Pre-MATH

More than 1 - 2 - 3Georgia CTAE Resource Network

Instructional Resources OfficeJuly 2009

Math concepts that adults understand may be very confusing to a young child, but pre-math activities are used in the LEARNING CENTERS, MUSIC, and GAMES.

MATH VOCABULARY

Big & Little Long & ShortHigh & Low

Wide & Narrow First & LastFew & Many

Highest & LowestBunch

Once - Twice

Pair

EARLY MATH PROGRAMS:

Should be HANDS ON Filled with PLAY Include EXPLORATION ENVIRONMENT is an essential part

of mathematics curriculum

SERIATION

SIZE Relationships Putting things in size from

• Largest to Smallest • Tallest to Shortest • Lightest to Heaviest

SERIATION (cont.)

ACTIVITY:• Take one piece of Shoe String Licorice and break into

4 pieces of different sizes. Put in order of Shortest to Longest

• Have 4 students come to the front of the room. Group them according to body height and then hair length.

What else is an example of SERIATION?

PATTERNS & CHANGE

Putting items in a certain, organized way

Repeating specific group Growing patterns

Draw attention to patterns in the real world (wallpaper, plants, etc.)

THIS IS ALGEBRA!

SEQUENCING

The order of how things happen What will happen first, middle and

last

SEQUENCING (cont.)

Activity: Everyone stand up. Count off 1-2-3-4

• 1 = Stand at attention• 2 = Arms straight out to side• 3 = Clap hands above head• 4 = Hands on waist• Count and have every group do their movement - Do faster• Do all 4 actions together

What else can you put in a SEQUENCE?

CLASSIFICATION-SORTING & MATCHING

Putting things that are alike together

Graphing various qualities of an object

CLASSIFICATION- SORTING & MATCHING

Activity:• Graph types of shoes that the students are

wearing (tie, slip-ons, sandals/flip-flops, other)

• M & M Math - give each “pair” of students one small package of M & M’s.

• “Split” that package between the pair• Color an M&M graph• Graph the correct square for the number of each color

What else can you SORT or MATCH?

MATH in BOOKS

Math concepts are taught in a variety of books

Math concepts include: counting, shapes, sizes, weight, one-to-one correspondence, etc.

Complete 2 Book Synopsis from books that have math concepts

MATH in SONGS & FINGER-PLAYS

What are some songs & finger-plays that deal with MATH concepts?

5 Little Monkeys - 5 Little Ducks 5 Little Speckled Frogs

MATH in EVERY DAY LIFE

What are some examples of MATH concepts that are used in everyday life?

Math calculations • Addition - Subtraction - Multiplication -Division• Cooking - Time - Money - Square Footage -

Fractions - Percents - etc.

ASSESSING MATH ABILITY

Math skills can be assessed by OBSERVING the child and by

watching the child SOLVE PROBLEMS.

MATH MANIPULATIVES

A MATH MANIPULATIVE is anything you can use as a counter

What can be used as a Math Manipulative?

Leaves - sea shells - toothpicks - rocks - buttons - macaroni - M & Ms - golf tees - peanuts - cotton balls - stickers … ANYTHING!

MATH SUN - Make math FUN!

Using crayons or markers, trace the number and do the following:

1 = Red 2 = Blue 3 = Green 4 = Orange 5 = Yellow 6 = Purple 7 = Pink 8 = Brown 9 = Black 10 = Your Favorite Color

12

3

4

6

7

9

8

10 5

6

TOUCH DOT NUMBERS

1 2 3 4 56 7 8 9

Math & Technolgy

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/topic_t_2.html

Explore this website for virtual manipulatives of Algebra. Pick three favorite games, tell why,

and how they could be used with the preschoolers.