Foundational Math Topics
Age/Grade Levels
Content Formats
Series
Foundational Math Topic: Sets
Sets are basic to children’s thinking and learning. They are also basic to our base 10 number system, or any number system for that matter. One of the most important jobs of each number is to describe "how many" there are in a set of things — be it one, seven, or three hundred and nineteen. Before we can figure out how many apples there are, we have to decide which things are apples, and which are not. Once we’ve created the set of things that are apples, perhaps by separating them from the oranges, then we can count them. Counting requires a set, and as a result, the properties of sets have a large influence on the base 10 number system, and on mathematics.
© Erikson Institute’s Early Math Collaborative. Reprinted from Big Ideas of Early Mathematics: What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know (2014), Pearson Education.
Series: Focus on the Child
Why Cardinality is the Goal of Counting
May 19, 2021
What is cardinality? And how is it related to counting? The common definition of cardinality states that it’s the understanding that the last number word said when counting tells how many in all.
- Topic: Counting, Number Sense, Sets
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags Cardinality
Series: Ideas at Work May 25, 2020
Games to Play at Home Using Attributes for Math Thinking
En Español También. Language and math have a lot in common! For example, every time you describe something—as red, tall, sticky, or loud, for example—you are helping to define and categorize things. And defining and categorizing is huge in mathematics!
- Topic: Sets
- Age/Grade Level: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags Attribute, En Español, Family Math, Games, Sorting
Series: Ideas at Work April 25, 2020
Let’s Wash that Math Right Into Laundry Day
En Español También. Whether you have a machine at home or visit a laundromat, there is all kinds of math involved in doing laundry. And there are all kinds of ways that children of all ages can join in the thinking and doing.
- Topic: Sets
- Age/Grade Level: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags Attribute, Comparing, En Español, Estimation, Family Math
Series: Book Ideas March 22, 2020
At-Home Activity Cards: Sets and Sorting
These printable activity cards in both English and Spanish invite home explorations with sets and sorting using the books and activities related to them. The books can encourage conversations about attributes while also inspiring questions about what is happening from page to page.
- Topic: Sets
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags A Pair of Socks, Cynthia Weill, Emily Jenkins, Exactly the Opposite, Five Creatures, Is it Red? Is it Yellow? Is it Blue?, Opuestos/Opposites, Stuart J Murphy, Tana Hoban
Series: Focus on Play March 17, 2020
Creatures at Home Activity
In both English and Spanish, the directions here outline how to do an activity at home that can allow parents to involve themselves with the learning taking place in classrooms, all tied to the book Five Creatures.
- Topic: Sets
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
Series: Book Ideas December 11, 2019
5 Kids’ Books that Involve Sets and Sorting
Children look for ways to organize and make sense of their world through play at school and home, as well as at clean-up time. Sorting items into groups by specific attributes gives children the opportunity to define sets according to a rule of what does and does not belong together.
- Topic: Sets
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags A Pair of Socks, Cynthia Weill, Emily Jenkins, Exactly the Opposite, Family Math, Five Creatures, Is it Red? Is it Yellow? Is it Blue?, Lois Ehlert, Opuestos/Opposites, Stuart J Murphy, Tana Hoban
Series: Ideas at Work October 30, 2019
All Sorts of Families: Connecting School and Home with Math
All members of a household have things in common and things that set them apart. Exploring the important ways that loved ones go together and what makes them unique involves both mathematical thinking and a…
- Topic: Sets
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags Emily Jenkins, Family Math, Five Creatures
Professional Development Module: Sets
Sets are basic to children’s thinking and learning. They are also basic to our number system. One of the most important jobs of each number is to describe “how many” there are in a set of things. This module is a flexible set of materials that explore the foundational math topic known as sets.
- Topic: Sets
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
Series: Book Ideas June 13, 2017
Matching and Concepts of Same and Different… with Socks!
Does a polka-dotted sock match a striped sock? In the book A Pair of Socks young children will learn about an important early skill: matching.
- Topic: Sets
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags A Pair of Socks, Animals, Lois Ehlert, Stuart J Murphy
Series: Book Ideas January 3, 2017
4 Books That Inspire Algebraic Thinking in Young Children
One of the best ways to delve into the rules and patterns that govern algebra is through the books that are read to children each and every day.
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