TS National Touring Guide - Flipbook - Page 10
The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool Intentional Teaching Experiences
M02
Counting &
Comparing
Toys and Games
Objective 22
Compares and measures
a. Measures objects
Related Objectives: 8a, 9a, 11a, 13, 17b, 20a,
What You Do
20b, 26
3. Add categories for as long as the children are
Materials: objects to sort and compare, e.g., toys,
blocks, clothes, or shoes; card stock folded in half
to make stand-up cards
1. Gather the children around the collection. Ask
questions that prompt the children to talk about
the objects and think about how they can be sorted.
“What are different kinds of…?
“In what ways are some of these items the same?”
2. As the children suggest category names, choose
interested. Ask questions that encourage the
children to compare the groups. For example:
“Which group has the most…?”
“What group has the fewest…?”
“Which groups have about the same number
of items?”
4. Record the predictions and then count the items
with the children to check their guesses. Explain
English-Language Learners
• When teaching a new word, put the word
at or near the end of a sentence as often
as possible to emphasize it.
• When English-language learners ask you
to name an object in English, ask them to
tell you its name in their first languages.
• Speak slowly and clearly, using gestures to
clarify concepts.
that the objects will be in the Toys and Games area
• Count in children’s first languages.
for sorting during choice time.
• As you write down the predictions, include
a drawing or picture of the object on the
chart.
one and write it on a card. Use the card as a place
marker for the items that fit that category.
Including All Children
“You said that some of these toys can roll. I’ll write
‘Toys That Roll’ and draw a picture of a ball on the
card, and you can put those toys over here next to
the card.”
• Prepare stand-up cards with photos or
magazine pictures of various categories to
make them easier to recognize.
• Have children with different skill levels
work in pairs. One can identify an item that
belongs in a category and the other child
can place it next to the correct card.
• Encourage a child to select a sorting
category by pointing to a stand-up card.
Birth to 1 year
Teaching Sequence
YELLOW
1 to 2 years
Choose two categories with widely contrasting quantities, e.g., one item, five items. Ask the
child which pile has more. Count the objects together.
“Which pile has more books? Yes, this pile is tall, so it might have more. Let’s count together
and find out.”
2 to 3 years
GREEN
Choose two categories in which the number of items to be grouped will be similar (up to five).
Ask the child to place the items in each category and then count the number of items in each
group.
“Here we have a group of pants; some are long and some are short. Are there more long pants
or short pants? Let’s count how many we have in each pile.”
Preschool 3
GREEN
Invite the child to compare two groups of items and describe the differences between the
groups.
Preschool 4
BLUE
“You picked up each group of shoes. What is different about them? You’re right, the group of
adult shoes is heavier than the baby shoes.”
“Let’s count how many shoes are in each pile. The pile with baby shoes has more in it, but the
adult shoes are heavier.”
BLUE
Invite the child to compare and order three groups of items, from smallest to largest, fewest
Kindergarten
Questions to Guide
Your Observations
• In what ways did the child compare the
groups of objects? (22a)
• Was the child able to communicate his or
her ideas about comparing? (9a)
• How long was the child able to attend to this
experience? (11a)
• Did the child think of new ways to group
the objects? (13)
• How would you describe the child’s
counting skills, one-to-one correspondence,
understanding of quantity? (20a)
• Did the child demonstrate an understanding
of more, less, fewer, the same as, etc.? (20b)
to most, etc.
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
PURPLE
“We want to put the groups in order from fewest cars to most cars. How can we find out which
group has the fewest? Yes, we can count them.”
PURPLE
Include multiple groups of objects for comparison. Invite the child to describe similarities
and differences among the groups. Have the child count the objects before grouping them a
different way. Ask the child to compare and count the items in each new group.
“We have 20 different forks and 20 different spoons. What happens if we group them by size?
How many groups should we have? Let’s count how many are in each group.”
© 2020 Teaching Strategies, LLC • TeachingStrategies.com
“The Creative Curriculum® is a rigorous framework of study that is
developmentally appropriate while still meeting the needs of individual
learners. The team of experts at Teaching Strategies have supported
our district in ways that exceed expectations.”
Carrie Pearson, Ed.D., Director, Early Learning Program, Keller Independent School District, Keller, Texas
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