Use a School Readiness Activity to provide early mathematical thinking experiences for preschool children that will prepare them to do well in the early grades.
Grades:
Subjects:
+ show tags
Type:
Download

How Many Do I See?

  • To make quantities to 5
  • To count to 5

Materials
Classroom materials such as chairs, crayons, pencils, books

Vocabulary
how many?
count

Literature Suggestion
Read Five Trucks by Brian Floca. As you read, help children count the trucks.

Warm-Up
Teach children the "Five Little Fire Trucks" finger play, in which they start with a thumb on one hand folded into the palm and fingers folded over the thumb.
    1 little fire truck (thumb up)
    2 little fire trucks (index finger up)
    3 little fire trucks (middle finger up)
    4 little fire trucks (ring finger up)
    5 little fire trucks all in a row (pinkie finger up)
    Back to the fire station all of you go! (Thumb into palm with fingers folded over the thumb.)

Teacher Tip: Over time, ask children to show you individual numbers of little fire trucks on their fingers to help build number concepts.

Procedure

  • Teach children to play a game called "I Spy." Model the game by saying, "I spy 3 chairs." Then go and touch 3 chairs while you count 1, 2, 3.
  • Continue the game, inviting children to touch and count items such as 5 chairs, 2 pencils, 3 crayons, 1 flag, 4 trucks, and 5 blocks.
Enrichment
Invite a child to be the one to say "I spy," and to check to see if another child correctly identifies and counts the items.

Observation Assessment

  • Proficient - Child easily counts classroom items to 5.
  • In Process - Child gets mixed up when counting beyond 2 or 3.
  • Not Yet Ready - Child does not count classroom items.

Featured Pre-K Resources

How Many Bears on the Bed? Pre-K Math Lesson Plan

LESSON PLANS

How Many Bears on the Bed? Lesson Plan & Printable

Get ready to count bears and build math skills with this engaging lesson plan and printable for Pre-K, perfect for littl...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER
How Many Eggs Are in the Nest? Counting Pre-K Lesson Plan Printable

LESSON PLANS

How Many Eggs Are in the Nests? Lesson Plan & Printable

Get your little ones counting with this egg-citing lesson plan and printable for preschoolers! This engaging activity...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER
Taller or Shorter? Comparing Heights in Pre-K Math Lesson Plan

LESSON PLANS

Taller or Shorter? Comparing Heights Pre-K Lesson Plan

Dive into the world of height comparisons with this engaging Pre-K lesson plan that makes learning about 'taller' and 's...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

Related Resources

ACTIVITIES

Marching and Counting 1, 2, 3, 4

Marching and Counting 1, 2, 3, 4Purpose/Skills To experience musical rhythm; to march and count to 4 To associate the na...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

BOOK GUIDES

Moja Means One: Swahili Counting Book

by Muriel L.

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

ACTIVITIES

How Many Pennies Do You Hear?

How Many Pennies Do You Hear?Purpose/Skills To listen for and count sounds (or other things such as people or flashes of...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

ACTIVITIES

How Many Bears on the Bed?

How Many Bears on the Bed?Purpose/Skills To solve problems using 1, 2, and 3 objects.

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

ACTIVITIES

How Many Children Are Wearing Red Today?

How Many Children Are Wearing Red Today?Purpose/Skills To experience the concept of larger quantities To sort children i...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

ACTIVITIES

How Many Eggs Are in the Nests?

How Many Eggs Are in the Nests?Purpose/Skills To use manipulatives to show quantities of 1, 2, and 3 To count to 3; to s...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

About the author

TeacherVision Staff

TeacherVision Editorial Staff

The TeacherVision editorial team is comprised of teachers, experts, and content professionals dedicated to bringing you the most accurate and relevant information in the teaching space.

loading gif