Counting Activities (4)

counting cards

Source: Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: teaching developmentally by John A. Van De Walle, Karen S. Karp, and Jennifer M. Bay-Williams.  Chapter 8, activity8.10 “find the same amount”

The idea of this activity is that children are given sets of cards with dots on them (in my adaptation small colorful shapes) and they have to find cards that have the same number of things on them. 

Materials:

• Counting cards with dots or shapes on them from 1-5

Directions:

•  Distribute cards to small groups of students
• Have two students pick cards and count the number of things on them
• Talk about whether one card is more or less or if they are the same
• Tell students to search for cards that have the same number of objects on them

     You could make your cards however you want, but this is how I made mine!

Letters in my Name:

source: Illuminations

Materials:

• letters in my name cutout
• scissors
• glue
• construction paper

Directions:

• Students write their names in the spaces on the letters in my name cutout (using an example of their name or with adult help if necessary)  
• then they count to see how many letters are in their name

Counting and Grouping with Sticks

source: Learn with Play at Home

Materials:

• lots of sticks for each student to count (you could easily use twigs, toothpicks or straws)
• Rubber bands to group sticks together
• paper and markers to record with

Directions:

• Students are given a bunch of sticks and they have to count them
• After they've counted them by ones, suggest making bundles of 10 and using those to help count
• have students make bundles of tens and also ones and then record the total amount of sticks that they have

Numerical Order

Source: education.com

Materials:

• deck of cards

Directions:

• students split up into groups of 2 or more
• player 1 shuffles cards and distributes them evenly among the players
• players who have 7s in their hand places them in a row in the center of the table
• for the first round players will need to have either a 6 or an 8 to place next to the 7s (vertically)
• Each player should put down as many cards in numerical order as he or she can on each turn
• a player who does not have any cards to set down when their turn comes must pass
• who ever gets rid of their cards first wins