Touch each one as you count

Counting has a rule: one number for each thing. Not two.

MathAges 3–412 minutes3 pagesEnglish textInk-light

Being written

This one is planned but not finished yet. Everything below is what it will contain.

Skill: One-to-one correspondence, one number word per object, no more, no less
You will need: Pencil
Your job: Check
Stage: KG1 · ages 3–4

Not drawn yet

I can touch each one and say one number for each.

How the fifteen minutes go

The five steps on this sheet, in the order a child meets them. This is what you will actually be doing, not a description of the method.

Print the one that fits today. Same skill, three depths — and on this sheet they differ like this.

Support

Up to 3, objects in a straight line.

Fewer items, more pictures, hints included, parent reads the instructions.

Core

Up to 5, in a line, then in a circle.

The standard task, recognition, practice and explanation.

Challenge

Objects scattered, much harder, because you must remember which you have touched.

Open-ended. Explain why, make your own example, use it somewhere new.

The same guide that is printed on the back page, so you can read it before you decide to print anything.

The answers

Rows contain 3, 5, 4, 5, 2 objects.

If they get stuck

Put a finger on top of theirs and count together, slowly, three times. Then let go.

Common mistakes

Saying numbers faster than the finger moves, the classic error, and the reason to insist on touching.
Counting one object twice when they are scattered. Suggest crossing each one off.

When they finish early

Count the stairs while climbing them. One number per step is the same rule.