Counting and naming numerals

Counting

With all the children, count from 1 to 20 in unison. When you say ‘five’, children wave one hand in the air. When you all say ‘ten’, they wave a second hand in the air. Then they put their hands down and continue counting. When you say, ‘fifteen’, they wave one hand in the air, and when you say ‘twenty’, they wave both hands in the air.

Repeat this, counting again to twenty in the same way.

Repeat several times.

You will notice that children who are unsure about the sequence of numbers, all join in on the multiples of 5. These act as ‘markers’ where everyone can be saying the same number enthusiastically!

This counting as a large group is an essential prerequisite for all the activities in this Unit.

Chants/Rhymes/Songs

Sing ‘One Man Went to Mow’. You could learn and sing along with this animated version of One Man Went to Mow from www.YouTube.com.

Story

Anno’s Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno.

When reading this, make the most of all the different ways in which each number may be found. This book repays several readings, both to a group and individually or in pairs.

Exploring and Playing

A large glove puppet; Number cards 1-10 (see resources); lots of small objects; spotty dice 1-6; see-through plastic bags; Lego bricks; dotty number cards 1-10 (see resources); 10 small soft toys; a basket or box; Number cards (see resources).

Active Learning

Number cards 1-10 (see resources); Fortune Teller template (see resources); crayons and felt-tip pens; 10 bowls of natural objects around the room, e.g. bowls of 7 conkers, 4 pine cones, 3 flowers, 8 pebbles, 5 leaves, 2 shells, 6 feathers, etc.; safety pins; counters.

Creating and Thinking Critically

Small shells/dinosaurs/figures/plastic animals, etc.; Number cards 1-10 (see resources); small animals; animal pens; Lego/Duplo; sticky notes; chalk.