1) Starting at One: Using Cubes
Counting Forwards 1 to 10
Understanding Activity
This is an ‘understanding’ (proficiency strand) activity . Please refer to the instructions in the Implementation Planner.
Mathematics
- Use the cardinal principle of counting; the last number said indicates the group’s total.
- Match Bond Blocks 1 to 5 with the correct number of 2 cm cubes.
- Connect quantities to number names and numerals.
- Develop fluency counting forwards in the correct order from 1 to 5.
- Develop the concept that each number in the counting sequence is greater than the number before it.
Language
- one more
- one longer
- one number after
Tip for Packing Away Cubes
This is a personal preference but at the end of Session 3, I always instruct students to put cubes away in sticks of 10, not random amounts. I have two reasons for this:
- Firstly, when they make the 10 they practice purposeful counting.
- Secondly, and more importantly, when they break the stick of 10 to make other numbers they think about the size of numbers and how they relate to each other. It is essential students develop this thinking.
For more information, see the Teacher Notes “Predictors of Maths Difficulty”, pages 63-64.
Differentiation
A little easier: Forwards 1 to 5
A little harder
AAA
P
AAA
P