In this activity children practice estimating ten, counting to ten, and showing understanding of place value by assigning the correct number to groups of "ten trains" and single connecting cubes.
WHAT YOU NEED
- Find the Number (print, copy)
- Connecting cubes (99 for each group)
- Crayons
- Numeral cards (0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5 for each group)
WHAT TO DO
- Place children in groups of three and provide them with a large supply of connecting cubes. Before they can play Find the Number each child in the group needs to build three trains, each train having 10 connecting cubes. Children compare trains to be sure that they are equal in length. Children place the nine trains in the center of the table. Have the children count out nine single connecting cubes and place them next to the trains.
- Give one child per group a Find the Number activity sheet and a crayon. Put the numeral cards facedown in an unstructured pile on the table next to the trains and the loose cubes.
- Go through the game once with the class. Child A and Child B each pick a number card and take that many trains from the pile and give them to Child C. They each pick another card and give that many loose cubes to Child C. Child C puts the tens together and the ones together, and tells how many 10's, how many 1's, and what the number is. If all three children agree that the number is correct, Child C colors that number on the Find the Number activity sheet.
- Play continues until children have colored in four numbers in a row. Have the children take turns being Child C.
TEACHING OPTIONS
In turn, each child chooses an uncolored number from the sheet, builds it, and asks their partners to name it.