Julia Mastripolito

EDUC 5183

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Assessment 1: Mathematics Unit Plan

When a child begins school, it is not a level playing field, their understanding of
numbers will vary, some will be able to count to 10, others to 20 or beyond (Reys
et al, 2012). The aim of early primary school mathematics is for all children to
establish a sound understanding of numbers that allows them to be used
meaningfully and effectively every day (Reys et al, 2012). The following unit plan
created for Foundation year students also has this aim and is centred around the
ACARA (2012) outcome to establish understanding of the language and
processes of counting by naming numbers in sequences, initially to and from 20,
moving from any starting point. This is the first outcome that should be
achieved by Foundation students and is the basis for all other mathematical
concepts.
The students, ages 5-6, are from a metropolitan catholic school where the
majority come from middle-class backgrounds with English as a first language.
Results from short interviews showed that developmentally, the class of 11 boys
and 13 girls, varies quite significantly with some being capable rational counters
while others count by rote and do not have a proper understanding of numbers
in sequence (Reys et al, 2012). Consequently, class seating has been deliberate
in that tables usually have at least 1-2 rational counters in a group of 4.
In previous Mathematics lessons, students have practiced counting to and from
1-10 and had free play with mathematical materials such as dice, counters,
blocks and number and picture cards. The teacher observed this free play and
challenged students with questions such as can you match the number and
picture card? while taking supplementary notes.
The following unit plan builds on students knowledge of number in its concrete,
pictorial and abstract forms and introduces concepts such as more or less as well
as foundations for addition and subtraction through rational counting.

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EDUC 5183

Lesson Plan 1

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Date: 16

Feb 2015
(Adapted from Victoria State Government Department of Learning and Training
website, 2014)
Year Level: Foundation
Topic: Number
Content Descriptions: Establish understanding of the language and processes
of counting by naming numbers in sequences, initially to and from 20, moving
from any starting point
Lesson Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.

Count teacher movements

Count aloud own movements i.e. hopping
Track number sequence by pointing and saying numbers (1-20)
Match symbolic number to pictorial expression

Assessment
1.
2.
3.
4.

Able to count teachers movement aloud

Able to count aloud and coordinate own movements
Numbers tracked and said
Able to match symbolic to pictorial number

Gearing Down

Slow movements
Students movements simple not distracting
Work in pairs

Gearing Up

Speed up movements
More complex movements i.e. hopping

Materials

Number cards
Dot picture cards

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Introduce (10 minutes)

What does it mean to count? When do we use counting? What are different ways
that we can count? Allow students to give examples and demonstrate.
Today we are going to be counting using our bodies, clap 2 times and ask how
many times did I clap? Hop 3 times and ask how many times did I hop?
Instruct (30 minutes)
1. Students will listen and count aloud each time teacher claps intervals of
5 up to 20. Keep clapping slow and aim for rhythm. Then students clap
with teacher to predictable rhythm and count aloud.
2. On GO students stand up, move into space and follow instructions for
movements, hop 4 times, jump 7 times, bob down 10 times and so on,
counting aloud.
3. Number cards are displayed on board, students count aloud as teacher
points, starting from 1-10, 10-20 then 1-20. Next counting from starting
points that students can choose.
4. Examples of dot number cards displayed on the board, students count
dots aloud as teacher points. Students tell teacher which number card
matches picture card. Students instructed to get out work books, cut out
number cards and stick them in their book with corresponding picture
cards. Encourage students to discuss if they are stuck, this does not need
to be done in salience.
Reflect (10 minutes)
Class moves back to the mat to discuss
Was it harder to count teachers movements or their own movements? Why?
What strategies did students use to match number and picture cards?
Did they count aloud or in their heads?

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Lesson Plan 2

Date: 17

Feb 2015
(Created by Julia Mastripolito)
Year Level: Foundation
Topic: Number
Content Descriptions: Establish understanding of the language and processes
of counting by naming numbers in sequences, initially to and from 20, moving
from any starting point.
Lesson Objectives
1. Count number of students in class
2. Five sea shells counted and totalled in larger group
3. Finding the lost number in the number line
Gearing Down

Prompt students
Go with students as they count sea shells individually
Smaller numbers missing from number line to begin, see how far they can
go

Gearing Up

No prompting from teacher, let students help each other

Challenge students with numbers past 20 missing

Materials

Seas shells 5x class number

Beach themed number line

Introduce (10 minutes)

Start sitting in a circle and discuss what types of things can be seen at the
beach? What is something you can collect and bring home? Show children
collection of shells and ask them to estimate (explain that estimate means
guess- important to use correct language) how many shells are in the bucket?
Explain that the class will work as a team to count all of the shells, first
individually, then in a small group and finally as a whole class.

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Explore (40 minutes)

1. To begin, we need to know how many students there are in the class.
Students stand up one after the other and are counted aloud by the whole
class (ask students to remember their number for later). Then students
need to tell the teacher how many students there are. A volunteer writes
this figure on the board.
2. Students are called up in order, they should have remembered their
number, if not prompt them to work it out by asking what number was
before and what number is after? Students count 5 shells from the bucket
and then sit at their table.
3. Now students are sitting at their tables of 4 with 5 shells each, instruct
students to line all of the shells up in the middle of the table and count
them as a group.
4. Wait for all tables to finish, then ask each table how many shells in total
were on their table (should be 20). As they tell you, draw 20 shells on
board and encourage class to continue counting with you as you draw. A
straight line of 80 shells (4 tables, 20 shells each) should be the end result
this will be challenging for most students, do not expect them to count to
80, however, watching teacher counting to 80 exposes them to the
language used for higher numbers.
5. After coming back from a break, have slide on smart board showing a
number line up to 20 (beached themed). Children close their eyes, one
number disappears, when they open their eyes they must identify which
number is missing. Allow students to guide activity, see how high they can
go, challenge them but not so far that they stop showing interest.
Reflect (10 minutes)
Bring students back to mat to discuss activity
How did you count the five shells? How did you count the long line of shells?
What was harder? What is the highest number you can count to? How did you
find out which number was missing in the number line?

Julia Mastripolito

EDUC 5183

Lesson Plan 3

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Date: 18

Feb 2015
(Adapted from Counting Coconuts blog 2010)
Year Level: Foundation
Topic: Number
Content Descriptions: Establish understanding of the language and processes
of counting by naming numbers in sequences, initially to and from 20, moving
from any starting point.
Lesson Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Students classify objects into groups (animals, plants)

Identify which group has most and which has least
Line up in order from least to most
Number symbol matched with concrete number
Students find total number of objects

Gearing Down

Work as whole class instead of individually

Focus on objectives 1, 2, 3

Gearing Up

More complex categories such as things in the sea, things on the land
What is the difference between groups?

Materials

Beach themed pictures (animals and plants) cut out and put into zip lock

bags
Number cards

Introduce (10 minutes)

Allow children to have free play in the beach themed dramatic play area* for 1015 minutes prior to lesson.
Ask what they did when they were playing at the beach? What does the beach
feel like? Smell like? Taste like? What animals do you see at the beach? What
type of plants are at the beach?
Show them beach pictures and ask for a volunteer to point to a beach animal and
another volunteer to point to a plant.

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(*beached themed dramatic play area in classroom, every fortnight dramatic

play area changes)

Explore (40 minutes)

1. Pictures need to be classified into two groups, animals and plants. Give
students approx. 5-10 minutes.
2. Ask students which group they thought had the most objects in it? Write
answer on board and students record this in their books, ensure correct
mathematical language is used. Record in books.
3. Ask students to line up groups, most and then least, how can they tell? Do
they have to count or can they just see it? Does the group with more look
bigger or the same as the group with less? Does the group with less look
smaller or the same than the group with more?
4. Give students number cards and ask them to match the number card on
card with the number of objects in group stick objects into work book
with number stuck underneath group.
5. Ask students to count the total number of objects and write it in their
books, and then ask for volunteer to give answer. Does everyone agree?
Why? Why not?
Reflect (10 minutes)
Students pack up and then sit on the mat to discuss activity
What does most mean? What does least mean? How do we know? How can we
use this in during the day at school? Brainstorm ideas about when we use most
and least and how it is useful to us in daily lives.

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Lesson Plan 4
Date: 19
Feb 2015
(Adapted from NCTM Illuminations Resources for Teaching Maths website, 2015)
Year Level: Foundation
Topic: Number
Content Descriptions: Establish understanding of the language and processes
of counting by naming numbers in sequences, initially to and from 20, moving
from any starting point.
Lesson Objectives
1. Identifying and writing numbers using graph paper to show numbers in
concrete form
2. Recognise how many more/less squares there are in different rows
3. Understanding more and less by representing concretely and finding
differences
4. Counting backwards from 20
Gearing Down

Focus on activities 1, 2 and 4

Work in pairs
Dont use fish crackers if too distracting, take them away and just use
paper and colouring in

Gearing Up

If can do one more/less easily move on to higher differences

Materials

Fish crackers 20 per student in zip lock bags

Fish Eyes: A Book you can Count on by Lois Ehlert
1cm graph paper
Coloured pencils
Paper plates
Number cards

Introduce (15 minutes)

Draw a picture of a fish on the board, with eyes, gills, fins, etc (things that you
can count). Ask students questions about the characteristics of the fish, how
many eyes, gills, fins? Does it have a nose, legs? Then get out zip lock bag of
fish crackers and show the children, explain that we will be counting these little

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fish today, sticking to our beach theme. As we will be working with food, it is
important that children are aware they are not to eat it until they are told it is ok
to do so, otherwise the activity wont work. Show students the book, and
demonstrate that when a number is read out they will write the number on the
left column of the graph paper and then add that number of fishes on each
square of the graph paper, working from right to left. It may be useful to have an
example of this lay out on the board for children to refer to. Hand out the graph
paper and remind students not to touch the crackers until they are instructed.
Instruct (30 minutes)
1. Begin reading story, when first number is read, pause for students to write
number and add fish crackers to graph paper. Continue to the end of the
story. Instruct students to colour in squares where fish crackers are,
removing them one row at a time. Tell them which colours to colour in
each row so they can be compared later. Eg. 1 = black, 2 = red, 3 = blue,
use example on board to show this.
2. Question: How many more squares are coloured in red bar than the blue
bar? How do you know? Continue questioning, increasing difficulty if
necessary.
3. Say a number and ask students to put that many crackers on a plate,
writing the number on the plate. Then ask them to make the second plate
with one less fish cracker than the first plate. Now they will be able to
compare them by taking one cracker away from each plate at the same
time (in pairs) and will be left with one on the first plate. Ask students to
record their findings in their book i.e. 5 is one less than 6, 6 is one more
than 5 (This can be written on the board to copy).
4. To end get students to line up fish along graph paper (one in each box),
write the number underneath each fish and then count backwards as they
eat them.
Reflect (10 minutes)
Allow class to discuss their experience of this activity. How did you identify how
many more or less squares there were in each row? What did you do to make the
group with one less? What was it like to count backwards? Hard/easy?

Julia Mastripolito

EDUC 5183

Lesson Plan 5
Feb 2015
(Adapted from Tutorial 4: Early Number)

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Date: 20

Year Level: Foundation

Topic: Number
Content Descriptions: Establish understanding of the language and processes
of counting by naming numbers in sequences, initially to and from 20, moving
from any starting point.
Lesson Objectives
1. Use die to build a tower of 10 uni-fix blocks
2. Finding combinations of 10 through breaking down and building uni-fix
3. Use die to move forward along a number line counting from different
starting points
Gearing Down

Assist students to count aloud numbers on the die and count each block

with them
Identify at least 2 combinations
Number line only to 10

Gearing Up

Making towers of 20
All combinations identified without prompting
If number is bigger than number that student is currently on they go
forward (addition) if number is smaller they go backward (subtraction)

Materials

Unifix blocks at least 10 per student

Die (one per student)
Number line
One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab - by April and Jeff Sayre

Introduce (10 minutes)

Lesson begins reading One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab by April and Jeff Sayre,
discuss book, there are many different ways to make the number ten and groups
of ten make larger numbers like 100. What are some examples in the book where
ten was made?

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Instruct students to get into pairs and sit on the floor, hand out one die per pair
and 20 unfix blocks, not joined.
Teach (30 minutes)
1. Explain aim of the game is getting to 10 first. Roll the dice and build tower
according to number on die. E.g. if you roll 4, join 4 blocks together. Instruct
students to always write down the numbers rolled to show combinations of
10. After about 5 minutes or when you can see they have made a few
different combinations, ask students combinations they had to get to 10?
Now try to get to 20.
2. Now students need to find combinations of 10 themselves (with 2 numbers),
instruct students to break their tower in half which makes the first
combination count each block aloud from both towers. Attach two towers
again and allow students to make more combinations. Each time a new
combination is found, students should draw a picture and write the numbers
in their book. Demonstrate this on the board.
3. Students still in pairs, get a number line from 1-20, explain that in this game,
students roll the die and move along the number line, the first person to get
to 20 wins. Students to record each role of dice in their work book so they
can see combinations up to 20. Add subtraction for those who seem to be
finding the activity easy.
Reflect (10 minutes)
Bring students together and allow them to discuss their experiences and
strategies. What do they know about the number 10? What does a combination
mean? How many combinations are there? What are some combinations of 10?
Can you show combinations of 10 with our fingers?

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Conclusion
As students progress through school, mathematics concepts and problems
become more difficult, having good number sense will allow them to understand
and grasp these new and challenging concepts more easily (Fosnot & Dolk,
2001). The aim of this unit plan is to develop number sense so that students will
form a sound understanding of numbers, their relationships and how to use
them.
First it is important to consolidate rational counting and the ability to match
symbolic numbers to their pictorial counterpart. Students continue to practice
counting while being exposed to the foundations of addition by counting
concrete objects in a small group initially and then as part of a larger group. This
concrete experience of numbers makes counting easier and allows students to
form an understanding of how numbers work together, it also acts as a stepping
stone to understanding abstract concepts (Reys et al, 2012). To reinforce learning
thus far, students use rational counting to identify most, least and total number
of objects, again matching concrete and abstract numbers. Drawing on these
principals students are introduced to the concept of more and less by finding the
difference between groups using concrete, pictorial and abstract operations.
Using the correct language such as less and take away for new concepts is
imperative for students to be able to use and recognise such terms in upcoming
lessons (Reys et al,2012). Moving forward counting on is practiced using
foundations of addition and subtraction in dice games finding combinations of 10
and 20 by building towers and breaking them down and counting along a number
line.
Formative assessments or assessments for learning, inform the teacher about
what their students currently know so that they can use this information as they
plan, monitor and evaluate student progress (Reys et al, 2012). In this unit plan,
only formative assessment is used by gathering data through observation and
taking supplementary notes to monitor progress. Noticing the different processes
that students use to make sense of problems is important for future planning to
tailor lessons that best engage students in a way that makes sense to them
(Reys, 2012) Questioning is also used to assess childrens understanding by

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allowing them to explain their reasoning and thought processes when working
towards an outcome (Minstrell & van Zee, 2003).
After this unit plan has been implemented students should be more confident
counting to and from 20 as well as from various points in between, using correct
language and processes. They should be familiar with concepts of more and less
and know how to count in sequence to reach a total number of objects. It is
important to note that not all children will be at the same level, additional
attention should be given to students who are struggling to ensure they are not
left behind and supplementary lessons can be added in between these lessons if
the teacher finds that students need to spend more time on a particular area.

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References
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority 2012, The Australian
Curriculum: Mathematics, Commonwealth of Australia.
Ehlert, L 1992, Fish eyes: A book you can count on, HMH Books for Young
Readers, New York.
Fosnot, C.T & Dolk, M 2001, Young mathematicians at work: Constructing
number sense, addition and subtraction, Heinemann, Westport, CT.
Mari-Ann 2010, Counting Coconuts, Beach themed activity, blog posting, 10
August, viewed 25 March 2015, <
http://countingcoconuts.blogspot.com.au/search?q=beach>.
Minstrell, J & van Zee, E 2003, Using questioning to assess and foster student
thinking Everyday assessment in the science classroom, pp. 61-73.
NCTM: Illuminations - Resources for Teaching Maths 2015, Counting back, viewed
25 March 2015, <http://illuminations.nctm.org/lesson.aspx?id=431>.
Reys, R, Lindquist, M, Lambdin, D, Smith, N, Rogers A, Falle J, Frid, S, Bennett, S
2012, Helping Children learn Mathematics, 1 st edn, John Wiley & Sons, Australia.
Rogers, A 2014, EDUC 5166: Early Number and Place Value workshop notes,
University of South Australia, Adelaide, 25 March.
Sayre, A&J 2014, One is a snail, ten is a crab, Candlewick Press, U.S.
State Government Victoria 2014, One-to-one correspondence: Foundation level,
viewed 25 March
2015,<http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discip
line/maths/continuum/pages/onetoone.aspx#a1> .

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Appendices
Appendix 1 Number Cards
Appendix 2 Picture Cards example
These cards are an example only they are not ideal as they do not group in the
dots in a way that is easy to see numbers.

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Appendix 3 Beach number line

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Julia Mastripolito
Appendix 5 1cm graph paper

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