Mathematical Emphasis
Investigation 1—Counting and Measuring
- Counting up to about 20 objects
- Representing quantities with pictures, numbers, and words
- Repeating a nonstandard measure to quantify length
Investigation 2—Six Tiles
- Becoming familiar with combinations of six
- Recording strategies for counting six things grouped in different ways
- Determining the larger of two amounts, up to about 20
Investigation 3—Story Problems
- Making sense of stories that involve combining and separating by acting them out and retelling them
- Developing strategies for solving combining and separating story problems
- Finding the total of two quantities up to about 6 (with totals up to about 12)
Investigation 4—Blue and Red Crayons
- Finding combinations of 5, 6, and other numbers
- Using pictures, numbers, and words to record solutions to a problem
- Finding the total of two or more single-digit numbers
Tips For Helping At Home
- Look for things in your everyday life that you can count with your child. How many kittens are in this picture? How many trees are there in the playground? How many windows does our apartment have? How many spoons are on the dinner table? Could you put ten crackers on this plate? Keep in mind that children this age vary widely in what size quantities they are comfortable counting—between 10 and 15 may be about right.
- Look for chances to compare amounts: Are there the same number of forks and spoons on the table? Are there more kittens or more puppies in this picture? On the bathroom floor, how many tiles go across the bathtub? How many go across the towel rack? Which is longer?
- From time to time, your child may bring home materials and directions for mathematical games we play at school. Playing the games frequently will help your child learn about numbers.
- Have fun and watch your child’s understanding of number grow.
Vocabulary Terms
- Combining
- Putting objects in a group together for a total
- Manipulatives
- Materials or objects that can be used to help solve problems
- Non-standard Units of Measure
- Objects, like popsicle sticks, that can be used to measure the length of another object
- Numbers
- Describe a quantity or value
- Numeral
- The symbol used to represent a number
- Representation
- A way of showing a concept using words, pictures, objects, or symbols
- Separating
- Removing items from a group to form a smaller group
Mathematics Vocabulary Web site
Mathematics Strategy—Notation in Kindergarten
Kindergarten children need many opportunities to develop ways to record their mathematical work. It is important to keep the emphasis on ways of recording that come from the students. This builds new knowledge on things children already know. Although a few Kindergarten children may begin using equations, some will probably not be ready to use equations in a meaningful way until first grade.
Methods of recording should match what children say. It is important for children to develop clear ways of thinking about problems. Some children will draw pictures of quantities and label with numbers to show combinations. Others may show methods of counting. Below are examples of, “Three and three more.”
Throughout the next year, as children share work and attend to the ways teachers model equations, they will begin to use standard notation for addition and subtraction.
Source: Investigations in Number, Data, and Space: How Many in All? Dale Seymour, 1998. (Page 45)
Mathematics Game—Double Number Challenge
Similar to the traditional card game, “War” and the Investigations game, “Double Compare”
Materials
Number Cards for 0-6 (remove 7 and 8)
Counters (about 25, optional, use only if needed)
Object: Decide which of the two totals is larger. A player wins by ending up with the most cards.
Playing the Game
- Mix up the number cards and deal them all out evenly. Both players place their stack of cards face down in front of them.
- At the same time, both players turn over the top two cards of their stack.
- Players look at both numbers and find the total. Players also find the total of the other player’s cards.
- Both players decide which sum is bigger (children can use counters if needed). The player with the biggest total gets to take all four cards and add them to the bottom of his or her pile.
- If the two totals are the same, each player turns over two more cards. The player with the biggest second total gets to take all eight cards.
- Keep turning over cards and finding totals.
- The game is over when one player runs out of cards or at the end of a specific amount of time.
Variations:
- The player with the smallest total takes the cards.
- Play with three people. Look at all three totals. The player with the largest total takes all three cards.
- Turn over three cards at a time and find the totals.
Get to Number Cards (for printing)