LESSON PLAN

Change in Quantity to 10

Apothem Team

Kindergarten · Number

LESSON AT A GLANCE

Warm-up

5 min

Explore

15 min

Consolidate

10 min

Practice

12 min

Exit reflection

3 min

Warm-up

'I have 5 fingers up. I put one down. Now how many?' Do several examples physically. Then reverse: 'I have 4 fingers up. I want to show 6. What do I need to do?' Let students solve and explain.

Explore

Pairs work with story mats and linking cubes. One partner builds a set (e.g., 6 cubes on the mat as 'animals on a hill'). The other draws a 'change card' that says '+1,' '-2,' etc. Together they act out the change and count the result. Switch roles.

Consolidate

Practice

Students complete 3 build-and-change tasks at their own pace using cubes. Exit: teacher shows a set of 4 and changes it to a set of 6 — students whisper to a partner 'what changed?'

Exit reflection

TIP Use consistent story language ('There were… then… now there are…') to build the narrative structure of addition and subtraction before introducing symbols.

WORKED EXAMPLES

A student starts with 7 and needs to make 5. They remove 2 and recount. How do you extend this?

Celebrate the successful strategy, then ask: 'You needed 2 fewer. How did you know it was 2?' If they re-counted, help them see 7→6→5 as 2 steps backwards.

What if a student adds cubes but can't say how many they added?

Ask them to separate the added cubes and count only those. 'How many did you put on? That's how much you changed it.' Isolating the change builds awareness of the action.

MATERIALS

•Linking cubes in two colours

•Story mats (a simple scene drawn on paper)

•Number cards 1–10

•Build-and-change recording sheets

WATCH FOR

!Students may recount from 1 rather than counting on from the existing quantity — this is developmentally normal but can be nudged: 'You had 6. You added 2. Do you need to start all over?'

!Students may confuse the change with the result — they may report '2' (the change) when asked 'how many now?' Clarify: we want to know the new total.