Kindergarten - MATH
1: Letters
Unit 1: A - A Is for Musk Ox
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to count the letter cards in a stack and to practice counting aloud to 20; an accompanying number card is held up as they count. Students are instructed to say number names in standard order and to pair each object with one and only one number name, and materials note connecting counting to cardinality and that each successive number name refers to a quantity one larger. Students may optionally place a number card beneath each letter, pairing object positions with number labels.
Lesson 2
Day 2
The Getting Started review explicitly asks the child to practice counting to 20 aloud. Option 2 instructs the child to apply small apple stickers to the letter A in a single line, which has the child place items in a linear arrangement. The student activity page and letter practice include repeated items and sequences that support number familiarity and one-to-one correspondence practice implicitly.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The Getting Started section asks the child to practice counting to 20 aloud, providing explicit practice with counting up to 20. Activity 3 asks the child to count the dots on number cards and then flip the card to read the matching numeral, so students count objects (dots) to determine 'how many'. The activity notes adult assistance is acceptable, indicating students are expected to perform the counting with support as needed.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The Review section explicitly asks the child to practice counting to 20 aloud, so students practice the verbal counting sequence to 20. No activity text explicitly asks students to count objects to answer "how many?" or to count out a specified number of objects.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked in the Review to practice counting aloud to 20, providing verbal counting practice. In Activity 1 students are shown 1, 2, and 3 apple die-cuts and are asked to tell how many and then find the matching number card; the cards are later mixed and the activity is repeated. The activity includes an optional extension to use up to 10 objects and asks the child to choose a number of objects while a caregiver picks the matching number card for the child to check.
Unit 2: H - Hondo and Fabian
Lesson 1
Day 1
In Activity 2 students lay out number cards in order from 1–20 and point to each number while saying the number names aloud. Students are given die-cut animals to count by sliding each one over as they say a number, which enforces one-to-one correspondence. After counting, students are asked to find the number card that matches the number of cats and dogs they counted.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are given two piles of die-cut animals (3 and 5), lay each pile in a separate line, and count each line left to right, assigning one number to each animal. The review section prompts the child to count to 20, encouraging oral counting skills. The optional extension has students determine the total of the two piles and write the matching equation (3 + 5 = 8).
Lesson 5
Day 5
The Getting Started section has students practice counting to 20 aloud. Activity 1 has students lay out a row of animals, match a number card, add one more, and recount to determine how many they have, repeating until they reach 6. Students also practice reading and writing the numerals 4, 5, and 6 through tracing, writing, and forming the numbers with materials.
Unit 3: I - The Little Island
Lesson 1
Day 1
The Island Counting activity has students draw a large circle for the island and then count and glue specific quantities of items described in the text (one rock, seven trees, seven fireflies, seventeen bushes). Students are instructed to "slide and count out loud each one until she gets to seven" for the trees and then count and stick the other items. An optional extension asks students to use number cards to match the number of each object to the correct numeral.
Lesson 2
Day 2
The Review section explicitly instructs to "Practice counting to 20 together," which gives students oral practice counting up to 20. The lesson also includes everyday contexts (a pretend picnic and painting an island) where counting could be applied, though those contexts do not explicitly require counting in the text.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to count 7 die-cut cats and to slide-count each animal from left to right, then match each counted cat with a number card. Students are prompted to answer "What number is one more than 7?" and "What number is one more than 8?" and to trace and form the numbers 7, 8, and 9 (including making them from playdough). These activities require students to count small sets, recognize numerals, and use counting to determine quantity for sets of 7–9 arranged in a line.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students practice number recognition by choosing a number between 1 and 9 and finding the matching number card. Students verify numerals by counting the dots on the back of the number cards. The Getting Started section also offers an optional extension to try numbers from 11-20 if the child can easily identify 1-9.
Lesson 5
Day 5
The Getting Started review directs students to "Practice counting from 1-20 together," giving explicit practice with the oral sequence of numbers up to 20. Activity 1 asks students to measure and "write down these measurements," which requires using and recording number values, reinforcing familiarity with numerals in that range.
Unit 4: T - What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked in Activity 2 (Counting Tails) to look at each set of tails, count them carefully, and write the number in the box, and if not ready they select a matching number card from 0–10. The student activity pages show objects arranged in vertical columns/lines, so students count items arranged in a line/column. Activity 3 has students work with five tails (repeated trials up to 5), giving additional practice counting a small set.
Lesson 5
Day 5
The materials include 8 cut tails (one each 2" through 9") that students are given and asked to order from shortest to longest and longest to shortest. The optional extension directs students to lay paper clips end-to-end across a tail and count how many paper clips long the tail is, which requires counting objects arranged in a line.
Unit 5: L - We're Going on a Leaf Hunt
Lesson 1
Day 1
Activity 2 directs students to make rows of 10 leaves and count them by touching each leaf and saying the number. The activity tells students to arrange leaves in different ways (rows, a circle, a square, and a scattered pattern) and to count them in each arrangement. The instructions include having the child choose a set number of leaves (favorite 10, or 20 if ready) and to recount after the teacher changes the number while the child looks away.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students lay out a collection of leaves, sort them by an attribute (for example, small/medium/large or by color), and count the number of leaves in each resulting group. The activity explicitly instructs students to "Count the number of leaves in each group" after each sort. Students are encouraged to repeat sorting by different attributes and counting again, providing repeated practice answering "how many?" for those groups.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are shown a number card and asked to count out the corresponding number of leaves (Activity 2), with suggested numbers from 1–10 and optionally 11–20. Students must produce a set of objects that matches a given numeral, which requires counting objects and matching quantity to a number. This activity has students practice counting out specified quantities up to 20.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Activity 2 asks students to divide leaves into two groups, count each group, and match each count to a number card before deciding which group has more. The activity explicitly suggests using numbers from 1-10 or, for a challenge, numbers from 11-20. The Getting Started review also prompts students to review numbers from 1-20.
Unit 6: F - Fireflies
Lesson 1
Day 1
The Skills section explicitly lists the target counting skill, stating students will "Count to answer 'how many?' questions about as many as 20 things...; given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects." Activity 1 has students count out 10 pennies and then make nine additional groups of 10, touching each group while counting "10, 20, 30..." to 100, and encourages students to practice counting by tens. The materials prompt adults to provide support as needed while students count and arrange the pennies.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students practice counting sequences when prompted to "practice counting by 2s and counting by 10s." In the insect craft and review, students count and assemble specific numbers of parts (use three connected egg carton sections for the body; paint the back section; add two antennae, a pair of googly eyes, four wings, and three pairs of legs). The activity language asks students to review characteristics using numeric counts (three body parts, two pairs of wings, three pairs of legs).
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to count out 10 "fireflies" and to practice counting by tens to 100. Students are given a number card and asked to count out the corresponding number of "fireflies." The activity specifies using numbers from 1–10 and, if ready, adding numbers from 11–20 and asks students what the total would be if one more is added.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students cut creature pictures into cards, sort them into insects and non-insects, and count the number in each group. Students are prompted to sort the creatures again by different characteristics (e.g., color, flying vs non-flying) and count the members of those groups. The review section asks students to practice counting by 2s and 10s.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Activity 1, students place pennies in a bowl as 'fireflies,' add groups of 2, 3, and 4 pennies, and count how many they have each time, continuing the activity until they reach 20. Students repeat the counting sequence and are prompted to determine the total after each addition. The optional extension asks students to represent some of these addition events with equations (for example, 1 + 2 = 3).
Unit 7: E - But No Elephants
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students cut out and color five animal pictures and are asked to order them in a line from left to right (Activity 1 and Activity 2). Students place the animals in the order they visited Grandma Tildy and answer questions such as "Who came third? Who came fifth?" while practicing counting the animals and using ordinal numbers. The Student Activity Page provides a set of animal cut-outs that students can arrange in a line for these tasks.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to "lay out all the shapes," name them, sort the shapes into groups by shape, and "count the number of each shape." The activity also has students order each group from smallest to largest and assemble the shapes into an elephant, which requires handling and identifying multiple pieces. The Student Activity Pages enumerate specific counts of shapes (for example, two pink circles, three medium circles, etc.), providing concrete sets for counting.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are given animal pictures and number cards (0, 2, 4, 6) and are asked to sort the animals by the number of legs and count the number of animals in each category. The activity prompts students to count the number of legs altogether in each category and to count the number of legs by 2s as an optional extension. Students practice verbal counting when asked to count items in each sorted group.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students sort a gathered set of household objects into two piles (wants and needs) and then count the objects they consider "wants" and those they consider "needs." The materials list includes eight specific items (book, clothing item, crayon, cup of water, family picture, favorite toy, healthy food, toy car), so students practice counting quantities up to eight.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to count the ears and feet of 1, 2 (and optionally 3–4) elephants and to use the pictures as visual cues while counting, with explicit examples written as 2+2=4 and 4+4=8. The Student Activity Page shows four elephants arranged in a 2x2 grid, which students can color and use to count items in a rectangular array. The rhyme and follow-up questions prompt students to recount and compare quantities (one, two, three, four elephants) aloud while pointing to the images.
Unit 8: C - Millions of Cats
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are instructed to sort die-cut cats by features and "count the number of cats in each group," which requires answering how many are in each category. The lesson's skills list includes "Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count." The skills also list "Count to 100 by ones and by tens," indicating practice with verbal counting sequences.
Lesson 2
Day 2
The review asks the child to close her eyes, choose 5 cats, and divide them into two groups based on a characteristic, which requires the child to select and keep track of five items. The Uppercase C handwriting sheet displays rows with one bold C followed by five dotted Cs and a second row of six dotted Cs for repeated tracing, exposing the child to small repeated sets of items.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Activity 2 asks students to spread out die-cut cats and count the 10 cats, to divide them into groups (e.g., 9+1, 8+2, etc.), count each group, place number cards above groups, and write equations such as 9 + 1 = 10. The activity has students count the total after regrouping and explicitly counts scattered items. The optional extension asks students to be given a number from 1–9 and determine how many more cats are needed to make 10.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The Review asks the child to divide the 10 cats into two groups and count how many are in each group, giving students practice counting up to 10 and comparing group counts. The lesson repeatedly references the book's cats and a poem about many kittens, which could prompt counting of multiple items (the review explicitly uses a set of 10 cats).
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are prompted to count aloud with a 100-number chart and point to each number as they count, and they are encouraged to count in daily activities (walking, setting the table). In Reading Workshop, students place a penny in each space between words and are asked to follow the line from left to right, which involves one-to-one placement of objects in a line. The activities ask children to see how high they can count, providing practice with the counting sequence.
Unit 10: O - Owl Babies
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students cut out and sort circles, ovals, and triangles and are instructed to "have him count each category," which provides direct practice answering how many are in each shape group. Directions specify counting and coloring particular numbers (for example, "color the two small circles and the small triangle orange"), and the owl-assembly and cookie activities require placing two eyes, giving students practice recognizing and using the quantity two.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students manipulate up to 10 bean "owls," placing all 10 in the sky and counting them, and they move owls between the sky and the tree while answering how many are in each location. Students act out word problems (e.g., "Three baby owls flew to the tree. Then two more came. How many are in the tree now?") and count to determine the results. Students are asked to put a specified number of owls in the tree (e.g., put 5 owls in the tree), which requires counting out a given number up to 10.
Unit 11: S - Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students manipulate up to 10 red pom-pom "apples," moving them from the tree into baskets and are asked how many have fallen (e.g., teacher asks "how many apples have fallen from the tree (2)?"). Students repeat with different combinations (1+1, 2+1, 3+2, 7+3=10, etc.), count the moved apples to find totals, and are encouraged to write or read the corresponding number equations.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students count out 10 red pom-pom apples and place them in one tree, verbally counting the objects. Students move apples one at a time to the other tree and count the remaining and moved apples (for example, counting 9 then 1 more to make 10) and write equations such as 10+0=10, 9+1=10, 8+2=10. Students choose a number between 1 and 10 to place in the left tree and determine how many apples belong in the right tree so the total is 10.
Unit 12: D - Dinosaurs Big and Small
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students lay out ten dinosaur die-cuts in a row and match each one with a number card from 1–10, showing one-to-one counting. Students are given a chosen number, count that many dinosaurs, move them into a separate group, and then count the additional dinosaurs needed to total 10 and write the corresponding equation. An optional extension asks students to recall a partner number to make 10 and write the equation without the physical dinosaurs.
Unit 13: P - Harold and the Purple Crayon
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students cut out phase pictures and glue a title and its corresponding picture in order around a large black circle, placing five moon-phase items in a clockwise circular arrangement. Students stand and role-play the Earth while another person moves around them in a circle to show the moon's revolution, experiencing objects arranged or moving in a circle.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to trace the bottoms of a cube and rectangular prism and to count the number of flat sides (6), edges (12), and corners (8). Option 2 asks students to arrange some pennies in the shape of the letter p, which has them manipulate physical objects into a configuration. The activities involve counting concrete parts of 3D objects and handling small manipulatives.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students construct a square, cube, and rectangular prism using 12 toothpicks and 8 marshmallows. Students count the cube's edges, corners, and faces and count the materials used during construction.
Unit 14: B - Blueberries for Sal
Lesson 1
Day 1
Activity 1 has students draw number cards, place the corresponding number of blue pom-pom "blueberries" in each pail, write the matching equation, and count the total number of blueberries. The activity explicitly asks students to count 10 blueberries and to divide those 10 between two pails in many ways, recording equations (e.g., 9+1=10). The lesson's skills list also directs students to compose and decompose numbers 11–19 into ten and ones and to decompose numbers ≤10 into pairs.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Option 2 directs the child to use the 20 blue pom-poms and place them along a drawn capital B, which has the child arranging as many as 20 items in a line to form the letter. The Review section asks the child to name number pairs that add up to 10, giving some practice with number relationships and number familiarity.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Activity 2 asks the child to count 10 blueberries into one pail and match the number 10 card. The teacher shows the number 11 card and has the child add one blueberry to show 10 plus 1, then continues this modeling through number 19. The child is then shown a number card from 11–19 and asked to read the number and count out that many blueberries using the pails.
Lesson 5
Day 5
The Blueberry Equations activity has the child shown number cards from 11–19 and asked to place 10 blueberries in one pail and the remaining blueberries in a second pail, then write the matching equation (for example, 10 + 5 = 15). The activity instructs practicing these tasks in random order for numbers 11–19, which requires the child to count out and partition that many objects.
Unit 15: R - Rain
Lesson 1
Day 1
Activity 2 asks students to use number cards between 1 and 10 to identify which numeral is larger or smaller and then count out that many die-cut raindrops. Activity 2 also shows students a number card between 11 and 19 and instructs them to read the number and count out the corresponding raindrops, using a group of 10 plus the remainder. The materials list and Activity 1 provide 20 gray raindrops and have students place die-cuts on a blue construction paper sky mat, which involves arranging objects on a surface.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The teacher shows the number 14 and asks the child to tell how 14 is made (a group of 10 and 4 more), and asks which of 9 and 7 is smaller, prompting number comparison. Activity 2 has the child lay out 5 raindrops, remove one, and count how many remain, and practices simple addition equations with totals of 5 or less. The child is asked to read equations and use raindrops to show and check answers, giving repeated opportunities to count small sets and to take away objects and count the result.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students number die-cut pieces from 1–20, lay them in a line, and point to each number while reading it, which practices the counting sequence and number recognition. Students spread the numbered pieces around the room, are given a number card, find that number, move to it, and then count aloud from 1 to that number (for example, finding 19 and counting to 19). These activities have students practice counting up to numbers within the 1–20 range and locating a given numeral in a physical arrangement.
Unit 16: N - Night in the Country
Lesson 1
Day 1
Activity 1 places 10 apples (red pom-poms) in a tree and asks the child to count how many apples remain after 1 or 3 are removed, with repeated practice of these counting problems. The lesson also prompts the child to move objects and count the remaining items and to state/write matching equations (e.g., 10 - 1 = 9; 10 - 3 = 7). The Skills list explicitly includes solving addition and subtraction within 10 and representing operations with objects, indicating practice with counting concrete objects up to 10.
Unit 17: M - Marshmallow
Lesson 1
Day 1
Activity 1 gives the child twenty mini marshmallows and asks her to read a target number (e.g., 15) and cover that many numbers on a 10x10 number chart, placing marshmallows on numbers 1–10 then 11–15. The child is asked to find the tenth marshmallow, count how many more are needed to make the target (counting remaining marshmallows), and write equations such as 10+5=15. The activity is repeated for numbers 11–19, encouraging the child to count out and record compositions of those numbers on the rectangular grid.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Activity 2 instructs students to form a line of marshmallows next to a toy from top to bottom and then count the number of marshmallows that indicate the length, recording that number. Students repeat the measurement with a second animal and compare which animal is longer. The optional extension asks students to continue measuring lengths of different toy animals, giving further practice in making a line and counting how many marshmallows long each animal is.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to touch and count the two faces of a can and to state how many faces spheres (0), cubes (6), and rectangular prisms (6) have. Students stack marshmallows and count when stacking two and three. Students are asked to find other examples of cylinders around the house, which prompts them to identify and count features of real objects.
Unit 18: U - Umbrella
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students use umbrellas to act out addition and subtraction story problems and then write the matching equations (examples: 3+4=7, 3+2=5, 5-1=4, 4-3=1, 5+5=10). Students are asked to count umbrellas seen from windows (counting 5 and 5 and combining to make 10). Students create their own umbrella math story problems, show them with the umbrellas, and write the corresponding equations.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students use ten die-cut umbrellas to model and count combinations that make 10, physically placing and moving the umbrellas to find pairs like 9+1, 8+2, and 5+5. Students record the equations they know (for example, writing 9 + 1 = 10 with sidewalk chalk) which requires them to count and match quantities to number expressions. Students may be asked an extension question where they are given a number and must identify the number that pairs with it to make 10.
Unit 19: J - Jump Frog Jump
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to count out 16 frogs and lay them in rows of 10, then identify the first row of 10 and how many more than 10 make 16. Students are prompted to write an addition problem (10+6=16) and to repeat with other numbers between 11 and 19. Students lay down a number card between 11 and 19, count the dots on the back, and then count out that number of frogs.
Unit 20: K - Kindness
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to count the number of animal characters in the story and report how many there are (9 animals). Students cut out animal outlines from the "Counting Kind Acts" page, number them according to introduction order, mix them up, and put them back in order from 1–9. The activity uses a 3x3 grid of animal pictures (a rectangular array) and asks students to respond when a teacher calls out a number and to identify what number comes before and after a given number.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to continue counting aloud starting with the number 9 up to 20, which practices the oral counting sequence to 20. In Activity 2, students use ten red pompoms as apples and are asked to give away (subtract) a chosen number between 1 and 10 by removing that many objects, then find and write how many apples remain. The apple activity also has students predict the remaining number before they count, and the teacher writes subtraction equations as students remove objects.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 1 asks the child to consider how many acts of kindness occurred and prompts a quantitative guess (e.g., could it have been 100?). The activity then has the child take a 100-step walk, supplying each number as they step and stopping every 10 steps to highlight that number. The walk may be done in one direction, a big circle, or back-and-forth, so the child practices sequencing count words while moving in a line or circle.
Unit 21: V - Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin
Lesson 1
Day 1
Activity 1 prompts students to find instruments in the book, answer "How many instruments are playing now?" and choose the matching number card (starting with 1, then 2). Students add instruments sequentially through the book and lay out up to 10 instrument pictures together with the number card 10 and the label "a chamber group of 10."
Lesson 3
Day 3
The Getting Started review asks the child how many instruments are playing during a solo (1) and a duet (2), which has the child answer "how many?" for small sets. Activity 3 asks the child to place job index cards in a line under the headings Goods or Services, which has the child arrange objects in a line (potentially for counting). Activity 2 asks the child to identify which instruments have cylinder or cone shapes by naming several instruments, which requires recognizing and listing items in a set.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 1 asks the child to lay out a chosen number of instrument pictures between 1 and 9 and to tell how many are here and how many are missing, and to write matching equations (e.g., 3 + 7 = 10). The activity also has the child count all ten members, remove a specified number (for example, 2), state how many remain (8), and write subtraction equations (10 - 2 = 8). These tasks require the child to count quantities up to 10 and reason about how many are present or absent.
Unit 22: Y - Little Blue and Little Yellow
Lesson 3
Day 3
In Activity 2 the child is shown a number card (14), asked to read the number, and asked to make that number using two colors of stickers. The child places two rows of five blue stickers (equaling ten) and then adds four yellow stickers in a third row, then writes the equation 14 = 10 + 4; the activity is repeated with numbers 16 and 19. The Getting Started section also asks the child to put two pencils in a row, which models arranging objects in a line.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students count out 10 stickers and place them in a straight line, writing the numbers 1-10 under each sticker. Students cross off stickers one at a time, answer "how many are left?", and record equations such as 10-1=9, continuing until 10-10=0. Students therefore practice counting to determine quantities in a linear arrangement and counting out a specified number (10).
Unit 23: W - George Washington's Birthday
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson's Skills list explicitly states that students will "Count to answer 'How Many?' questions about as many as 20 things...; given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects." Activity 2 has students use pennies as counters to check addition and subtraction problems (e.g., verifying 3+5 and 9-3) and complete a Student Activity Page with simple sums and differences. The Student Activity Page provides space for students to record answers to arithmetic problems, encouraging use of physical counters to determine quantities.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to count the number of stars on the U.S. flag (50) and to count the total number of stripes (13), directly answering "how many?" questions. Students cut out three pictures (Statue of Liberty, U.S. flag, bald eagle) and glue each onto construction paper, handling a small set of pictures.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Activity 2 (Tossing a Rock Across the River) has the child and adult toss a soft ball or beanbag back and forth while saying numbers aloud: the catcher says "one," the tosser says "two," and they "continue tossing and counting." The activity asks partners to "see how many times you can toss without dropping the 'rock,'" which has students keep a running count of repeated events. The opening prompt also asks the child to "create and solve an arithmetic problem," which may involve number use and counting.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are given a pile of up to 20 craft sticks and asked to count the number of sticks in the pile. An adult shows number cards from 11–20 and asks students to count out that many sticks. Students are asked to put sticks in groups of 10 and identify how many extras are needed, and they repeat counting for a second pile with a different number and count out a different given number.
Unit 24: Q - The Quilt Story
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to name and count the number of sides on shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle) and to count the number of corners/vertices on each shape. Students are asked to use specific counts when composing shapes (for example, use 2 squares to create a rectangle, use 6 triangles to make a hexagon, and use 2 rectangles to create a square). Students sort collections of shapes and are instructed to save specific single shapes (one triangle, one circle, one rectangle, one square, one hexagon) for future use.
Unit 25: X - An Extraordinary Egg
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students lay eggs into 4 rows of 10 eggs each and count the eggs by pointing to each one and saying each number as they count, which practices counting items arranged in rows/arrays. Students also count the eggs by tens, and they divide the eggs into two unequal groups and count each group to decide which group has the greater number. Students may lay both groups out in groups of 10 to compare quantities, repeating with several different pairs of numbers.
Unit 26: Z - Greedy Zebra
Lesson 1
Day 1
The Skills section explicitly lists counting to answer "how many?" for up to 20 and representing numbers 0–20. In Activity 1 students lay animal cards in rows of 10 and count to 20, remove 7 to count 13 and represent it as 10+3, create two groups of 9 and 7 and compare which is greater, and solve an addition story problem (4 + 3). The sewing activity provides a grid/array context (rows and columns) where students practice hole-to-hole stitching on a rectangular array.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Activity 2 asks the child to sort animal cards into groups based on number of legs and to "count how many are in each group," which requires answering "how many?" for each group. The activity also asks the child to count how many legs are in each group, providing additional counting practice. The Review asks the child to name three pairs of numbers that add to 10, showing engagement with number relationships and number fluency.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Activity 1, students line up animal cards and write numbers 1 to 20 on sticky notes, copying number cards as a guide, which engages them with the sequence of numbers up to 20 and an arrangement in a line. In Activity 2, students are asked to identify which three books were non-fiction, which requires them to select and count three items from a group.
2: Holidays
Unit 27: Halloween
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to count the number of times toilet paper is wrapped around a child to turn them into a mummy, recording a prediction and then counting the actual wraps. The Skills list asks students to identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to another group using matching and counting strategies. The Skills also include working with numbers within 10 (addition/subtraction within 10 and finding number that makes 10 for any number 1–9), which implies practice with counting and small-number operations.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students make 10 ghost counters (cotton balls covered with tissue) and manipulate them. Students divide the ghosts into two unequal groups, are asked which group has more, and are encouraged to count and compare the groups. Students are given small amounts (e.g., 2 or 5) and asked how many more are needed to make 10, and they use the ghosts to solve join/separate story problems (e.g., 2 + 2, 8 - 3).
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students line up and count 10 die-cut stars using a work mat, explicitly answering how many are in the line. Students add small numbers of stars (for example, adding 3 to 2) and then count the total to determine how many there are altogether. Students write the numbers 1 through 10 on the stars and glue them to paper, practicing number–object correspondence for 1–10.
Unit 28: Thanksgiving
Lesson 1
Day 1
The Skills list explicitly asks students to "Count to 100 by ones and by tens" and to "Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects)." Activity 1 directs students to record five turkey facts on five separate feathers and glue them to the turkey body, giving students a concrete set of five items to create and handle. Activity 2 has students press handprints in a half-circle to form feathers, producing multiple objects arranged in a circular/half-circular configuration.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students read the number printed on each turkey (examples shown: 14, 4, 12) and count out that many feathers to match the numeral. Students physically place and glue the counted feathers onto the back of the turkey, practicing one-to-one correspondence while assembling the counted set. The activity therefore has students produce a set of objects that matches a given numeral up to at least 14.
Unit 29: Christmas
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to count out five bells and string them on a pipe cleaner, and to count each additional bell as they add it to the original five. The finger play has students hold up one to five fingers while chanting the counting rhyme. The activity has students place bells in a row on the pipe cleaner and then tie it off to make a bell wreath (a circular arrangement).
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to "See if Santa can land on all 7 continents," which requires identifying and counting continental stops on the map. Students glue a row of cotton balls at the base of the hat and then continue around to create Santa's beard, which has them place objects in a circular arrangement. The Santa die-cut path activity has students mark multiple landing locations as Santa travels from the North Pole to other places.
Unit 30: February Celebrations
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to identify values and equivalencies (e.g., how many pennies equal a nickel (5), how many pennies equal a dime (10), how many nickels equal a dime (2), and how many pennies or nickels equal a quarter (25 and 5 respectively)). Students sort a cup of mixed change into piles of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, which invites grouping and possible counting of items. The activities explicitly use small whole-number quantities (2, 5, 10) in questions that require determining and relating counts.