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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.
One to One Correspondence Unifix Cubes
Series: Focus on the Child

One-to-One Correspondence with Child 6

February 12, 2015

A student determines how many blocks there are.

  • Topic: Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Child 6, English Language Learner
Series: About Early Math October 29, 2014

Beyond Base-10: Three Unusual Counting Systems

Counting in sets of ten is a skill that we develop and internalize at a very young age. However, surprisingly, there are dozens of different counting systems, many still in use today. Understanding and exploring…

  • Topic: Counting, Measurement
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
Series: About Early Math August 26, 2014

For Kids, Learning Math Comes Naturally

This RadioLab story asks whether one can live without using math. As babies and kids learning math and counting, do we understand complex concepts more than we think? Experts point out that babies seem to…

  • Topic: Number Sense, Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Infants, Toddlers, Pre-K, Kindergarten
EMTR027-1 counting numbers 1-100
Series: Focus on the Child June 2, 2014

Decade Pattern with Child 7

A child orally counts to 100.

  • Topic: Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Child 7, English Language Learner
one-to-one correspondence
Series: Focus on the Child June 2, 2014

Counting Principles in Action with Child 18

A child determines a given quantity of blocks and then finds the new amount as blocks are added to the set.

  • Topic: Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade
  • Tags Child 18
math activity for preschoolers teacher tom
Series: Ideas at Work April 21, 2014

Teacher Tom Delves into a Math Activity for Preschoolers

This counting activity for young children is low stress and explores all the small things that really matter when trying out a new math activity for preschoolers.

  • Topic: Counting, Number Operations
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
EMTR203 teaching place value to second graders
Series: Focus on the Child April 7, 2014

Place Value: Meaning of the Digits with Child 14

This second grader has uncertainty about the meaning of the digits. He is working to construct the understanding that place determines the value of a number.

  • Topic: Number Sense, Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
  • Tags Child 14, Place Value
math in everyday life
Series: About Early Math January 16, 2014

4 Ideas to Help Find Math in Everyday Life

"At Kohl Children’s Museum, we partner with a great team of early childhood researchers, professional development providers and teachers at Erikson Institute’s Early Math Collaborative. One of the methods they promote is Mathematizing Daily Experiences.…

  • Topic: Number Sense, Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade
  • Tags Math Anxiety
Series: Book Ideas March 15, 2013

Counting on Caps for Sale

The award winning classic children’s story Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina is one that preschoolers love to act out. Using discussion to make some connections to the children’s own lives, and to math, can…

  • Topic: Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K
  • Tags Books, Caps for Sale, Esphyr Slobodkina, Animals, Estimation
EMTR025-1 counting to 100 or as high as possible
Series: Focus on the Child March 11, 2013

Counting Teens and Twenties with Child 14

A kindergartner demonstrates how high he can count.

  • Topic: Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags English Language Learner, Child 14
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