Kindergarten - MATH
1: Letters
Unit 2: H - Hondo and Fabian
Lesson 3
Day 3
Activity 3 gives students two piles of die-cut animals (one with 3 and one with 5) and asks them to count each line and identify which has more or fewer. The Optional Extension asks students to determine how many animals there are altogether and to write the matching equation 3 + 5 = 8, using the objects and a written equation.
Unit 6: F - Fireflies
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson asks, "How can grouping objects help to count them?" and includes Activity 1 where students count out 10 pennies and then make additional groups of 10 to practice counting by tens. The Skills list includes counting to answer "how many?" for up to 10 scattered objects and understanding that each successive number name refers to a quantity that is one larger.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students use pennies as fireflies to add quantities and count totals (1, then +2 = 3, then +3 = 6, then +4 = 10), so they manipulate objects to make and combine numbers up to 10. An optional extension invites students to represent these addition stories with equations and gives the example 1 + 2 = 3.
Unit 7: E - But No Elephants
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to sort a gathered collection of household objects into two piles labeled "wants" and "needs." After sorting, students count the objects they placed in each pile, producing a numeric split of the original set into two parts.
Unit 8: C - Millions of Cats
Lesson 1
Day 1
The Skills section explicitly lists the exact wording of the standard: "Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way (e.g., by using objects or drawing) and record each decomposition by drawing an equation (e.g., 5=2+3 and 5=4+1)." In Activity 1 students sort a set of die-cut cats by a feature, count the number of cats in each group, and then re-sort and count again, which involves partitioning a set and counting parts.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to close their eyes, choose 5 cats, and divide them into two groups based on one characteristic, which has them use physical objects to create a two-part partition of the number 5. The activity explicitly uses manipulatives (cats) to represent and split a total quantity into two groups.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students count 10 die-cut cats and physically divide them into two groups (objects) to show decompositions such as 9+1 and 8+2. Students place number cards above each group and write equations on paper (e.g., 9 + 1 = 10 and 8 + 2 = 10). The activity directs students to continue through other pairings (7+3, 6+4, 5+5, etc.), using objects to form multiple decompositions of 10. An optional extension asks students to determine how many more cats are needed to make 10 when given a number from 1–9, reinforcing missing-addend reasoning.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The review prompt asks the child to divide the 10 cats into two groups and count how many are in each group, which has students physically separate a set of 10 objects into two parts. Students are instructed to count the number in each group, which yields a pair of addends that sum to 10 and uses concrete objects to show a decomposition.
Unit 10: O - Owl Babies
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students cut out and use 10 bean-owls to represent owls in the sky and in the tree, count them, and move them to show story problems (e.g., Three flew to the tree then two more). Students are asked to put all 10 in the tree and then move one owl to the sky repeatedly to produce pairs (10 and 0, 9 and 1, 8 and 2, etc.). The optional extension explicitly has students create and verbalize pairs that total 10 (including 5 and 5, 6 and 4, 7 and 3).
Unit 11: S - Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students manipulate 10 red pom-pom "apples," move subsets of apples into two baskets, and count how many have fallen, producing equations such as 1 + 1 = 2, 2 + 1 = 3, 3 + 2 = 5, 4 + 2 = 6, 7 + 3 = 10. The Skills section instructs students to represent addition with objects or drawings and to find the number that makes 10 when added to a given number, recording answers with a drawing or equation. The activity prompts students to create their own stories and, if able, to write the equations themselves, providing practice recording decompositions as equations.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Activity 2 has students use 10 red pom-poms and a two-tree template to model decompositions of 10 by moving apples from one tree to the other. Students count the apples and write the corresponding equations (10+0=10, 9+1=10, 8+2=10, 7+3=10, 6+4=10, 5+5=10). The activity also challenges students to choose a number between 1 and 10 for one tree and determine how many apples belong in the other tree to make a total of 10.
Unit 12: D - Dinosaurs Big and Small
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson's Math skills include: "For any number from 1 to 9, find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number (e.g., using objects or drawings) and record the answer with a drawing or equation." This statement indicates students will use objects or drawings and write equations to show an addend that combines with a given number to make 10.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 1 has students work with 10 dinosaur die-cuts, select a number, move that many dinosaurs to a separate group, count the remaining dinosaurs needed to make 10, and write the corresponding equation (e.g., 4 + 6 = 10). The activity instructs repeating this process with different chosen numbers so students generate multiple pairs that sum to 10. The optional extension asks students to be given a number and write the equation that pairs with it to make 10.
Unit 14: B - Blueberries for Sal
Lesson 1
Day 1
The listed skills explicitly include decomposing numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way. Activity 1 has students use blue pom-pom "blueberries" as objects, place them into two pails, count totals, and write the matching equation. Activity 1 also directs students to count 10 blueberries, divide them between two pails in as many ways as possible, and record each decomposition with equations (e.g., 9+1=10, 8+2=10).
Lesson 3
Day 3
The Review prompts the child to "name some number pairs that equal 10," which asks the student to identify decompositions of 10. Activity 2 has the child count 10 blueberries into a pail and use blueberries and pails to model numbers, and it explicitly shows 11 = 10 + 1 and 12 = 10 + 2 using objects, so students manipulate objects to demonstrate number combinations.
Lesson 4
Day 4
In the Getting Started Review, students are asked to "name some number pairs that add up to 10," which has students produce decompositions of 10 into pairs. The prompt to show the number 13 and explain it as "10 plus 3 more" reinforces composing/decomposing around ten. No other activities prompt numeric decomposition or recording of equations or drawings.
Unit 15: R - Rain
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to write and read addition equations whose totals are 5 or less (examples given: 4 + 1, 2 + 3, 1 + 3, 3 + 1, 2 + 1). Students are asked to show those equations using raindrop manipulatives, modeling the equation with objects. Students also lay out 5 raindrops and physically remove raindrops to show subtraction (e.g., 5 − 1 = 4) and are encouraged to read and write the corresponding equations.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked in the Review to answer 4 + 1 and 3 + 2, which present two different decompositions of the number 5. These prompts require students to produce sums that show 5 as 4 + 1 and 3 + 2. No other math tasks are provided that ask students to create or record additional decompositions.
Unit 16: N - Night in the Country
Lesson 1
Day 1
The Skills section explicitly tells students to represent addition and subtraction with objects, drawings, and equations and to add and subtract within 10 using objects or drawings. Activity 1 has students place 10 apple manipulatives, remove 1 or 3 apples, count the remainder, and write matching subtraction equations such as 10 - 1 = 9 and 10 - 3 = 7. The activity directs students to practice several similar problems using different numbers of apples.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Activity 1, students work with 10 concrete "apples," decide how many apples are falling, and physically move those apples to baskets, producing two-part collections (fallen vs. remaining). Students generate and hear a matching number sentence (example given: 10 − 3 = 7) and are asked to write or trace that equation. The activity asks students to come up with several scenarios, prompting multiple different splits of the 10 apples and to write the matching equations independently.
Unit 18: U - Umbrella
Lesson 1
Day 1
The Skills list explicitly names the standard: it tells students to "Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way...and record each decomposition by a drawing or equation." Activity 1 has students use umbrellas as objects to act out addition and subtraction problems (e.g., 3 + 4 = 7, 3 + 2 = 5, 5 + 5 = 10) and then write the matching equation using sidewalk chalk. Activity 1 also asks students to create their own math story problems, show them with umbrellas, and write the matching equation.
Lesson 2
Day 2
The review prompt asks the child to solve "2 + 3 = ___" using fingers, small objects, or mental math, which has the student combine two parts into a whole. The instruction to use small objects or fingers provides explicit, concrete manipulatives for representing the parts and whole.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Activity 2 asks students to name all pairs of numbers that add to 10, to record each equation (e.g., 9 + 1 = 10) using sidewalk chalk, and to use 10 die-cut umbrellas as objects to find any missing equations. The activity explicitly lists the decompositions 9+1, 8+2, 7+3, 6+4, and 5+5 and suggests an optional extension of giving a number and asking what number pairs with it to make 10.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 1 has students turn over two numbered umbrellas and keep the pair if the two numbers add to ten, using physical objects (umbrellas) to form number pairs. Students play a memory-style game that requires them to identify and collect pairs whose sum is 10 (e.g., 1+9, 2+8, 5+5).
Unit 19: J - Jump Frog Jump
Lesson 3
Day 3
Activity 2 asks students to create numbered "lily pads" (1–9) and to choose a number between 1 and 9 and then choose which number is needed to go with that number to make 10. Students show the partner by physically jumping to the complementary lily pad, using the numbered pieces as manipulatives. This has students use objects and physical actions to form pairs that sum to 10.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The Getting Started review explicitly asks the child to "name the pairs of numbers that equal 10," which asks students to identify addend pairs that compose the number 10. That prompt is direct evidence that students practice identifying decompositions of 10 into two parts.
Unit 20: K - Kindness
Lesson 3
Day 3
In Activity 2 students use ten red pompoms as apples and physically take away a chosen number, modeling decompositions with objects. Students are asked to write the equation for each action (e.g., 10 - 3 =) and find the number of apples remaining. The activity repeats with different numbers between 1 and 9, producing multiple pairs that sum to 10 using concrete objects and written equations.
Unit 21: V - Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked in Activity 1 to have pictures of some instruments (between 1 and 9) laid out, to say how many are present and how many are missing, and to write matching equations such as 3 + 7 = 10. The directions tell students to repeat for all combinations of 10, giving multiple decompositions of 10 using objects and equations. Students also remove members from a full set of ten, state how many remain (e.g., 10 - 2 = 8), and repeat subtraction with other numbers between 1 and 10.
Unit 22: Y - Little Blue and Little Yellow
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson's Skills section explicitly lists the target skill: "Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each decomposition by a drawing or equation (e.g., 5=2+3 and 5=4+1)." The rest of the lesson includes counting-related activities (e.g., arranging lines of 4 stickers in Activity 1) that involve handling small sets of objects.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students count out 10 stickers and place them in a line, then cross off stickers and state how many remain. Students write subtraction equations such as 10 - 1 = 9, 10 - 2 = 8, continuing until 10 - 10 = 0. Students use physical objects (stickers) to model these removals, producing multiple pairings of parts that sum to 10.
Unit 26: Z - Greedy Zebra
Lesson 1
Day 1
Activity 1 asks the child to take a group of 10 animal cards and "show you all the ways you could divide those animals into two groups (9+1, 8+2, 7+3, 6+4, 5+5)," which has the child use objects to produce multiple decompositions of 10. The Skills list also asks students to find, for any number 1–9, the number that makes 10 when added, which has students practice complementary pairs to 10 using objects or drawings.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The Getting Started review asks the child to "name three pairs of numbers that add up to equal 10," which directly prompts generating multiple decompositions of 10. The prompt explicitly requests more than one pair, so students must produce more than one way to make 10. Activity 2 includes counting animal legs, which gives counting practice that is tangentially related to composing numbers but does not require decomposing or recording sums.
2: Holidays
Unit 27: Halloween
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson's Skills state that students will "solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawing to represent the problem," and that for any number 1–9 students will "find the number that makes 10... and record the answer with a drawing or equation." The "Make a Mummy" activity has students predict and count the number of toilet-paper wraps, providing practice with counting and recording a numerical result.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students make 10 paper ghosts and divide them into two groups, counting and comparing which group has more. Students are asked how many more are needed to make all 10 when given 2 or 5 ghosts, and they use the ghosts to solve join and take-away story problems (e.g., 2 came, 2 more joined; 8 playing, 3 stopped). Students are encouraged to create their own story problems and solve them with the ghost manipulatives.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The Getting Started review asks the child to "name two pairs of numbers whose sum is 10," which has the child produce more than one pair that decomposes 10. The review instruction requires verbal decomposition of a number into two addends, directly engaging the idea of splitting a whole number into pairs.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students line up and count 10 die-cut stars and are asked to divide the stars into two groups in as many ways as possible (10 and 0, 9 and 1, 8 and 2, 7 and 3, 6 and 4, 5 and 5). Students add stars in scenarios (start with 2 and add 3, then repeat with other combinations such as 4+5, 3+1, 6+2) to find totals. Students label the stars by writing the numbers 1 through 10 on the stars and glue them to the paper.
Unit 30: February Celebrations
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students cut apart heart-shaped cards that show addition problems and read each problem aloud, then match each problem half with the correct answer half (examples include 2+1 and 1+2 = 3, 3+2 = 5, 2+2 = 4, 5+4 = 9, 9+1 = 10). Students physically manipulate equations for sums less than or equal to 10 as they separate piles of problems and answers and mend the broken hearts by pairing a problem with its sum. The activity requires students to recognize and match written equations and sums.