Domino Addition

$Domino Addition book cover$

Grade 1
4 skill lessons · 1 math-through-reading

Math

Skill lessons

The mathematics the book carries, taught directly. Each lesson has printable workbook pages and a separate teacher key.

1Both Halves, One Total
2Have We Found Them All?
3The Half With Nothing On It
4Three Ways to Say One Domino

Math + reading

Math through the reading

The same book, entered through a sentence it prints. Change one word in the reading and the numbers change with it.

5One Letter Changes the Hunt

Reading

Reading and language lessons

The same book read as a text. What a word means in its sentence, how a character is shown, how the writing is put together - no mathematics.

6Four Things the Book Tells You to Do
7Six Ways to Ask Somebody to Look
8The Book Is Talking to You
9What the Marks Tell Your Voice
10Or, Or, Or Even

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Skill lessons

4 lessons on the mathematics the book carries. Each lesson has printable workbook pages and a separate teacher key.

1. Both Halves, One Total Fluency · Adding the two spot counts on a domino to a total within twelve

The book hands over the same instruction on nearly every page: add the spots on the top half to the spots on the bottom half. Students work real dominoes rather than pictures, counting each half, counting on from the larger one, and saying the total in a full sentence until the two half-counts stop being two separate jobs.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Count both halves (4 min)
Each pair takes a domino from the tub and turns it so one half is on top. Count the spots on each half out loud, in order: 'four spots, three spots.' Do this with four dominoes. Do not add anything yet.
Word preview: half, halves
Dominoes have two halves. Each half may have zero, one, two, three, four, five, or six spots.
2. Count on to the total (5 min)
Put your finger on the half with more spots and say that number. Then count on once for every spot on the other half: 'five, six, seven.' Say the whole thing as a sentence: 'five and two make seven.' Your partner recounts every spot on the domino to check you.
Word preview: total
Add the number of spots on the top half of this domino to the number of spots on the bottom half.
3. Work the pile (7 min)
Turn the tub out face down and take turns. Draw one domino, say its two halves, then say its total in a full sentence before anyone draws again. Lay each finished domino in a line in front of you. Stop to recount any total your partner does not agree with.
Word preview: total
You can add the spots to find the total number of spots on each domino.
4. Say your slowest one (4 min)
Pick the domino from your line whose total took you longest and hold it up. Say which half you started from, how many you counted on, and what the total came to. Finish it the way the book does: 'The total is NINE.'
Word preview: total
The total is NINE!

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Count on to the total (5 min)
Finger on the half with more spots, say that number, then count on one number word per spot on the other half. Say it as a sentence: 'five and two make seven.' Your partner recounts the whole domino to check.
Word preview: total
Add the number of spots on the top half of this domino to the number of spots on the bottom half.
2. Say your slowest one (4 min)
Hold up the domino whose total took you longest. Say which half you started from, how many you counted on, and the total. Finish as the book does: 'The total is NINE.'
Word preview: total
The total is NINE!

Three levels

Support: Use only the dominoes whose halves are both three spots or fewer, so every total stays inside six and can be proved by recounting every spot on the domino. Keep the same count-on move, the same finger on the larger half, and the same spoken sentence.
At Grade: Draw any domino from the tub, count on from the larger half, and say the total in a full sentence. Check a partner's total by recounting the spots, not by re-adding.
Extension: Before you count on, say the total straight from the spot patterns, then count on to see whether the two answers agree. When a partner draws a domino whose total matches one already in your line, set the two side by side and say which halves each one used to get there.

English learners

Preteach half, top half, bottom half and total, and the frame that strings them together. Walk through one sentence until it runs without thinking: what the top half has, what the bottom half has, and what the total is. Students may count on in their everyday language and say only the finished frame in English, and pointing at the half they started from counts as part of the answer.

Materials

Tub of dominoes, a complete double-six set, one tub per pair
Word cards: half, halves, total

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Both Halves, One Total: Word Cards card set

Domino Addition — Both Halves, One Total

Word Cards

Cut on each line. Show one card at a time.

half

halves

total

Both Halves, One Total: Say It Strips strip set

Domino Addition — Both Halves, One Total

Say It Strips

Say a strip out loud. Point at the half you started from.

Strip 1

The top half has __________ spots.

The bottom half has __________ spots.

The total is __________.

Strip 2

__________ and __________ make __________.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Both Halves, One Total: Teacher Key for the Say It Strips full page

Domino Addition — Both Halves, One Total — Teacher Key

What the strips should sound like

Both strips are said aloud over real dominoes. There is no single right domino, so there is no single right filling; what follows is the range that is correct and the difference between a close answer and a loose one.

Expected responses

Strip 1: the two half counts are each zero to six, and the total is the two halves put together, zero to twelve.
Strip 2: the same domino said the short way, starting from the half with more spots, for example five and two make seven.
Support: only dominoes with both halves three spots or fewer, so every total stays inside six and can be proved by recounting every spot.
Extension: the total is said straight from the spot patterns first, then counted on to see whether the two answers agree.

Read for

Close: the student names the half they started from, counts on once for every spot on the other half, and ends with the total. Loose: the total arrives with no starting half named, or every spot is counted from one again instead of counting on.

The partner check is a recount of the spots, not a second addition.

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

2. Have We Found Them All? Reasoning · Finding every domino that makes a given total

Page after page the book asks for the dominoes — plural — that reach a total, and for most totals there is more than one answer. Students take a complete set, hunt out every domino whose halves reach a target total, and then have to argue that nothing is left in the pile. The reasoning is in organising the search: line the finds up so the top halves count down, and a gap in the countdown is a domino still missing. The lesson ends when a group can say why its line stops, not when the hunting gets boring.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Hunt for six (5 min)
Spread a complete set face up between four of you. Find every domino whose two halves reach six and slide it to the middle of the table. Say the halves aloud as each one goes in: 'four and two make six.'
Word preview: total
Can you find the dominoes that have a total of SIX spots?
2. Line them up in order (5 min)
Lay the dominoes you found along the paper strip so the top halves count down: six, then five, then four, then three. Read the line from one end: 'six and zero, five and one, four and two, three and three.' A skipped number in the countdown is a domino you have not found. Go back to the pile and get it.
Word preview: every
Each half may have zero, one, two, three, four, five, or six spots.
3. Say why the line stops (6 min)
Point along your line. Tell the group why there is nothing to add at the end. Past three and three, the halves only trade places and give back a domino you already have. Then take a second target, four. Build its line the same way, counting down from the largest half that fits. Say where that line stops and why.
Word preview: every
Which dominoes have a total of FOUR spots?
4. Answer the book's question (4 min)
Listen to the book's question for six, then answer it with your line. Hold up each domino in turn. Say its two halves and its total. Finish with the book's own sentence: 'The total is SIX.' Say how many dominoes answered the question.
Word preview: total
The total is SIX!

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Line them up in order (5 min)
Lay the dominoes that reach six along the strip so the top halves count down: six, five, four, three. Read the line aloud. A skipped number is a domino still in the pile — go and get it.
Word preview: every
Each half may have zero, one, two, three, four, five, or six spots.
2. Answer the book's question (4 min)
Answer the book's question for six with your line: each domino held up, its halves and total said aloud, ending with 'The total is SIX.' Say how many dominoes answered it.
Word preview: total
The total is SIX!

Three levels

Support: Hunt for a total of four instead of six. Only three dominoes in the whole set reach it, and every one of them can be checked by counting all its spots at once. Build the same countdown line on the same strip and say the same sentences about it.
At Grade: Hunt for a total of six across the complete set, build the countdown line, and say why the line ends where it does before starting a second target.
Extension: Build the line for six and the line for seven, then say why one line holds four dominoes and the other holds three. Your reason has to name the halves, not the length of the line.

English learners

The search itself is language-free — a child can hunt, sort and line up dominoes before saying a word of English. What carries the load here is the plural: the dominoes that reach six, every domino, all of them, no more left. Run two sentences and use them all lesson: one naming two halves and the total they make, and one saying there are no more, with the reason. Invite students to explain why the line stops in their family language first and then give the second frame in English; a finger travelling down the countdown while they speak is part of the explanation, not a substitute for it.

Materials

Complete set of dominoes, halves of zero through six, one set per group of four
Long paper strip for each group's ordered line
Word cards: every, total

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Have We Found Them All?: Word Cards card set

Domino Addition — Have We Found Them All?

Word Cards

Cut on each line. Show one card at a time.

every

total

Have We Found Them All?: Talk Strips strip set

Domino Addition — Have We Found Them All?

Talk Strips

Say a strip out loud. Point along your line while you say it.

Strip 1

__________ and __________ make __________.

Strip 2

There are no more dominoes that make __________,

because ____________________.

Strip 3

The total is __________.

__________ dominoes answered the question.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Have We Found Them All?: Teacher Key for the Talk Strips full page

Domino Addition — Have We Found Them All? — Teacher Key

The lines the groups are building

Each line is read from the largest top half down. A skipped number in the countdown is a domino still in the pile.

Total six, four dominoes: six and zero, five and one, four and two, three and three.
Total four, three dominoes: four and zero, three and one, two and two.
Total seven, three dominoes: six and one, five and two, four and three. Extension only.

Expected responses

Strip 1, said as each domino goes in: the two halves and the total they make.
Strip 2, the reason the line stops: past three and three the halves only trade places and give back a domino already in the line. For four, the line stops after two and two for the same reason.
Strip 3: the total, then how many dominoes answered the question, four for six and three for four.

Read for

Close: the reason names the halves, and the student can point to where the countdown would have gone next. Loose: the reason is that the line looks long enough, that the pile is finished, or that nobody found any more.

Extension asks why the six line holds four dominoes and the seven line holds three; a strong answer names the halves, not the length of the line.

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

3. The Half With Nothing On It Concept · Adding zero: a blank half leaves the total where it was

The count starts at zero, and a blank half turns up in the very first domino: a half may have zero spots, and the book says so plainly. Students test what a blank half does rather than being told: they count a total, cover one half so it shows nothing, and count again to find the number has not moved. Then they slide the same small pile of counters from one half of a mat to the other and say the total each time. The concept is that zero counts something real — no spots — and that joining it to a half leaves that half's count exactly where it was.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Find the domino with no spots (5 min)
Search the set for the one domino with no spots at all and put it in the middle of the table. Say what each half holds — 'zero spots and zero spots' — and then say the total. Now find every other domino with one blank half and stack them together.
Word preview: blank
Can you find the domino that has a total of ZERO spots?
2. Cover a half and count again (6 min)
Take a domino with spots on both halves and say its total. Slide a blank card over one half so that half shows nothing, and count the whole domino again. Say both totals to your partner and tell them which number changed and which one did not.
Word preview: blank
A domino can have three spots on one half and zero spots on the other half, or two spots on one half and four spots on the other half, or even six spots on one half and six spots on the other half!
3. Move the counters across the mat (5 min)
Put three counters on one half of the mat and leave the other half empty. The book describes it that way: three spots on one half, zero on the other. Say the total. Now move all three counters to the empty half and say the total again. Tell your partner why the number stayed at three both times.
4. Say the zero sentence (4 min)
Hold up any domino with a blank half. Say its sentence: 'Three and zero make three — the blank half added nothing.' Everyone says one, and no two of you may use the same domino.
Each half may have zero, one, two, three, four, five, or six spots.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Find the domino with no spots (5 min)
Find the one domino with no spots at all and put it in the middle. Say what each half holds and say the total. Then stack up every domino with one blank half.
Word preview: zero, blank
Can you find the domino that has a total of ZERO spots?
2. Say the zero sentence (4 min)
Hold up a domino with a blank half and say its sentence: 'Three and zero make three — the blank half added nothing.' Everyone says one, and no domino may be used twice.
Word preview: zero
Each half may have zero, one, two, three, four, five, or six spots.

Three levels

Support: Stay on the mat with the counters and keep every pile at five or fewer, sliding the same small pile from one half to the other and back. Say the same sentence each time — '___ and zero make ___' — so the only thing that changes between turns is which half is empty.
At Grade: Cover one half of any domino in the set, say the total before and after the cover goes on, and say why the blank half changed nothing.
Extension: Find the one domino in the set where covering either half leaves the total alone, and say why it can only be that one. Then say what covering a half of the six-and-six domino does to its total before you test it with the counters.

English learners

Zero and the act of counting nothing are language-independent; a child who has never met the English word can still show you an empty half. The trouble is that English points at that half with four different words — blank, empty, none, zero — and only one of them is the number. Rehearse a single frame: 'This half has zero spots. ___ and zero make ___.' Students may reason and count in their strongest language and give the frame in English, and a finger laid on the blank half while they speak counts as part of the answer.

Materials

Complete set of dominoes, halves of zero through six, one set per group of four
Blank cards cut to the size of one domino half, four per pair
Two-part domino mat, one per pair
Counters, twelve per pair
Word cards: blank

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

The Half With Nothing On It: Two-Part Mat full page

Domino Addition — The Half With Nothing On It

Two-Part Mat

Put counters on one half. Leave the other half empty. Say the total.

Now move the counters to the other half and say the total again.

The Half With Nothing On It: Zero Strips strip set

Domino Addition — The Half With Nothing On It

Zero Strips

Say a strip out loud. Put your finger on the half with nothing on it.

Strip 1

This half has zero spots.

Strip 2

__________ and zero make __________.

Strip 3

__________ and zero make __________.

The blank half added nothing.

The Half With Nothing On It: Cover Cards card set

Domino Addition — The Half With Nothing On It

Cover Cards

Cut on every line. Trim a card so it covers one half of a domino.

Keep the front of each card empty.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

The Half With Nothing On It: Teacher Key for the Mat, the Cover Cards and the Zero Strips full page

Domino Addition — The Half With Nothing On It — Teacher Key

What the set holds

The one domino with no spots at all is zero and zero. Its total is zero.
The other dominoes with one blank half are zero and one, zero and two, zero and three, zero and four, zero and five, zero and six. Six of them.

Expected responses

Step 2, covering a half: the covered half is the number that changed, it now shows zero. The other half did not change, and the new total is that other half's count on its own.
Step 3, on the mat: the total is three both times. The counters did not change, and the empty half added nothing to them.
Strips 2 and 3: any half count from zero to six with zero, and the total is that same number again.
Extension, the domino where covering either half leaves the total alone: zero and zero, because it is the only one with nothing on either half to lose. Covering a half of six and six takes the total from twelve down to six.

Read for

Close: the student says the half has zero spots and that zero left the other half's count where it was. Loose: the half is called empty or nothing and zero is never said as a number, or the student says the total did not change when a half with spots on it was covered.

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

4. Three Ways to Say One Domino Representation · Representing one domino as a card number sentence and a spoken total

Every total appears in more than one form at once: the spots on the domino, the answer it promises in the corner, and the number word the narration shouts. Students move between those forms without writing anything. They lay a numeral card under each half, drop a plus card and an equals card into the rail, read the sentence aloud, and then find the number word that matches the total. The representation work is knowing what each numeral counts: the one under a half counts only that half's spots, and the one after the equals card counts every spot on the domino.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Card each half (4 min)
Set one domino at the top of your mat. Count the spots on the top half and slide that numeral card beneath it, then do the same for the bottom half. Do not say the total yet — point at each card and say what it counts.
Word preview: half
2. Join the halves with a plus card (5 min)
Slide the plus card between your two numeral cards. Read what you have made: 'four plus three.' Count on to the total. Then put the equals card and the total card at the end of the rail. Read the whole rail aloud from left to right.
Word preview: plus, equals
Add the number of spots on the top half of this domino to the number of spots on the bottom half.
3. Trade rails with a partner (7 min)
Build the rail for three more dominoes, then swap mats with your partner but keep your own dominoes. Read your partner's rail aloud and find the one domino in the tub it describes. If no domino fits, read the rail again. Check each numeral against the spots until you find the card that is wrong.
Word preview: equals
And when you are done, you can check your work.
4. Match the number word (4 min)
Find the number-word card that names your total and set it at the end of the rail. Hold up the domino and point along the rail. Read all three forms in turn, finishing the way the book does: 'The total is FIVE.'
Word preview: total
The total is FIVE!

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Join the halves with a plus card (5 min)
Numeral card under each half, plus card between them. Read it: 'four plus three.' Count on, add the equals card and the total card, and read the whole rail aloud.
Word preview: plus, equals
Add the number of spots on the top half of this domino to the number of spots on the bottom half.
2. Match the number word (4 min)
Set the number-word card for your total at the end of the rail. Hold up the domino, point along the rail, and read all three forms, finishing with 'The total is FIVE.'
Word preview: total
The total is FIVE!

Three levels

Support: Start with the plus card and the equals card already sitting in the rail, so the only cards you move are the three numerals. Use any domino from the tub and read the finished rail aloud exactly as the others do.
At Grade: Build the whole rail yourself for four different dominoes, read each one aloud, and match a number-word card to every total.
Extension: Turn one domino end over end so its halves trade places, build the second rail beside the first, and say why both rails finish with the same total card. Then find another domino whose rail ends with that same total and say what is different about its halves.

English learners

Some students will name the total first, which is how the sentence is built in other languages and is not a mathematical error — hear it, then rehearse the English order. Use one frame: '___ plus ___ equals ___. The total is ___.' Students may count and check in their strongest language and read the rail in English, and pointing along the rail while reading is encouraged, not a crutch.

Materials

Sentence mat with a domino square and a card rail, one per student
Numeral cards zero through twelve, one set per student
Tub of dominoes, a complete double-six set, one tub per pair
Plus card and equals card, one pair per student
Number-word cards, ZERO through TWELVE, one set per pair
Word cards: equals, half, plus, total

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Three Ways to Say One Domino: Sentence Mat full page

Domino Addition — Three Ways to Say One Domino

Sentence Mat

Set one domino in the square. Build your cards along the rail.

Read the rail out loud from left to right.

Rail order

Card for the top half
Plus card
Card for the bottom half
Equals card
Total card
Number-word card

Read it

__________ plus __________ equals __________.

The total is __________.

Three Ways to Say One Domino: Numeral Cards with the Plus and Equals Cards card set

Domino Addition — Three Ways to Say One Domino

Numeral Cards, Plus Card and Equals Card

Cut on every line. One set for each student.

Three Ways to Say One Domino: Number-Word Cards card set

Domino Addition — Three Ways to Say One Domino

Number-Word Cards

Cut out every card. One set for each pair.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Three Ways to Say One Domino: Teacher Key for the Mat and the Card Sets full page

Domino Addition — Three Ways to Say One Domino — Teacher Key

What a finished rail says

Reading left to right: the card for the top half, the plus card, the card for the bottom half, the equals card, the total card, then the number-word card. For the domino the lesson reads aloud, four and three, the rail is 4 plus 3 equals 7 and the word card is SEVEN.

Expected responses

Step 1: pointing at each card, the numeral under a half counts only that half's spots. No total is said yet.
Step 2: the numeral after the equals card counts every spot on the domino. Totals run from zero to twelve, so no card above twelve is ever needed.
Step 3: when no domino fits a partner's rail, one card is wrong. The pair finds it by checking each numeral against the spots, and says which card is wrong and what it should be.
Support: the plus card and the equals card start in the rail, so only the three numerals move.
Extension: turning a domino end over end gives a second rail with the two half cards swapped and the same total card, because the same spots are there and only the halves traded places.

Read for

Close: the student can say what each numeral counts, one half or the whole domino, and names the wrong card when a rail does not fit. Loose: the rail is read as a string of numbers with nothing said about what they count, or a rail that does not fit is rebuilt from scratch without finding the card that was wrong.

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

Math through the reading

The mathematics is reached through a sentence the book prints: change one word in the reading and the numbers change with it. These carry their own standards, matched against these lessons rather than inherited from the skill ones.

5. One Letter Changes the Hunt Integrated · Students answer the book's own search questions with a real domino set and discover that the ending on the word domino tells them how many totals they have to make.

Students answer the book's own search questions with a real domino set and discover that the ending on the word domino tells them how many totals they have to make.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Hunt the singular question (4 min)
Pairs spread a complete set face up and answer the book's zero question, finding the single tile with no spots at all. They say its two halves and its total aloud, then say how many tiles answered the question.
2. Hunt the plural question (5 min)
Same frame, plural noun. Pairs hunt out every tile that reaches six, saying the two halves aloud as each one is slid into the line — six and zero, five and one, four and two, three and three — and stop only when no pair of halves is left.
3. Run the swap (7 min)
Pairs hear the six question twice, once as the book asks it and once with the noun switched to the singular, and produce the result of each: one tile for the singular version, the whole line for the plural. They then hear the zero question with a plural noun and try to satisfy it, and say aloud what happened when they went looking for a second tile that was not there.
4. Say which question you can finish (4 min)
Each student takes one of the book's search questions, says whether it is asking for one tile or more than one and which word told them, predicts how many answers it has, and only then checks against the set.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Hunt the plural question (5 min)
Same frame, plural noun. Pairs hunt out every tile that reaches six, saying the two halves aloud as each one is slid into the line — six and zero, five and one, four and two, three and three — and stop only when no pair of halves is left.
2. Say which question you can finish (4 min)
Each student takes one of the book's search questions, says whether it is asking for one tile or more than one and which word told them, predicts how many answers it has, and only then checks against the set.

Three levels

Support: Hear the two questions one straight after the other, the zero one and the six one, so the frame is identical and only the noun moves. Answer by pushing tiles forward rather than by saying the sentence, and take the count from a partner: one, or more than one. The hunting and the adding stay exactly as they are for everyone else.
At grade: Answer four of the book's questions with the set, predicting the number of answers from the noun before hunting, and produce every tile for the plural ones.
Extension: Take a question the book asks in the singular — the one for eleven or the one for twelve — and say why the book could not have asked it in the plural, naming the halves that would have to exist and showing that they do not. Then find the total whose question has the most answers of any in the book and say how you know nothing beats it.

English learners

The hunting, the adding and the counting transfer completely: a child can produce a correct line of tiles before producing a correct English sentence, and should be allowed to. The English plural is one quiet letter at the end of a word and is absent or formed differently in many languages — a student may hear dominoes and domino as the same word and still be reasoning perfectly. Rehearse the two frames side by side until the ending is audible: 'One domino has a total of ___.' and 'These dominoes have a total of ___.' Students may predict and reason in their strongest language and give the frame in English, and holding up one finger or four while they speak is part of the answer, not a substitute for it.

Materials

Complete set of dominoes, halves of zero through six, one set per pair
Long paper strip for each pair's line of finds
The book's search questions, read aloud one at a time
A card holding the two question frames side by side, the singular above the plural

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

IB PYP developmental alignment

Phases are not grades. The Primary Years Programme is a developmental continuum and your school places each student in a phase, so this names the strand the lesson works in and the phases it could sit across. Confirm against your own school's placement.

Number · Phases 1–2

Phase 1: Develop meaning for counting, quantity, number relationships, simple operations, and early fractions in meaningful contexts.
Phase 2: Develop place value and whole-number operations, mental strategies, fractions, and mathematical language for practical problem solving.

Reading and language lessons

5 lessons on the reading and language the book carries - what a word means in its sentence, how a character is shown, how a text is built. No mathematics: these are matched against the English language arts curricula, which are a different and smaller set than the mathematics ones.

6. Four Things the Book Tells You to Do Comprehension · Following Written Directions

The book opens by handing the reader a set of rules for how to use it, and the rules come in an order that matters: hunt, then check, but pick on your own first. Students find each direction, say it back as an action rather than as the book's sentence, write the four on strips, and prove the order is load-bearing by swapping two and reading the broken row aloud. Following directions here means hearing an instruction inside ordinary prose and turning it into something a body can do.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Hear the whole rule aloud (4 min)
Sit where you can see the printed passage and listen while it is read straight through once. Then read it aloud together, all voices at once. Put a finger on the page every time you hear the book tell you to do something, and keep the finger there until the next one comes.
Word preview: hunt, search
This book is like a treasure hunt! You can search each picture for the dominoes with the right number of spots.
And when you are done, you can check your work. Turn the page and find the answer in the corner. But remember, pick the dominoes on your own first. No peeking!
2. Cut the directions apart (6 min)
Working in pairs, find the four things the book tells the reader to do and say each one back in your own words, starting with the word "First." Write each one on its own strip. Do not write the sentence the book wrote; write what a reader has to DO.
Word preview: check, remember
And when you are done, you can check your work. Turn the page and find the answer in the corner. But remember, pick the dominoes on your own first. No peeking!
3. Put the strips in order (6 min)
Lay your four strips in the order the book gives them and read the row left to right. Then swap two strips on purpose and read the row again. Tell your partner which swap makes the directions stop working, and say the word in the passage that told you the order mattered.
Word preview: first, done
And when you are done, you can check your work. Turn the page and find the answer in the corner. But remember, pick the dominoes on your own first. No peeking!
4. Say the rule to somebody new (4 min)
Stand with a partner who was not in your pair and tell them, without looking at the strips, the four things this book asks a reader to do, in order. Your partner holds up one finger for each direction they hear. If a finger is missing at the end, look back at the printed passage and try the run again.
Word preview: order
And when you are done, you can check your work. Turn the page and find the answer in the corner. But remember, pick the dominoes on your own first. No peeking!

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Hear the whole rule aloud (4 min)
Listen to the printed passage read once, then read it aloud together. Put a finger on the page each time the book tells a reader to do something.
Word preview: hunt, search, check, remember
This book is like a treasure hunt! You can search each picture for the dominoes with the right number of spots.
And when you are done, you can check your work. Turn the page and find the answer in the corner. But remember, pick the dominoes on your own first. No peeking!
2. Put the strips in order (5 min)
In pairs, write the four things the book asks a reader to do on four strips and lay them in the book's order. Swap two strips and read the row again, then say which swap breaks the directions.
Word preview: first, done, order
And when you are done, you can check your work. Turn the page and find the answer in the corner. But remember, pick the dominoes on your own first. No peeking!

Three levels

Support: Support: work from two strips instead of four, the checking direction and the no-peeking direction, both already written out for you from the printed passage. Lay those two in order and read the row aloud. Add the other two strips one at a time only after the first pair reads correctly twice.
At Grade: At Grade: find all four directions in the printed passage, write each as an action on its own strip, order them, and name aloud which swap breaks the run and why.
Extension: Extension: after ordering the four, say which single direction the book could drop and still be usable, and which one it could not drop without the treasure hunt turning into an answer key. Defend your choice out loud using a phrase from the printed passage.

English learners

The frame "First you ____, then you ____" is rehearsable and transfers from most first languages, so let students practise it aloud twice before the partner run in step 4. "No peeking!" is an idiom that has to be taught: peeking is looking early at something you were told to wait for, and it needs one demonstration with a covered page. Invite students to say the four directions in their strongest language first, then in English; the ordering is the skill and the language is the vehicle. Assess whether the order is right, not whether the English is accented.

Materials

Printed passage: the treasure-hunt opening
Printed passage: the checking rule
direction strips
lined paper substitute for the strips
Word cards: hunt, search, check, remember, first, done, order

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

7. Six Ways to Ask Somebody to Look Vocabulary · Precise Verbs & Word Choice

This book asks the same kind of question on page after page and almost never asks it the same way twice: where are, find, which, search for, can you find, point to. Students read the six printed asks aloud, underline the word that carries the instruction, sort them by what a body actually does in response, then swap one for another and say what changed. The lesson is about how a writer keeps a repeated request from going flat, and about the difference between a word that moves your eyes and a word that moves your hand.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Read the six asks aloud (5 min)
Read each printed question aloud in turn, one student per question, and listen for the word that tells you what to do with your eyes or your hand. Underline that word on your copy. Six questions, six words.
Word preview: where, find, which, search, point
Where are the dominoes that have a total of TWO spots?
Find the dominoes that have a total of THREE spots.
Which dominoes have a total of FOUR spots?
Search for the dominoes that have a total of FIVE spots.
Can you find the dominoes that have a total of SIX spots?
Point to the dominoes that have a total of SEVEN spots.
2. Sort them by what your body does (6 min)
Sort the six asks into two piles on your desk: ones that send your eyes looking, and ones that ask your hand or your mouth to answer. Say aloud why each one landed where it did. Two of them are hard to place; argue about those two with your partner rather than settling them fast.
Word preview: ask
Search for the dominoes that have a total of FIVE spots.
Point to the dominoes that have a total of SEVEN spots.
Which dominoes have a total of FOUR spots?
Where are the dominoes that have a total of TWO spots?
3. Swap one ask for another (5 min)
Take the question with "Point to" and read it aloud with "Where are" put in its place instead. Then do the reverse. Tell your partner what changes about what you would actually do, and whether the question is still polite, still a question, still an order.
Word preview: swap
Point to the dominoes that have a total of SEVEN spots.
Where are the dominoes that have a total of TWO spots?
4. Ask a partner your own way (4 min)
Choose one of the six ask-words and use it to send your partner looking for something real in this room, not in the book. Your partner does exactly what the word says and nothing more. Then trade, and use a different ask-word.
Word preview: looking
Can you find the dominoes that have a total of SIX spots?
Find the dominoes that have a total of THREE spots.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Read the six asks aloud (4 min)
Read each printed question aloud, one student per question, and underline the word that tells you what to do with your eyes or your hand.
Word preview: where, find, which, search, point, ask
Where are the dominoes that have a total of TWO spots?
Find the dominoes that have a total of THREE spots.
Which dominoes have a total of FOUR spots?
Search for the dominoes that have a total of FIVE spots.
Can you find the dominoes that have a total of SIX spots?
Point to the dominoes that have a total of SEVEN spots.
2. Swap one ask for another (5 min)
Read the "Point to" question aloud with "Where are" in its place, then the reverse. Say what changes about what your body would do, and use one of the six ask-words to send a partner looking for something in this room.
Word preview: swap, looking
Point to the dominoes that have a total of SEVEN spots.
Where are the dominoes that have a total of TWO spots?

Three levels

Support: Support: work with three of the six printed asks rather than all six, "Find", "Point to" and "Where are", and act each one out with your body before you say anything about it. Sort only those three. Add the other asks one at a time once the first three are acted and named.
At Grade: At Grade: read all six printed asks, underline the instruction word in each, sort the six by what a body does, and explain aloud what changes when "Point to" and "Where are" trade places.
Extension: Extension: rank the six asks from gentlest to most direct and defend the two ends of your ranking aloud, then say why a writer of a hunting book might want the gentle ones near the start and the direct ones later.

English learners

Imperative verbs standing alone at the front of a sentence are the transfer point here, and many first languages mark a command with an ending rather than with position, so the bare "Find" and "Point to" can be heard as nouns. Act each one out before discussing it. The frame "The word ____ makes me ____" is rehearsable and carries the whole discussion. "Can you find" is the genuine trap: it looks like a yes-or-no question and is not one, and a student answering "yes" has understood the English and missed the request. Demonstrate it once. Accept the sorting reasoning in the strongest language.

Materials

Printed passages: the six ways the book asks you to look
lined paper substitute for the copy
ask-word sorting mat
Word cards: where, find, which, search, point, ask, swap, looking

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

8. The Book Is Talking to You Comprehension · Author Speaking to the Reader

From its first line this book addresses one person directly and never stops: you can search, you can check, did you have fun. Students count the direct address by ear, rewrite one printed sentence with the "you" taken out and hear it turn into a sign on a wall, then find the one closing sentence that genuinely waits for an answer and answer it aloud. The skill is recognising that a text has been aimed at a reader, and hearing what changes when the aim is removed.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Count the times it says you (5 min)
Read the printed opening aloud together and clap once, quietly, every time you hear the word "you" or "your". Then read the printed ending aloud and clap the same way. Say out loud who the book means by "you".
Word preview: you, your
This book is like a treasure hunt! You can search each picture for the dominoes with the right number of spots.
Congratulations! You have learned how to add up to TWELVE! Did you have fun? Now, turn the page to see what you have done.
2. Take the you out (6 min)
In pairs, say the sentence "You can search each picture for the dominoes with the right number of spots." aloud as the book prints it. Then say it again starting with "Readers can" instead. Tell each other which version sounds like somebody is in the room with you, and which sounds like a sign on a wall.
Word preview: reader
This book is like a treasure hunt! You can search each picture for the dominoes with the right number of spots.
3. Find the question meant for you (5 min)
Read the printed ending aloud and find the one sentence in it that waits for an answer from you. Answer it out loud, truthfully. Then say why a book would stop and ask its reader a question it cannot hear the answer to.
Word preview: question
Congratulations! You have learned how to add up to TWELVE! Did you have fun? Now, turn the page to see what you have done.
4. Write one line back to the book (4 min)
Write one sentence back to the book, out loud first and then on paper, that starts with "I" and answers the question it asked you. Read your line to a partner. Listen for whether their line answers the book or just talks about dominoes.
Word preview: answer
Congratulations! You have learned how to add up to TWELVE! Did you have fun?

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Count the times it says you (4 min)
Read the printed opening and the printed ending aloud together, clapping once quietly at every "you" and "your". Say who the book means by "you".
Word preview: you, your, reader
This book is like a treasure hunt! You can search each picture for the dominoes with the right number of spots.
Congratulations! You have learned how to add up to TWELVE! Did you have fun? Now, turn the page to see what you have done.
2. Find the question meant for you (5 min)
Find the one sentence in the printed ending that waits for an answer from you, answer it aloud truthfully, then say why a book asks a question it cannot hear answered.
Word preview: question, answer
Congratulations! You have learned how to add up to TWELVE! Did you have fun? Now, turn the page to see what you have done.

Three levels

Support: Support: clap only on the printed opening, not on both passages, and let a partner point to each "you" on the page as you clap. Say who "you" means in one word before moving on. Add the closing passage only once the opening claps are clean.
At Grade: At Grade: clap the direct address in both printed passages, rewrite the "You can search" sentence with "Readers can" and say which version puts somebody in the room, and answer the closing question aloud.
Extension: Extension: find a sentence in the printed opening that is aimed at the reader without ever using the word "you", say how you know it is aimed at you anyway, and read it aloud twice, once as a rule and once as a friend talking.

English learners

Second-person address is the transfer point and it is uneven across languages: some mark a formal and a familiar "you" and students may want to know which one this book is using, which is a good question with a real answer here, the familiar one. Rehearse the frame "The book is talking to ____" twice before step 1. A rhetorical question, a question printed without waiting for a reply, does not carry over, so demonstrate "Did you have fun?" once by asking it and moving on without pausing. Invite the reply line in step 4 in the strongest language first, then in English.

Materials

Printed passage: the treasure-hunt opening
Printed passage: the closing congratulations
lined paper substitute for the reply line
Word cards: you, your, reader, question, answer

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

9. What the Marks Tell Your Voice Fluency · Reading with Expression

This book shouts more than most: exclamation points land on the invitation, on the warning and on the congratulations, and periods hold the ordinary sentences down between them. Students read a printed passage flat and then read it letting the marks work, circle and count the exclamation points, say "No peeking!" three ways by imagining three different end marks, and finish by splitting the closing between two readers along the punctuation. Nothing is added to the words; the marks alone decide the voice.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Read it flat, then read it right (5 min)
Read the printed passage aloud once in a completely flat voice, every sentence the same. Then read it again and let the marks at the ends of the sentences tell your voice what to do. Say aloud which reading sounded like the book meant it.
Word preview: easy, fun
Learning to add is fun, especially when you use dominoes. It’s easy! Let’s learn how.
This book is like a treasure hunt! You can search each picture for the dominoes with the right number of spots.
2. Mark the loud ones (5 min)
Circle every exclamation point you can see in the two printed passages and count them. Read only the circled sentences aloud, one after another, skipping everything else. Say what those sentences have in common besides the mark.
Word preview: excited
Learning to add is fun, especially when you use dominoes. It’s easy! Let’s learn how.
And when you are done, you can check your work. Turn the page and find the answer in the corner. But remember, pick the dominoes on your own first. No peeking!
3. Change the mark and hear it (6 min)
Say "No peeking!" aloud as the book prints it. Then say the same words as though a period ended them, and then as though a question mark did. Tell your partner what each version turns the sentence into: a warning, a fact, or a real question.
Word preview: warning
And when you are done, you can check your work. Turn the page and find the answer in the corner. But remember, pick the dominoes on your own first. No peeking!
4. Perform the shout (4 min)
In pairs, take the printed closing and perform it for the class: one reader takes the sentences that end in exclamation points and the other takes the rest. Do not add words. Let the marks decide who sounds louder and where the voice lifts.
Word preview: perform
Congratulations! You have learned how to add up to TWELVE! Did you have fun? Now, turn the page to see what you have done.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Read it flat, then read it right (4 min)
Read the printed passage aloud once in a flat voice, then again letting the end marks tell your voice what to do. Say which reading sounded like the book meant it.
Word preview: easy, fun, excited
Learning to add is fun, especially when you use dominoes. It’s easy! Let’s learn how.
This book is like a treasure hunt! You can search each picture for the dominoes with the right number of spots.
2. Change the mark and hear it (5 min)
Say "No peeking!" aloud as printed, then as though a period ended it, then as though a question mark did. Say what each version turns the sentence into.
Word preview: warning, perform
And when you are done, you can check your work. Turn the page and find the answer in the corner. But remember, pick the dominoes on your own first. No peeking!

Three levels

Support: Support: work with one printed sentence, "No peeking!", and one end mark rather than three. Say it as printed and say it as though a period ended it, twice each, with a partner listening for the difference. Add the question-mark version only after the first two sound clearly different.
At Grade: At Grade: read the printed passages flat and then expressively, count the exclamation points, and say "No peeking!" three ways, naming what each end mark turns the sentence into.
Extension: Extension: find the one sentence in the printed closing that ends in a period and say why the author left that one quiet when the sentences around it shout. Read the closing twice, once with that sentence quiet and once with it loud, and say which is the book.

English learners

Exclamation points exist across most writing systems, so the mark itself transfers, but what an English voice does with it does not: the pitch rises and the word is held, and that is worth modelling twice before step 1. Give the frame "This mark makes my voice go ____" and rehearse it. The genuine trap is "No peeking!", where the exclamation point marks a warning rather than excitement, and a student who reads it cheerfully has read the mark and missed the meaning. Model that one directly. Let students perform in their strongest language first if it helps them find the pitch; assess the expression, not the accent.

Materials

Printed passage: learning to add is fun
Printed passage: the treasure-hunt opening
Printed passage: the checking rule
lined paper substitute for the circling copy
Printed passage: the closing congratulations
Word cards: easy, fun, excited, warning, perform

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

10. Or, Or, Or Even Grammar · Joining Words & Sentence Building

One sentence in this book runs far longer than any other and holds itself together with a single repeated word. Students read it aloud, breathe only at each "or", and discover the sentence is a list of choices rather than a list of facts. Then they read the final piece twice, once with the book's "or even" and once with a bare "or", and name what "even" adds when it adds no new choice at all. They finish by building an or-sentence of their own about this room and testing whether their last item earned the word "even".

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Read the long sentence in one breath (4 min)
Read the printed long sentence aloud, trying it once without stopping. Then read it again and take a breath only where the word "or" appears. Say aloud how many pieces the sentence broke into.
Word preview: or
A domino can have three spots on one half and zero spots on the other half, or two spots on one half and four spots on the other half, or even six spots on one half and six spots on the other half!
2. Find where or does its work (6 min)
With a partner, put a finger on each "or" in the printed sentence and read only the piece that comes right after it. Say what the word "or" is doing between the pieces: joining them, or offering a choice between them. Then say whether the sentence would still make sense with only the first piece.
Word preview: choice, may
A domino can have three spots on one half and zero spots on the other half, or two spots on one half and four spots on the other half, or even six spots on one half and six spots on the other half!
Dominoes have two halves. Each half may have zero, one, two, three, four, five, or six spots.
3. Hear what even adds (6 min)
Read the last piece of the printed sentence aloud twice: once as the book prints it with "or even", and once with just "or" instead. Tell your partner what the word "even" adds that "or" alone does not. It is not a new choice, so say what it is.
Word preview: even
A domino can have three spots on one half and zero spots on the other half, or two spots on one half and four spots on the other half, or even six spots on one half and six spots on the other half!
4. Build an or sentence of your own (4 min)
Say aloud one sentence about something in this room that offers three choices joined by "or", and put "or even" in front of the last one so it lands as the surprising one. Say it to a partner. Your partner tells you whether the last choice really was the biggest, or whether "or even" was wasted on it.
Word preview: surprise
A domino can have three spots on one half and zero spots on the other half, or two spots on one half and four spots on the other half, or even six spots on one half and six spots on the other half!

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Read the long sentence in one breath (4 min)
Read the printed long sentence aloud once without stopping, then again breathing only at each "or". Say how many pieces it broke into and what "or" is doing between them.
Word preview: or, choice, may
A domino can have three spots on one half and zero spots on the other half, or two spots on one half and four spots on the other half, or even six spots on one half and six spots on the other half!
2. Hear what even adds (5 min)
Read the last piece of the printed sentence aloud with "or even" as printed, then with just "or". Say what "even" adds that "or" alone does not, given that it is not a new choice.
Word preview: even, surprise
A domino can have three spots on one half and zero spots on the other half, or two spots on one half and four spots on the other half, or even six spots on one half and six spots on the other half!

Three levels

Support: Support: read only the first two pieces of the printed sentence, stopping at the second "or", with a partner holding a card at the stopping place. Breathe at that one "or" and say what it offers you. Take on the third piece and the word "even" only after the first two read cleanly.
At Grade: At Grade: read the whole printed sentence breathing at each "or", say what "or" does between the pieces, and name what "or even" adds to the last piece that a bare "or" would not.
Extension: Extension: say why the author put the six-and-six piece last rather than first, and read the sentence aloud with that piece moved to the front to test your answer. Say what "or even" does to a sentence when it lands on something ordinary.

English learners

The choice-marking "or" transfers from most first languages and is a good place to start, so let students say the sentence in their strongest language first and hear their own joining word. Treating "or even" as a single unit signalling surprise does not carry over; many languages mark that with a particle elsewhere in the clause or with tone alone. Rehearse the frame "I could have ____, or ____, or even ____" twice aloud before step 4. The trap is treating "even" as a fourth choice; ask directly how many choices the printed sentence offers and settle it as three before moving on.

Materials

Printed passage: a domino can have
Printed passage: dominoes have two halves
lined paper substitute for the sentence draft
Word cards: or, choice, may, even, surprise

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.