PRE-MATH TEACHING MATH TO YOUNG CHILDREN

PRE-MATHTEACHING MATH TO YOUNG CHILDREN

TRY TO MEMORIZE THESE SYMBOLS Top to bottom, left to right: 1, 7, 12, 3, 6, 4, 5, 10, 8, 9, 11, 2

NOW TEST YOURSELF: A taste of what a child has to accomplish when learning numbers

Math in Everyday Life • Where do we see math? • Recipes, cleaning up, getting dressed, laundry, dishes, the sandbox, toys, … • HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE ABOUT • LEARNING MATH – OR LEARNING ANYTHING • More than just • 1 - 2 - 3

MATH in Books, SONGS, AND FINGERPLAYS • 1,2,3,4,5 once I Caught a Fish Alive 6,7,8,9,10 Then I let him go again. Why’d-ya let him go again? ‘cause he bit my finger so! Which finger did he bite? This little finger on the right. • Others that deal with MATH concepts? • 5 Little Monkeys in a tree or on the Bed • 5 Little Speckled Frogs • 5 Little Ducks

TEACHING MATH • MATH CONCEPTS SHOULD BE CONCRETE & MANIPULATIVE • Hands on • Filled with PLAY • Include questioning and exploration • SOCIAL INTERACTION IS IMPORTANT • Oral language is important in development of math skills. • CONSIDER CHILDREN’S INTERESTS

MATHEMATICAL Manipulatives CLASSROOM MATERIALS: • MANIPULATIVES • Felt & magnetic numbers & shapes • Peg boards • Ruler, measuring tapes, measuring cups, scales • Play money & cash registers • Calendars • Timers, clocks, Thermometers • Counting rods • Light & heavy objects • Buttons, keys, spools • Puzzles

TEACHING MATH • CONSIDER PRIOR KNOWLEDGE • Repetition is important. • Mistakes are good & a natural part of learning process. • Simple activities can have complex concepts. • Break them down into small and simple steps and go slow.

Introduce new Vocabulary group Long, tall, & Short High & Low Big & Little First, middle & Last Wide & Narrow Few & Many Once - Twice Light and heavy Highest & Lowest Bunch Pair together Same and different most More and less

CONCEPT: Counting • Rote Counting • Learned by memorization • Touch objects • one to one correspondence • Tell how many Number link

TOUCH POINTS (DOT) NUMBERS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Counting IDEAS • Touch each object as you count so it is counted once • Playing games like Chutes and Ladders. • Feed the Bear • (roll a dice and throw that number of Bean Bags into the bears mouth) • Counting each square as they hop into it • Counting as you clap • Give students a bag of various colored gummy bears. • Ask them to sort them by placing them in piles. • Have the students identify and name each color they have sorted. • Have the students color each bear on the color graph. • Ask them count how many bears were in each color.

CONCEPT: Measure up • Figuring the measurement of objects • Length, height, weight • Measuring units: inch, pound, quart • Measurement comparisons

Measuring IDEAS • Cut out several different size of fish. • Have rulers for the children to compare the different lengths of fish.

CONCEPT: Classification • Putting items together that are alike in some way or belong together - categorizing. • Ask: Does this belong? • Sort boys/girls • Sort children by hair color • Sort different types of animals • Sorting trays help organize. • clear cup, egg carton, muffin tin

Classifying IDEAS • Glue buttons to a sturdy board. • Give the children a piece of yarn and show them how to wrap it around the buttons to make designs. • Ask the children to create a rectangle, square or triangle. • Have children wrap the yarn around the same color of buttons, or a certain number of buttons, etc.

Sorting IDEAS • Colored beads, buttons, pompoms, feathers, etc. • White glue • Heavy paper, divided into 4 parts • Markers • Place the objects on a table for children to see. • Give them construction paper with four lines or folds. • Ask them to put the appropriate color into the box labeled with the colors. • Glue objects to the paper.

CONCEPT: Statistics & Probability • Creating a visual representation of your discovery • Graph types of bugs found, growth of plants, etc. • Making a prediction • Predict how many flowers will bloom from seeds planted.

Statistics IDEAS • Graph the types of shoes that students are wearing. • (tie, slip on, sandals/flipflops, sneakers) • Give the children pictures of each of the foods they might eat during Thanksgiving. • Have them pick out their 5 favorite foods, and place their pictures on the graph. • Count each of the items with the students and discuss which has more or less.

CONCEPT: Spatial relations • Maps • Space / matter • Follow directions

Spatial Relationships IDEAS • Have marshmallows and spaghetti noodles available for children to create a marshmallow sculpture.

Concept #4 = Time • Children can start to read a clock • Have a digital clock next to a face clock • Time concepts must relate to their world • The length of their favorite TV show, “sleeps” • Before and after, sequence, timers • Salt / Water Timer in a cup.

Time IDEAS • Have children cut out the clock and hands and assemble using a brad and gluing the clock onto the back of a paper plate. They may want to color their clocks as well. • When completed, practice with the children what different times look like on the clock.

CONCEPT: Sequencing • The order of how to accomplish a task or how things happened. • Beginning, middle, last • Beginning and end • 1st, 2nd, 3rd then have them reverse it. • Sequence the order of pictures in a story

SEQUENCING Activity • Activity: Divide into 4 groups. Assign each a group an action. • 1 = Stand at attention • 2 = Arms straight out to side • 3 = Clap hands above head • 4 = Hands on waist • Count and have every group do their movement – • Do it faster. • Do all 4 actions together. • What else can you put in a SEQUENCE?

Sequencing IDEAS • Have snack crackers, peanut butter, bananas, and raisins available. • Print off the Cat Eyes Snack Recipe • Have children create the snack from the poster.

CONCEPT: Patterning • Repeat & growing patterns • Logical reasoning • Eliminate ones that are different

PATTERN Activity • Pass out Fruit Loops on a paper plate for every couple of students. • Students are to make a pattern on a very small straw (coffee/hot chocolate) using 10 fruit loops. • Put a small marshmallow on each end. You have just created an EDIBLE ABACUS • What else can be put in a PATTERN?

Patterning iDEAS • 2 colors of construction paper • Scissors • Ruler • Stapler • Cut construction paper into 1” strips. • Have children pick two different colors of construction paper. • Alternate the strips and staple closed.

Concept = ColorMATH SUN “Bring me the red block vs. what color is this” • Using crayons or markers, trace the number and do the following: • 1 = Red • 2 = Blue • 3 = Green • 4 = Orange • 5 = Yellow • 6 = Purple • 7 = Pink • 8 = Brown • 9 = Black • 10 = Your Favorite Color 6 3 5 10 7 8 4 2 1 9 6

Color ideas • Transition times • Sorting by color • Play “I spy” • Color charts and graphs • Color associations

Temperature • Cooking • Thermometer • Outside

CONCEPT: Shapes • Shape identification • Pictures of shapes need name written on it (language development) • The shape of objects • 2 & 3 dimension • Spheres, cubes, rectangular, prisms, cylinder (use correct names)

Shapes IDEAS • Cut out a large circle, square, triangle and rectangle, and star. • Place the objects around the room and have the children hunt for the different shapes. • Play game & move # of spaces of the # of sides (circle=0)

CONCEPT: Seriating • Size relationships • Putting things in order based on Size, weight, and volume • Big, bigger, biggest • Tallest to shortest • Lightest to heaviest

SERIATION Activity • Take one piece of Shoe String Licorice and break into 4 pieces of different sizes. • Put in order of Shortest to Longest • Have 4 students come to the front of the room. Group them according to body height and then hair length. • What else is an example of SERIATION?

Seriation IDEAS • Have pencils, paper and scissors available. • Trace each of the children’s feet onto a sheet of paper. • Have the children cut out their traced foot. • Have the children put the feet in order of largest to smallest and vice versa. • Go Fishing: attach a paper clip to fish of different sizes. Attach a magnet to a rope and fish. Put the fish in order by size.

S M A R T By Shel S I L V E R S T E I n My dad gave me one dollar bill Cause I’m his smartest son, And I swapped it for two shiny quarters Cause two is more than one. And then I took the quarters And traded them to Lou For three dimes-I guess he don’t know That three is more than two. Just then, along came old blind Bates And just cause he can’t see He gave me four nickels for my three dimes, And four is more than three. And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs Down at the seed-feed store, And the fool gave me five pennies for them, And five is more than four. And then I went and showed my dad, And he got red in the cheeks And closed his eyes and shook his head- Too proud of me to speak!

CONCEPT: Money • Children can start to identify coins • Playing store helps children gain a sense of the cost of things “Just write a check, Mom”

Money iDEAS • Give each child a ziploc bag with pennies inside. • Label the food in the child care lab with prices, and allow the children to buy the food.

PRE-MATH TEACHING MATH TO YOUNG CHILDREN