station all of you go! (Thumb into palm with fingers folded over the thumb.) |
Teacher Tip: Over time, ask children to show you individual numbers of little fire trucks on their fingers to help build number concepts.
Procedure
- Teach children to play a game called "I Spy." Model the game by saying, "I spy 3 chairs." Then go and touch 3 chairs while you count 1, 2, 3.
- Continue the game, inviting children to touch and count items such as 5 chairs, 2 pencils, 3 crayons, 1 flag, 4 trucks, and 5 blocks.
Invite a child to be the one to say "I spy," and to check to see if another child correctly identifies and counts the items.
Observation Assessment
- Proficient - Child easily counts classroom items to 5.
- In Process - Child gets mixed up when counting beyond 2 or 3.
- Not Yet Ready - Child does not count classroom items.
