Kindergarten Numeracy Activities

        In Kindergarten, when considering the notion of comparing numbers (and even if we back up to the ideal of magnitude of numbers), we tend to jump ahead of the development process for students. Donna Boucher talks about how “Alligators are for swamps, not for comparing numbers” and this is completely accurate. However, we lean towards this animation of a numeracy concept simply because we don’t know how to help students retain the understanding of comparing two numbers.

Our state standards address, very directly, the method with which we can support students development in comparing numbers. John Van de Walle encourages this approach in his book, Teaching Student Centered Mathematics. Kinder students should focus heavily on not only building numbers (to support their one-to-one correspondence) but also have exposure to multiple representations of numbers (to support their perceptual and conceptual subitizing skills) while comparing such models with words. I would even highly suggest that students use two comparison statements so they are acclimated to the notion of “fewer” and “less” as critical comparisons.

A member of my PLN (Professional Learning Network) on Twitter shared these cards and I found them quite helpful in supporting the idea of students using them to compare numbers. They are multiple representations of numbers and can be used for various reasons. 

Here are a few:

            
          Comparing numbers. Have students shuffle the deck and place them face down. Then with two players, each player turn over one card and build (with linking cubes) their number and then express the comparison(s) using words.

          More Less or Equal. Have students shuffle the deck and place them face down. Have them spin a spinner that has options for “More, Less and Equal”. Once pulling a card and spinning the spinner, have students build (with linking cubes) a number more, less or equal (based on the results from the spinner) to the number they pulled from the deck.

         Build the number multiple ways. Have students shuffle the deck and place them face down. After pulling a card, have students build that number using double sided counters on a five or ten frame. Then have that student build or represent that number as many different ways as possible. (example: if they pull the number eight with fingers five and three, have them build eight as five and three on the ten frame and again as four and four to represent the same number). They might even record all of the ways they built the number.

         Decompose it. Have students shuffle the deck and place them face down. Draw a line down the middle of a plastic bag with a permanent marker. Turn over a card and place that number of beans inside the plastic bag and seal it. Have students slide beans around on both sides of the line to represent different ways to decompose the number. Once the number has been decomposed different ways, pull another card and replace the beans in the bag with the new amount.

Just a few numeracy activities that would support students development if they remained in centers as TEKS based station activities for Kinder! The great thing about these activities are they can be extended and used with numbers 11-20 and reused at the beginning of first grade as scaffolded concepts.

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Example of Stations listed above that I created for my District Kinder Teachers from ideas I gathered from reading John Van de Walle and viewing other resources.
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