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Math Strands

Types

for

Audience

Special Topics

Counting

Counting is a part of young children’s daily life. They love to count everything from the stairs they climb to the crackers they eat. But what is counting? What is there to be understood about it? What do most children know about counting? What more is there to be learned? Counting seems very simple; but it is really quite complex. By developing a sophisticated sense of what it is and what kind of counting we ought to emphasize in teaching, parents and teachers can better assist children with the development of those skills and mathematical thinking related to it.

© Erikson Institute’s Early Math Collaborative. Reprinted from Big Ideas of Early Mathematics: What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know (2014), Pearson Education.

There are a number of Big Ideas in counting that are foundational in early learning environments:

  • Counting has rules that apply to any collection.
  • Counting can be used to find out “how many” is in a collection.
eric carle books
Series: Book Ideas

Beloved Eric Carle Books Illustrate the Math in Story Time

August 18, 2021

For over 50 years, millions of children have returned again and again to the books illustrated and written by Eric Carle. Kids can’t get enough of his colorful collages, animal characters, and rhythmic texts.

  • Topic: Pattern, Number Sense, Counting
  • Tags Eric Carle, Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?, 1-2-3 to the Zoo: A Counting Book, Rooster's Off to See the World
cardinality of a set
Series: Focus on the Child May 19, 2021

Why Cardinality is the Goal of Counting

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: Sets, Number Sense, Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Cardinality
diy rekenrek
Series: Ideas at Work April 14, 2021

DIY Rekenrek Ideas for Home and School

To encourage teachers and other adults to use rekenreks, it's important to not only go over ways to use a rekenrek, but also we thought we would make sure everyone has opportunities to have them,…

  • Topic: Number Sense, Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Rekenrek, Subitizing
preschool math games, remote
Series: Focus on Play December 29, 2020

New Use of Quantity Cards for Remote Preschool Math Games

Whether teaching in-person with social distancing or online, the number one question we hear from teachers is how to adapt preschool math games for remote learning. Here are some game ideas that work equally well…

  • Topic: Counting, Number Operations
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Play, Games, Subitizing, Family Math
Math Card Games playing cards
Series: Focus on Play June 5, 2020

How to Adapt Math Card Games to Children’s Skill Level

Card games provide meaningful practice of the basic number combinations. These common card games that children learn in school or at home can be revisited many times and can be adapted to children’s own math…

  • Topic: Counting, Number Operations
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
  • Tags Games, Family Math, En Español, download, Subitizing, Play
Fingerplay songs for Preschoolers 2
Series: Ideas at Work May 27, 2020

Math at Your Fingertips: Songs and Fingerplays for Preschoolers

Do you remember enjoying fingerplay songs like 5 Little Monkeys or Un Elefante Se Balanceaba when you were young? You may not have realized that sharing these songs is a great way to bring math…

  • Topic: Number Sense, Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Games, Family Math, En Español, Gesture
Number Sense Activities spinner diy
Series: Ideas at Work May 26, 2020

Get on the Right Path: Make Your Own Number Sense Activities

Path games are fantastic ways for families to spend time together and have fun while doing math. Path games develop number sense, counting skills and, depending on children’s ages and the tools you use, computational…

  • Topic: Number Sense, Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade
  • Tags Games, Family Math, En Español
math talk_636x363
Series: Ideas at Work April 26, 2020

We’re Going on a Math Walk, Going to Find Some Math Talk

Going for walks is an excellent time to talk about math with your child. You’ll be surprised how much math talk you can have when you look for the math in your very own neighborhood.

  • Topic: Number Sense, Counting, Spatial Relationships, Shape
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
  • Tags En Español, Family Math
Take Home Activity Counting Cards
Series: Book Ideas March 24, 2020

At-Home Activity Cards: Counting

Activities related to counting books can spark a lot of conversation and creativity. These English and Spanish-language activity cards are great for printing and using at home and school.

  • Topic: Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Cynthia Weill, Count!, Anno’s Counting Book, download, Ten Black Dots, Eric Carle, Count and See, Ellen Stoll Walsh, Count Me In!, Lois Ehlert, Mouse Count, Tana Hoban, 1, Denise Fleming, 2, Mitsumasa Anno, 1-2-3 to the Zoo: A Counting Book, Donald Crews, Fish Eyes
cardinality of a set
Series: Hear from the Experts February 18, 2020

Two Ways That Language Scaffolds Understanding of Cardinality

At Promising Math 2019, Kelly Mix gave a talk about how language promotes the development of numerical cognition in young children. Dr. Mix is the Chair of the Human Development and Quantitative Methodologies department at…

  • Topic: Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Adult Learners
  • Tags Cardinality, Promising Math
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