98 Playful Oral Counting Games Objective To develop oral counting skills through movement activities. Whole Group Small Group Partners Center Key Concepts and Skills • Practice oral counting forward by ones. [Number and Numeration Goal 1] Materials none A Planning Tip Play the games on separate days if you think it will confuse children to learn both games at once. Consider using a counting song to introduce this activity. (See Teaching Options.) Core Activities 䉴 Playing Counting Games Play several rounds of each of these games as a class. Follow the Leader Have children sit in a circle on the floor and talk with them about ways they can move their bodies while sitting. Explain and demonstrate a counting game similar to Follow the Leader. Tap your head or wiggle your fingers, and have the children join in. Direct them to begin counting (while continuing the movement) and go around the circle, with each child saying the next number. Invite the child who says ten to change the movement. Start the count over from one with the new movement. Repeat as long as interest lasts. Count and Sit Have children stand in a circle and choose a target number, such as eight. Begin counting with one and go around the circle with each child saying the next number in sequence. The child who says the target number sits down and the count begins again at one. The seated child is skipped as the count continues around the circle with another child sitting each time the target number is reached. Keep counting around the circle until all children are sitting. Some children may enjoy trying to figure out who will be the last person left standing. Repeat, using different target numbers. Adjusting the Activity Both games can be played using higher numbers, counting backward, or skip counting as children are ready. AUDITORY 䉬 KINESTHETIC 䉬 TACTILE 䉬 VISUAL Ongoing Assessment: Informing Instruction Listen to find out where children have difficulty in counting. When they stumble, do they need to start over from one? Have they developed other strategies to pick up the counting? Some children may benefit from a visual reference such as a number line to help them keep track or make sense of counting patterns. 䉴 Using Pattern Blocks (Revisit Activity 1䉬 2, p. 48) Keep pattern blocks in the Math Center for continued exploration. As children share their designs and talk about them, introduce ways to record and preserve their work. You might provide paper and pattern-block stickers or pattern-block shapes cut out of construction paper, newspaper, fabric, or wallpaper. You can also photograph children’s creations and post them in the classroom for inspiration. (The Pattern-Block Template is introduced in Activity 4-3, p. 192.) B Teaching Options READINESS 䉴 Singing Counting Songs Sing and act out counting songs such as “Ten Little Penguins.” When possible, substitute higher numbers in songs (“Eight Little Monkeys,” instead of “Five Little Monkeys,” for example). See Resources for the Kindergarten Classroom for song suggestions. LITERACY CONNECTION 䉴 Reading Counting Books Read The April Rabbits by David Cleveland (Putnam, 1978), a counting book to 30. See Resources for the Kindergarten Classroom for a list of other counting books. 99 Activity 2 6 Playful Oral Counting Games 䉬 A Pattern-Block Design