Grab and Count

Name: Jessica Quezada

Date: November 4, 2014
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Lesson Source: Investigations
Group Characteristics: I will be working with a small group with 6 students, half will be boys, and the
other half are girls. This particular group will have 1 ELL student.
Big Idea:
Counting tells how many things are in a set. When counting a set of objects, the last word in the counting
sequence names the quantity for the set.
Having number sense mans that you can think about and use numbers and their relationships in many
different ways.
Instructional Student Objectives:
Students will be able to identify if one group of numbers is greater than, less than, or equal or another
group through the completion of the Grab and Count activity
Arizona College and Career Readiness Standards Addressed:
Counting and Cardinality (CC)
Compare numbers.
K.CC.C.6. Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the
number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies. (Include groups with
up to ten objects)
Standards for Mathematical Practice:
K.MP.2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
K.MP.7. Look for and make use of structure.
K.MP.8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
Main Task(s):
During the main portion of the lesson students will use manipulatives to create two groups of numbers.
Using those two groups of numbers the students will work to identify which group is greater, and which
one is less, or if they are equal.
Mathematical Vocabulary:
Greater - When one group of objects has more objects than another group
Fewer- When one group of objects has less objects than another group
Equal When two numbers are the same
Materials and Tools Needed:
Grab and Count Worksheet
Small Hundreds Chart
Small Number Line
Pencils
Crayons
Variety of Manipulatives
Unifix cubes, Pattern blocks, etc.
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Lesson:
Introduction/Connections to Prior Knowledge (Before):
Grab and Count is an activity that the students already have experience with. Since they have already
done this activity in the past the introduction will be a short reminder of the procedures that are required
to completing the activity. This portion will be done in a whole group setting, the other small group
activities will also be explained during this time. At this point the students will all be sitting at our carpet
area. The information about all of the centers will be displayed on the board that is directly in front of
them. I will go through the centers starting from center 1 and going through center 4. When I explain the
centers I will give a brief explanation of each of them, and if any words or images need to be displayed, it
will be done so on the white board. I will start the explanation by telling the students that the fourth center
is Grab and Count. Since they already know the procedures to completing this assignment I will be
refreshing their memory by asking them questions. All of the questions will be free answer questions,
which means that students wont be required to raise their hand to answer this. I am choosing this method
because it is the one that is consistently used by my mentor teacher. I will show them the worksheet that
they will be working with by displaying it on the whiteboard. I will explain the first section by telling
them that they will pull out a handful of manipulative I will then go on to ask What am I going to do
with the blocks?, I will wait for them to tell me that they are responsible for counting the blocks,
drawing them in the first box, and labeling them with numbers. If students are having a hard time
repeating all of the procedures to me I will ask more specific questions such as What should go next to
each number?, and What do I have to put inside the first box?. Once I have received the correct
answer, I will explain to them that we are going to repeat the steps for the second box. Once we have
covered those two sections I will ask them What is the last thing I have to do?, the students should
answer that they are going to label each box to either say more, fewer, or equal. Once I have received this
answer I will write the three words on the board, I will ask the students to read each word, and I will
remind them that if they need assistance writing the word they can use the words on the whiteboard for
support. Once I am done with the explanation I will ask the students to give me a thumbs up if they
understand what they responsibilities are, or a thumbs down if they still need clarification. At this point I
will call on the students that have a thumbs down sign and I will take the time to answer any question that
they may have about any of the centers. After this I will dismiss the students to their groups.
Once the students are all in their designated groups I will join the Grab and Count group. We will need
a couple of minutes to set up, and the students in my groups will help me do this by assigning them jobs.
Once we have gathered all of the materials, and everyone has been handed their worksheet I will
introduce the new materials to the students. Since the students have already worked with the unifix cubes,
and the pattern blocks I will simply tell them that, those manipulatives are the ones that are available for
them to work with. I will take the most time explaining how to use the hundreds chart, and the number
line. They have had some experience with these two tools in the past, but it will be important for them to
understand how they can be used for this particular activity. I will explain to them that both the number
line and the hundreds chart can be tools they use to figure out what number is higher or lower. I will give
two sample numbers, and as a small group we will use both of the tools to solve the problem. I will then
tell the students that all of the materials will be available to them as added support. Once we are done
discussing the new tools I will ask students if there is any strategy they use that they would like to share
with the group. We will discuss these strategies, and then start the activity.
Main Lesson: (During):
For the main portion of the lesson the students will mostly work independently. I will be there to support
them if they need extra help, or if they need to be reminded of the procedures. I will hand out the Grab
and Count worksheet, to the students, and they will start by choosing the manipulative they will be
working with. They will all independently pull out a handful of objects, count them, and record their
information in the first box. Once there are finished recording and coloring their first drawing the students

will pull out their second handful of objects and record the number objects in their second box. Once they
are done with the recording section of their activity they will go on to find out if the second number of
objects they pulled out is greater than, less than, or equal to the first amount. The students will be allowed
to use any of the manipulative and tools at the table to solve this portion of the activity. As the students
are completing this portion of their work I will be reminding them of the producers if they need it, as well
as providing support to them. The students will all be sitting on the ground, and I will be sitting with
them. In order to guide the students in the right direction I will ask questions such as How can we find
out if these numbers are labeled correctly?, What is a strategy you can use to find out which box has
more/less objects?, or How many blocks did you have in your first/second handful?. These are just
some of the questions that I might ask depending on the amount of support a student needs. These
questions, and others like them will be asked individually to students who need the added support. This
will be a way for me to support them in the completion of the activity without explicitly telling the
students what to do.
Closure: Processing/Summary/Final Discussion (After):
Once everyone has finished the individual portion of the activity we will come back as a group to discuss
the different strategies that were used to find our which of the numbers was larger or smaller. We will sit
in a circle on the floor, with the tools that were used in the middle of the circle. Everyone in the group
will be given the opportunity to share what tools or manipulatives they used, and how they were used.
The students will be asked to share their ideas even if their strategy did not involve any of the
manipulatives. Once everyone has had the opportunity to share their strategies we can discuss how some
the of strategies were similar, and how they were different. If there is enough time for the discussion to
continue the students will be asked to think about what new strategies they might use in the future, and
why they think it would work for them. Some of the question I might ask during this portion of the
activity include, What strategy did you use to solve the problem?, How is your strategy similar or
different to (name) strategy?, What is a different strategy that you might try to use next time?.
Assessment/Evaluation:
One way of assessing the students will be by collecting the work they completed during that activity.
While the students are explaining their strategies I will record their answers either with a recording
device, or by writing down their explanations. When they are explaining their strategy I can get a clear
idea of whether or not they understood the task, and if it was completed effectively.
Accommodations/Differentiation strategies:
ELL:
One way of making this activity accessible to ELLs is by keeping it consistent. The students have done
this same activity in the past, and it has consistently been the same, this helps them remember the task at
hand. Another way to accommodate for ELLs is by using a lot of visual representations of the activities,
as well as allowing for hands on work. For example during this activity I will be using images on the
board to explain the activity, and I will be using the new tools to model different solving strategies.
Another way that ELLs can be supported is by repeatedly using the vocabulary that correlates with the
lesson, and describing the words to them in different way. For this activity I can verbally explain what
fewer, more, and equal mean, but I can also draw a visual representation of the words. ELLs can also be
helped in their native language if the teacher has the resources to do so.

Inclusion Students:
For students who are having difficulty with the task the activity can be modified so that they work with
smaller numbers. Instead of asking them to grab a handful of objects, they could be told to use their
fingertips to grab the objects. The tools such as the hundred charts and the number line would also be
beneficial to them, anything that is visual or hands-on is a good tool for them. Peers can also be of

assistance to students with diversities. Peers can help in many different ways depending on the need of the
other student. In some cases the students might only need support in writing, while in other cases the
students will need help with more time consuming tasks such as counting. In either case a peer helper can
be very helpful to them.
Students with significant prior experience related to the content:
Students who already know the content well would benefit from using higher numbers. For example of
they are comfortable working with the numbers 1 15, students can be asked to work with only higher
numbers. These students can also be encouraged to solve the problems using methods they arent very
familiar with. For example of the students always solves their problem by using the hundreds chart, they
can be challenged by being asked to complete the activity using the number line or by using mental math.
This will help the students become fluent on other problem solving methods.