I don’t know about you, but I find one of the most challenging concepts to teach my Kinders is “groups of” -the beginnings of multiplication.
I recently sat them down and explained that this was one of the trickiest things to learn in Kinder. Of course, full of confidence, they all laughed at me!
I have to say, by the end of a very structured “hands on” lesson, they were very good at making groups – like shown in the picture above. We made “pools of fish” with blue paper circles and fish counters. You can use all sorts of hands-on materials. Use plastic chips in egg cartons, plastic teddies in tubs, seashells in groups on the table….. There are so many!
My students do get all mixed up when it comes to making a visual representation of what they have learned, or having to interpret one. For this reason, I am making a link between the concrete and abstract with a little math center activity or small group game called Flower Pots. You can download it for free here, and join in the fun! There is a worksheet included also.
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