Add and Subtract

Ready-to-teach lesson

QUEBEC · CURRICULUM PLACEMENT

Add and Subtract!

Grade 1 · Mathematics · Where This Fits in Your Year No specific regional standard claimed.

We haven’t found a strong enough match between this plan and a specific Quebec Grade 1 mathematics standard to print a standards connection here.

Rather than stretch a standard to fit, we’ve provided the complete teaching plan without one. You can still use the placement guidance below to decide where it fits in your year.

WHERE THIS FITS IN YOUR YEAR

Use this plan when students are ready for focused work on addition and subtraction situations represented with counters, number sentences, and missing-part reasoning. The complete teaching sequence, student evidence, materials, support, and assessment guidance follow on the pages below.

This edition intentionally makes no regional standards claim. Nothing is missing from the teaching plan; the standards connection has been omitted because the match did not meet TumbleTA’s threshold.

Add and Subtract!

Grade 1

10 lessons · 5 skill · 1 math through reading · 4 reading & language

SKILL LESSONS

1

One More on the Pile Fluency · Counting on one or two to add within 11

2

The Pile Comes Back Down Concept · Taking one or two away from a total within 11

3

The Pile Passes Seven Twice Reasoning · Matching a sum and a difference that land on the same total

4

Say It With Cards Representation · Showing one stage of the pile as objects and as a number sentence

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5

How Many More Did He Need? Application · Finding how many things arrived between two stated totals

MATH THROUGH THE READING

6

One Word, Two Piles Integrated · Building the pile twice from one sentence, once with both and once with one of them

READING AND L ANGUAGE LESSONS

7

Albert’s Paw Says It First: Feelings You Can See Literature · Character feelings and actions

8

First, Next, Then, Last: Retelling Albert’s Trips Literature · Retelling key events in order

9

What Is It? Getting a Meaning Out of the Page Language · Asking and answering about new words

10 First and After All: What Albert Wanted, Twice Literature · What changes from beginning to end

Skill lessons

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

LESSON 1

One More on the Pile

Fluency · Counting on one or two to add within 11 The book hands over thirteen finished number sentences and a pile that grows one or two things at a time: Robo Rat and Mechano Mall make two, the secret sucker makes three, Ned and Nelly make five, and the count climbs to eleven. Students rebuild that pile with counters and get each new total by counting on from the total already on the mat instead of sweeping the counters back and starting at one.

Materials Two-color counters, twenty per pair · Trade mat, a sheet labeled Albert’s Pile · Ten-frame, one per pair · Word cards: altogether, both, more

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FULL LESSON — 20 MINUTES

Set out the first three (5 min) Put one counter on the trade mat for Robo Rat. Add one more for Mechano Mall. Say the pile out loud: one, and one more is two. Add a third counter for the secret sucker. Count on from two: two, three. Do not slide the first counters back to start at one. Partners take turns pushing the counter on and saying the new total.

Word preview: more 1 plus 1 equals 2.

Two plus one equals three.

Push both worms on at once (6 min) Ned and Nelly arrive together. Push two counters on in one move. Count on from three: four, five. The counting hand touches only the two new counters and the mouth starts at three. Each pair runs it twice, clearing back to three in between, and says the total aloud both times.

Word preview: both “But you can have them both.” Three plus two equals five.

Climb to seven, then past ten (5 min) The gum ball lands on the pile: partners count on from five and say six. The tail warmer lands: they count on from six and say seven. The two wheels arrive together:

count on from seven and say nine. The cat mask follows: count on from nine and say ten. Load those ten counters into the ten-frame and set the puzzle counter beside the full frame. Say ten and one more is eleven, without counting the frame again.

Word preview: altogether 5 plus 1 equals 6.

Six plus one equals seven.

Seven plus two plus one equals ten.

10 plus 1 equals 11.

Quiz your partner on the pile (4 min) One partner sets counters on the mat and says how many. Then they push one or two more on under a covering hand. The other partner says the new total before the hand lifts, then lifts it and touches the counters to check. They swap after every three turns and keep every pile at eleven or under.

S H O RT V E R S I O N — 9 M I N U T E S Set out the first three (5 min) Partners put one counter on the mat for Robo Rat and one more for Mechano Mall and say one and one more is two. They add a third counter for the secret sucker and count on, two then three, without starting again at one.

1 plus 1 equals 2.

Two plus one equals three.

Quiz your partner on the pile (4 min) One partner sets counters on the mat, says the total, then pushes one or two more on under a covering hand. The other says the new total before the hand lifts, then checks by touching. Keep every pile at eleven or under.

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THREE LEVELS

Support. Run the same climb, two, three, five, six, seven, nine, ten, eleven. The counters arrive already sorted into the groups the book brings in, in labelled cups, and the ten-frame is set out before the lesson starts. The teacher names each arrival, one at a time, and partners push the counters on and say the new total. The numbers, the mat and the saying-aloud are unchanged; what changes is that the setting-up and the reading are done for the pair.

At Grade. Build the pile from two up to eleven, counting on by one or by two at each stop and saying the total aloud before the next thing arrives. When the mat holds ten, load the ten-frame first and set the eleventh counter outside it so ten and one more can be seen without recounting.

Extension. Cover the pile with a hand before counting on. Say the hidden total, say how many are arriving, say the new total, then lift the hand and check by touching. On the last stop, say what a full tenframe lets you skip, and say the whole climb, two, three, five, six, seven, nine, ten, from memory with the mat still covered.

ENGLISH LEARNERS

The English that reports the change is the hard part: one more is not obviously plus one to a new listener, and English puts the total last, after the change. Model one sentence all lesson and say it the same way every time: what the pile had, how many more came on, and how many it has now. Invite children to count and check in their own language, then say the finished pile in English with the frame.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 1: One More on the Pile

Albert’s Pile

Put your counters on the mat. Say the pile out loud.

Albert’s Pile Ten-frame, and one more

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 1: One More on the Pile

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Say the pile

Say it the same way every time.

The pile had ________.

________ more came on.

Now it has ________.

LESSON 2

The Pile Comes Back Down

Concept · Taking one or two away from a total within 11 Once Albert’s pile reaches eleven the book runs the whole climb backwards: the puzzle goes home, then the mask, then the two wheels, then the tail warmer and the gum, then the worms, then the last three, and every difference is said aloud down to zero. Students take counters off a mat in those same groups and say what stays after each removal. The idea underneath is that taking away names the part that remains, not the part that leaves, and that a pile can be emptied by taking one, then two, then three.

Materials Two-color counters, twenty per pair · Ten-frame, one per pair · Trade mat, a sheet labeled Albert’s Pile · Word cards: away, leaves, left

FULL LESSON — 20 MINUTES

Build eleven and let the puzzle go (5 min) Partners load ten counters into the ten-frame and set an eleventh beside it for the puzzle. When the puzzle’s owner comes looking for it, they slide that one counter off the mat and say what stays: ten. They say the move out loud, eleven, take one, ten, and check that the ten-frame is still full.

Word preview: leaves 10 plus 1 equals 11.

11 minus 1 equals 10.

“I guess I only have 10 things to trade.” Take one, then take two (4 min) The mat holds ten. Slide one counter off for the cat mask and say nine. Slide two off together for the wheels and say seven. They never sweep the mat and recount from one: the hand takes only what is refused and the mouth says what stays.

Word preview: away “Not the Cat Mask?” 10 minus 1 equals 9.

9 minus 2 equals 7.

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Two takes in a row (6 min) Seven counters are on the mat. Take one off for the tail warmer and say six. Take one more off for the gum and say five. Line the two removed counters up at the edge, so both takes stay visible. Then they take two off together for Ned and Nelly and say three. One partner takes, the other says each total, then they swap and run it again.

Word preview: left 7 minus 1 minus 1 equals 5.

“No Ned, no Nelly.” Five minus two equals three.

Down to nothing (5 min) Three counters are left. Partners take all three off in one sweep and say what the mat holds now: zero. Put the three back. Take them off one at a time, saying two, one, zero. Then say which way emptied the mat in fewer moves. Each pair finishes by pointing at the bare mat and saying zero aloud.

“But that only leaves three things.” “And you need to take all three away.” 3 minus 3 equals 0.

S H O RT V E R S I O N — 9 M I N U T E S Build eleven and let the puzzle go (5 min) Partners load ten counters into the ten-frame and set an eleventh beside it for the puzzle. When its owner comes for it they slide that counter off and say what stays: ten. They say the move aloud, eleven, take one, ten.

11 minus 1 equals 10.

“I guess I only have 10 things to trade.” Take one, then take two (4 min) The mat holds ten. Partners slide one counter off for the mask and say nine, then two off together for the wheels and say seven.

The hand takes only what is refused; the mouth says what stays.

10 minus 1 equals 9.

9 minus 2 equals 7.

THREE LEVELS

Support. Run the same descent, eleven down to zero. The counters that will come off are pre-grouped at the edge of the mat in the order the book takes them, and the teacher names each thing as its owner comes for it. Partners slide the group off and say what stays. The numbers, the groups and the saying of what stays are unchanged; what changes is that the pair does not have to work out which counters leave next.

At Grade. Run the pile down the way the book does: eleven to ten, ten to nine, nine to seven, seven to six to five, five to three, three to zero. Say the total that stays after each take before the next group leaves the mat, and keep the removed counters in their groups at the edge so any take can be checked.

Extension. After each take, check it by putting the same counters back: nine take two is seven, and seven with those two back is nine again. Show both on one mat by sliding the two counters off and on. At the end, add up everything that left the mat and check it against the eleven that were on it.

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ENGLISH LEARNERS

English says this one move in at least five ways, and none of them is the operation: take away, minus, are left, leaves and how many now all point at the same act, so a child can own the arithmetic and still lose the sentence. Quantity and the physical taking transfer completely; the verb does not.

Walk through one sentence, always in this order: what the pile had, what went away, and what is left.

Let children say what stays in their everyday language first and then in English with the frame, and accept a finger on the mat as part of the answer while the English is still arriving.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 2: The Pile Comes Back Down

Albert’s Pile

Build the pile on the mat. Take counters off and say what stays.

Albert’s Pile Ten-frame, and one more

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 2: The Pile Comes Back Down

Say what stays

Say it in this order every time.

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The pile had ________.

________ went away.

________ is left.

LESSON 3

The Pile Passes Seven Twice

Reasoning · Matching a sum and a difference that land on the same total Albert’s pile climbs through two, three, five, six, seven, nine, ten and eleven and then comes back down through ten, nine, seven, six, five, three and zero, so several totals are reached twice, once by adding and once by taking away. The eight strips in this lesson carry four of them. Students sort the book’s number sentences into climbs and drops, match the pairs that land on the same number, and say aloud how the pile arrived at that number from below and from above. The reasoning is the saying: a total does not remember which direction it came from.

Materials Two-color counters, twenty per pair · Trade mat, a sheet labeled Albert’s Pile · Eight provided number sentence strips, one set per pair · Word cards: bigger, same, total

FULL LESSON — 20 MINUTES

Find the two sevens (5 min) Take two strips: Six plus one equals seven, and 9 minus 2 equals 7.

Build each one on the mat. Six counters and one more, then nine counters take two. Say what the mat holds after each build. Set the two strips side by side, because both builds ended on seven.

Word preview: same Six plus one equals seven.

9 minus 2 equals 7.

Sort the strips into climbs and drops (5 min) Spread the eight provided strips face up. Push each one left if the pile got bigger, right if it got smaller.

Decide by reading the strip, not by remembering the story. When the table is clear they count each side aloud and check that every strip landed somewhere.

Word preview: bigger Two plus one equals three.

Five minus two equals three.

Make the four matches (6 min) Four totals are reached twice on your strips. Hunt one climb strip and one drop strip that finish on the same number. Set them nose to nose. Three with three, five with five,

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seven with seven, ten with ten. Any match they are unsure of gets built on the mat with counters before it is left on the table.

Word preview: total Three plus two equals five.

7 minus 1 minus 1 equals 5.

Seven plus two plus one equals ten.

11 minus 1 equals 10.

Say why they land together (4 min) Each pair picks one match. Tell another pair how the pile reached that number twice. It came up to seven when the tail warmer arrived. It came back down to seven when the wheels went away. The listening pair asks one question, which one was going up, and the telling pair answers by pointing at the strip.

He brought in his electric tail warmer.

“Not the wheels?” S H O RT V E R S I O N — 9 M I N U T E S Find the two sevens (5 min) Partners build Six plus one equals seven and then 9 minus 2 equals 7 on the mat, saying what the mat holds after each build. They set the two strips side by side because both builds ended on seven.

Six plus one equals seven.

9 minus 2 equals 7.

Say why they land together (4 min) Each pair tells another pair out loud how the pile reached seven twice, once when the tail warmer arrived and once when the wheels went away. The listeners ask which one was going up and the tellers answer by pointing at the strip.

He brought in his electric tail warmer.

“Not the wheels?”

THREE LEVELS

Support. Make all four matches. The strips arrive already sorted into a climb column and a drop column, so the pair starts from the matching rather than the sorting, and the counters stay standing on the mat between builds instead of being cleared. The four matches, the checking with counters and the saying aloud are unchanged; what changes is that the sorting and the rebuilding are done for the pair.

At Grade. Sort the eight provided strips into climbs and drops, then find the four totals your strips reach twice and set each climb strip nose to nose with its drop strip. Check every match with counters and say the shared total aloud before starting the next one.

Extension. Put the four matched pairs in order by their shared total. Choose one pair and make a new addition or subtraction sentence that lands on the same total, then check it with counters.

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ENGLISH LEARNERS

The mathematics of this lesson is a match, and a match can be made and shown without a single English sentence: a child who lays six plus one beside nine minus two and points at two mats holding seven has already reasoned. The telling is where English gets in the way: a past tense that says how the pile got there, and the words up and down doing mathematical work. Run one sentence for the telling: how the pile got to that number, and how it got there again the other way. Let pairs settle the match in their family language and tell the other pair in English with the frame, pointing at each strip as they name it.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 3: The Pile Passes Seven Twice

Albert’s Pile

Build each strip on the mat with counters. Say what the mat holds.

Albert’s Pile Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 3: The Pile Passes Seven Twice

Number sentence strips

Eight provided number sentence strips, one set per pair.

Six plus one equals seven.

Two plus one equals three.

11 minus 1 equals 10.

Three plus two equals five.

9 minus 2 equals 7.

Seven plus two plus one equals ten.

Five minus two equals three.

7 minus 1 minus 1 equals 5.

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LESSON 4

Say It With Cards

Representation · Showing one stage of the pile as objects and as a number sentence Every change in Albert’s trade is narrated twice, once as a thing that happens and once as a number sentence, from 1 plus 1 equals 2 all the way to 3 minus 3 equals 0. Students build a stage of the pile with counters and then lay the same stage out with number cards and operation cards, so the mat and the card row say one thing in two forms. Nothing is written: students place cards and read the row aloud, pointing from each card to the counters it names.

Materials Two-color counters, twenty per pair · Trade mat, a sheet labeled Albert’s Pile · Number cards 0–11, one tray per pair · Operation cards: two plus, one minus, one equals · Word cards:

altogether, equals, minus, plus

FULL LESSON — 20 MINUTES

Match a card row to the mat (4 min) Partners set three counters on the mat for the toys and push two more on for Ned and Nelly. Then they hunt through the tray and lay out the row that says it: 3, plus, 2, equals, 5. The row goes under the mat, left to right, one card for each number and each sign.

Word preview: equals “Plus, all three toys.” Three plus two equals five.

Read the row to your partner (5 min) One partner reads the card row aloud. For each card, they touch the counters it names. The three toys, then the two worms, then a sweep of the whole five. The other partner keeps eyes on the mat and says whether the finger matched the word. They swap and read it again.

Word preview: altogether “That’s five things altogether.” Build the take-away rows (6 min) The mat holds ten. Partners slide one counter off, lay the row 10, minus, 1, equals, 9, and read it aloud.

Then they slide two more off, lay 9, minus, 2, equals, 7, and read that one. The minus card goes down only when counters have actually left the mat.

Word preview: minus 10 minus 1 equals 9.

9 minus 2 equals 7.

The long row (5 min) Set seven counters on the mat. Push two on for the wheels and one for the mask. Keep the three groups apart. Lay the longest row in the book: 7, plus, 2, plus, 1, equals, 10.

Read it while touching each group in turn. Then they slide the groups together and check that the mat holds ten.

Word preview: plus “And here are two wheels that fell off my tricycle.” “Plus one scary cat mask.” Seven plus two plus one equals ten.

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S H O RT V E R S I O N — 9 M I N U T E S Match a card row to the mat (4 min) Partners set three counters on the mat for the toys and push two more on for Ned and Nelly, then lay the row that says it: 3, plus, 2, equals, 5. One card for each number and each sign, left to right under the mat.

Three plus two equals five.

Read the row to your partner (5 min) One partner reads the row aloud and touches the counters each card names, the three toys, the two worms, then the whole five. The other watches the mat and says whether finger and word matched. Swap and read it again.

“That’s five things altogether.”

THREE LEVELS

Support. Lay all four rows. The cards the pair will need are set out face up in the tray in order instead of hunted from a pile, and the teacher reads each row aloud once before the partner reads it. The mat, the rows and the pointing from card to counter are unchanged; what changes is the hunting and the first reading.

At Grade. Build each stage on the mat and lay its row underneath, then read the row aloud while touching the counters each card names. Use the plus card only when counters arrive and the minus card only when counters leave, and check that the card after equals matches what is actually sitting on the mat.

Extension. Lay a row face up and hand it to a partner who must build the matching mat without hearing it read. Then say what the two longest rows share: how the ten that ends 7, plus, 2, plus, 1, equals, 10 is the same ten that starts 10, minus, 1, equals, 9.

ENGLISH LEARNERS

The card row is the friend here: a number card says its number in every language, and a child who cannot yet say seven plus two plus one equals ten in English can still lay it, point at it and be right.

The sign names are the snag: plus, minus and equals are English words for marks that look identical everywhere.

Rehearse the row aloud as a chant, ___ plus ___ equals ___, and let partners agree on the row in their strongest language before either one reads it in English. A child may read the row with a finger before reading it with a voice.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 4: Say It With Cards

Albert’s Pile

Build the stage on the mat with counters. Lay the card row under the mat.

Albert’s Pile

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LESSON 5

How Many More Did He Need?

Application · Finding how many things arrived between two stated totals What the pile held before each of Albert’s trips and after is stated, but never how many things he carried in: three toys become five things when Ned and Nelly arrive, seven become ten when the wheels and the mask land.

Students set the pile at the first total, move counters from a cup one at a time until the mat matches the second total, and count what left the cup. The application is the trip itself, a real question about the story answered by a count and said aloud in a frame.

Materials Two-color counters, twenty per pair · Trade mat, a sheet labeled Albert’s Pile · A small cup for the loose counters, one per pair · Five provided number sentence strips, one set per pair · Word cards: altogether, group, more

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FULL LESSON — 20 MINUTES

Set the pile at three (4 min) Partners put three counters on the mat, one for each toy Albert has already offered, and say three out loud. A small cup of loose counters sits beside the mat and holds everything Albert has not brought in yet.

Nothing moves out of the cup until the question has been asked.

Word preview: more “So, will you take all three for Captain Slime?” Fill the gap to five (6 min) The pile has to reach five. Move counters out of the cup onto the mat one at a time, counting four, five.

Then count how many counters left the cup. Say the whole trip aloud: the pile had three, Albert brought two more, now it has five. Check it against the strip that reads Three plus two equals five.

Word preview: altogether “But you can have them both.” “That’s five things altogether.” Three plus two equals five.

Seven to ten (5 min) Partners clear the mat, set seven counters on it, and move counters from the cup until the mat holds ten.

This time the things arrive in groups: two wheels together, then the mask. Push two on, then one. Say how many counters left the cup altogether. They check the mat against the strip that reads Seven plus two plus one equals ten.

Word preview: group “And here are two wheels that fell off my tricycle.” Seven plus two plus one equals ten.

Tell the trip (5 min) Each partner takes one of the book’s one-thing trips. Five to six for the gum ball, six to seven for the tail warmer, ten to eleven for the puzzle. Build it on the mat. Tell your partner the whole trip, using the frame.

The pile had this many. Albert brought this many more. Now it has this many. The listener rebuilds the mat from the telling alone and the two mats are set side by side.

5 plus 1 equals 6.

Six plus one equals seven.

10 plus 1 equals 11.

S H O RT V E R S I O N — 9 M I N U T E S Set the pile at three (4 min) Partners put three counters on the mat, one for each toy Albert has already offered, and say three out loud. A cup of loose counters beside the mat holds everything he has not brought in yet.

“So, will you take all three for Captain Slime?”

Seven to ten (5 min) Partners clear the mat, set seven counters on it, and move counters from the cup until the mat holds ten, pushing two on for the wheels and then one for the mask. They say how

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many counters left the cup altogether and check the mat against the strip that reads Seven plus two plus one equals ten.

“And here are two wheels that fell off my tricycle.” Seven plus two plus one equals ten.

THREE LEVELS

Support. Run every trip in the book, three to five and seven to ten included. The frame is printed on the mat and read aloud by the teacher before each trip, the counters for that trip are counted into the cup in advance, and one partner moves while the other says the numbers. The totals, the gaps and the telling are unchanged; what changes is that the trip is set up and the frame is read for the pair.

At Grade. Set the mat at the first total, move counters from the cup one at a time until the mat matches the second total, then count what left the cup and say the whole trip in the frame. Check each answer against the strip that carries that number sentence before starting the next trip.

Extension. Run one trip backwards: start from the second total, take off the things that arrived, and say what the pile held before Albert went out. Then find the trip where three things arrived in two groups and say why the answer is three and not two.

ENGLISH LEARNERS

The counting and the moving carry themselves; the difficulty is that this question is asked in English with the unknown in the middle and the answer at the end, and how many more did he bring is a harder sentence than the arithmetic under it. Number, cup and mat transfer completely. Rehearse the frame until it is automatic, always in this order: The pile had ___. Albert brought ___ more. Now it has ___. Let a child answer first by holding up the counters that left the cup, and let the strongest language carry the thinking while English carries the frame.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 5: How Many More Did He Need?

Albert’s Pile

Set the pile on the mat. Move counters from the cup until the mat matches.

Albert’s Pile Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 5: How Many More Did He Need?

Tell the trip

Say the whole trip out loud.

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The pile had ________.

Albert brought ________ more.

Now it has ________.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 5: How Many More Did He Need?

Number sentence strips

The five trips in this lesson, one set per pair.

Three plus two equals five.

5 plus 1 equals 6.

Seven plus two plus one equals ten.

Six plus one equals seven.

10 plus 1 equals 11.

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.

LESSON 6

One Word, Two Piles

Integrated · Building the pile twice from one sentence, once with both and once with one of

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them

The book prints one sentence about the worms, and the word inside it decides the total. Students build the pile twice from that sentence, once with both and once with one of them, set the two mats side by side, and say aloud which word made which total.

Materials Two-color counters, twenty per pair · Two trade mats per pair, one labeled Both and one labeled One of Them · The two sentences on one card, the book’s sentence above and the swapped sentence below it

• Word cards: both, one of them, all

FULL LESSON — 20 MINUTES

Build the pile the sentence describes (5 min) Pairs set three counters on the left mat for the toys Albert has already offered. They hear the sentence about the worms, push two more counters on, and say the total. Then they check it against the number the book says next, and find that both mat and book say five.

Word preview: both “But you can have them both.” Swap the word and build it again (6 min) Pairs set three counters on the right mat, hear the sentence again with one of them in place of both, and build that. Now two mats stand side by side, one holding five and one holding four. Each child touches the two mats in turn and says the two totals aloud, then says which of the two the book agrees with.

Word preview: one of them Say which word made which pile (3 min) Each child says one sentence about their own mat with the word in it: this pile has both worms, so it has five, or this pile has one of them, so it has four. Partners listen for the word and the number in the same sentence and say so when one is missing.

Do it again with all (6 min) Pairs clear both mats to three counters. On the left they take all three away and say zero; on the right they take one of the three away and say two. They say which word emptied the mat, and why the other word cannot.

Word preview: all “And you need to take all three away.” S H O RT V E R S I O N — 9 M I N U T E S Build both piles from the one sentence (6 min) Pairs set three counters on each mat. They hear the book’s sentence and push two more onto the left mat for both worms, then hear it again with one of them and push one onto the right mat. Two mats stand side by side, one holding five and one holding four, and each child says the two totals aloud and which of them the book agrees with.

“But you can have them both.” Say which word made which pile (3 min) Each child says one sentence about their own mat with the word in it: this pile has both worms, so it has five, or this pile has one of them, so it has four. Partners listen for the word and the number in the same sentence and say so when one is missing.

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THREE LEVELS

Support. Build both versions, one mat at a time rather than two at once. Build the three toys, hear the sentence with both, push the worms on and say five; leave that mat standing, build three on the second mat, hear it with one of them, push one on and say four. The counting, the saying and the words are all unchanged; what changes is that the two builds happen one after the other instead of together.

At Grade. Build both versions side by side, say both totals, name which word made each and which one the book agrees with, then repeat the whole move with all three away against one of the three away.

Extension. Take leaves and altogether and do the same work with them: say the book’s sentence, then say it with the word changed, then show on the mat what changed. Say which of the four words changes only how big the change is and which changes whether the counters come or go.

ENGLISH LEARNERS

The quantity words in this lesson are exactly the words that do not travel. Number transfers completely, and a child who counts in another language will build both mats correctly the moment they know which word is in play. What does not transfer is that English marks the size of the change with a small word that carries no stress of its own, so them both and one of them differ by one counter on a single unemphasised word. Say the two sentences slowly and back to back before any building, and rehearse the reporting frame: This pile has ___, so it has ___ things. Invite children to say what the word means in their strongest language, then build the mat, then report the pile in English with the frame. Never ask a child to explain the word before they have built it.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 6: One Word, Two Piles

Two mats

Build the pile on each mat. Say both totals out loud.

Both One of Them Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 6: One Word, Two Piles

The two sentences

Read the top sentence. Then read the bottom one.

But you can have them both.

But you can have one of them.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 6: One Word, Two Piles

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Reading and language lessons

Four lessons on the reading and language the book carries — what a word means in its sentence, how a character is shown, and how a text is built.

LESSON 7

Albert’s Paw Says It First: Feelings You Can See

Literature · Character feelings and actions This book shows what Albert wants before he ever asks for it: his paw creeps toward the book.

Students read three short spans where Albert acts instead of explaining, act each one out with hand and face, and name the feeling behind it. The work is matching a feeling word to the words on the page that earned it, which is the whole habit this skill asks of a first grader.

Materials Albert Adds Up!, the passages printed in this lesson · Pencil · Feelings chart · Crayons · Word cards: crept, trade, begged

FULL LESSON — 20 MINUTES

Read what Albert’s paw does (5 min) Read the passage aloud with a partner, one sentence each. Put your finger on the word crept and act it out with your own hand travelling slowly toward a book on the desk. Say out loud one word for how Albert feels about that book, and say which word on the page made you pick it.

Word preview: crept

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Albert’s paw crept toward the book. “Please let me read it first,” he begged. “I’ll let you play with one of my favorite toys.” Show the offer with your hands (5 min) Read the passage aloud. Hold out one hand as Albert holding out Robo Rat, and shake your head as Wanda. Then tell your partner what Albert wants and what Wanda does about it, using the words on the page.

Word preview: trade “Here, Wanda,” Albert said as he came back. “I’ll trade you Robo Rat for Captain Slime. Deal?” Wanda shook her head.

Draw the feeling that keeps him going (6 min) Read both printed passages. Albert is talking to two worms here, and nobody has said yes to him yet.

Draw Albert’s face on the feelings chart, then finish this sentence out loud: Albert keeps going because ___. Point at the words in the passage that back up your answer.

Word preview: begged “She still hasn’t said yes,” he told them. “I’ll get more stuff.” He brought in his electric tail warmer.

“That’s seven things,” he said.

Say the feeling word to the class (4 min) Say one feeling word for Albert and then read aloud the sentence from a passage printed in this lesson that shows it. Listeners put a thumb up only when the speaker reads real words off the page after the feeling word.

Albert’s paw crept toward the book. “Please let me read it first,” he begged. “I’ll let you play with one of my favorite toys.” S H O RT V E R S I O N — 9 M I N U T E S Read what Albert’s paw does (5 min) Read the passage aloud with a partner. Put your finger on crept and travel your own hand slowly toward a book. Say one word for how Albert feels, and say which word on the page made you pick it.

Word preview: crept Albert’s paw crept toward the book. “Please let me read it first,” he begged. “I’ll let you play with one of my favorite toys.” Draw the feeling that keeps him going (4 min) Read the printed passage. Nobody has said yes to Albert yet. Draw his face on the feelings chart and finish out loud: Albert keeps going because ___.

Word preview: begged “She still hasn’t said yes,” he told them. “I’ll get more stuff.”

THREE LEVELS

Support. Stay with the first passage only. Read it twice with the teacher, then act the creeping paw with your own hand. Choose your feeling word from three the teacher says aloud, and point at one word on the page that goes with it. The reading load is reduced; the feeling word and the pointing to evidence are unchanged.

At Grade. Work all three printed passages. For each one, say a feeling word and read aloud the exact words that show it, and keep only the feeling word you can point to on the page.

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Extension. Find the one place in the printed passages where Albert says a thing that his own actions have already told Wanda. Say what his actions said first, and why saying it out loud after that is funny.

ENGLISH LEARNERS

The word begged carries feeling that plain asking does not, and that difference does not always survive translation word for word. Invite students to say, in their strongest language, how someone asks when they want something very much, then say what changes in the voice. That change in voice is the skill.

Rehearsable frame: Albert feels ___ because he ___.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 7: Albert’s Paw Says It First: Feelings You Can See

Feelings chart

Draw Albert’s face. Then write the feeling word.

Draw Albert’s face here.

Albert feels ________.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 7: Albert’s Paw Says It First: Feelings You Can See

Word cards

Cut apart. One set per pair.

crept

trade

begged

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 7: Albert’s Paw Says It First: Feelings You Can See

Say the feeling

Read the words that show it.

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Albert feels ________

because he ________.

LESSON 8

First, Next, Then, Last: Retelling Albert’s Trips

Literature · Retelling key events in order Albert leaves the room and comes back, over and over, and each return is one event a first grader can hold. Students lay the printed returns in a left-to-right line, read each aloud as they place it, and then retell the whole story touching one strip per sentence.

Retelling here means order words carrying real events, not a summary in the abstract.

Materials Albert Adds Up!, the passages printed in this lesson · Retelling strip · Scissors · Glue · Word cards: first, next, last

FULL LESSON — 20 MINUTES

Put the first three trips in order (6 min) Cut apart the three printed passages on the retelling strip and lay them left to right in the order Albert brought each thing in. Read each strip aloud as you place it, and say first, next, then as you go. Check your order against the printed passages before you glue.

Word preview: first “Here, Wanda,” Albert said as he came back. “I’ll trade you Robo Rat for Captain Slime. Deal?” “It’s a secret sucker,” Albert explained proudly. “It’s for sucking secrets out of other mice. I made it myself.” “I named them Ned and Nelly.” Add the next two trips to the line (5 min) Read these two printed passages aloud. Add them to the end of your retelling strip, still left to right. Now touch each strip in order and say the whole line out loud: first Albert brought ___, next he brought ___, then he brought ___.

Word preview: next He brought in his electric tail warmer.

“And here are two wheels that fell off my tricycle.” He dumped them on the pile.

Say what happened last (5 min) Read the printed passage aloud with a partner. This is the end of the story. Add a last strip that says what Albert decides here, then retell the whole story to your partner in six sentences, touching one strip for each sentence and using the word last for this one.

Word preview: last Albert looked at Captain Slime. “You know what, Wanda?” he said. “I don’t want to read it first after all.”

Retell to a listener who checks (4 min) Retell the story to a new partner, touching your strips in order.

Your listener holds the printed passage from this step and stops you if you say the ending before you have said the beginning. Then swap and listen.

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Albert looked at Captain Slime. “You know what, Wanda?” he said. “I don’t want to read it first after all.” S H O RT V E R S I O N — 9 M I N U T E S Put the first three trips in order (5 min) Lay the three printed passages left to right in the order Albert brought each thing in. Read each one aloud as you place it, saying first, next, then.

Word preview: first “Here, Wanda,” Albert said as he came back. “I’ll trade you Robo Rat for Captain Slime. Deal?” “It’s a secret sucker,” Albert explained proudly. “It’s for sucking secrets out of other mice. I made it myself.” “I named them Ned and Nelly.” Say what happened last (4 min) Read the printed passage aloud. This is the end. Retell the story to your partner in four sentences, touching one strip for each and saying last for this one.

Word preview: last Albert looked at Captain Slime. “You know what, Wanda?” he said. “I don’t want to read it first after all.”

THREE LEVELS

Support. Use only the first three strips. Say first, next, then with the teacher touching each strip with you, and retell in three sentences before adding any more. The number of events is reduced; the ordering, the reading aloud and the retelling are unchanged.

At Grade. Build every strip, ending strip included, and retell the whole line to a partner in your own words, touching one strip per sentence.

Extension. Retell the line backwards, starting with last and working to first, and then say which one strip you could not move anywhere else without the story stopping making sense.

ENGLISH LEARNERS

First, next, then and last are order words, and every language has its own set, though not always in the same position in the sentence. Invite students to retell one trip in their strongest language and say which word did the ordering work, then place that word on the strip beside the English one.

Rehearsable frame:

First Albert brought ___. Next he brought ___.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 8: First, Next, Then, Last: Retelling Albert’s Trips

Retelling strip

Cut apart. Lay the strips left to right in order.

“Here, Wanda,” Albert said as he came back. “I’ll trade you Robo Rat for Captain Slime. Deal?” “It’s a secret sucker,” Albert explained proudly. “It’s for sucking secrets out of other mice. I made it myself.” “I named them Ned and Nelly.” He brought in his electric tail warmer.

“And here are two wheels that fell off my tricycle.” He dumped them on the pile.

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Albert looked at Captain Slime. “You know what, Wanda?” he said. “I don’t want to read it first after all.” Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 8: First, Next, Then, Last: Retelling Albert’s Trips

Word cards

Cut apart. One set per pair.

first

next

last

then

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 8: First, Next, Then, Last: Retelling Albert’s Trips

Retell the trips

Touch one strip for each sentence.

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First Albert brought ________.

Next he brought ________.

Then he brought ________.

Then he brought ________.

Then he brought ________.

Last, ________.

LESSON 9

What Is It? Getting a Meaning Out of the Page

Language · Asking and answering about new words Albert keeps bringing in things nobody has heard of, and the book answers for them right after the question mark. Students take Wanda’s question, find the answer sitting beside it, and then break a threeword name into parts they can each draw. The skill is asking a question about an unknown word and taking the answer from words that are actually printed, not from a guess.

Materials Albert Adds Up!, the passages printed in this lesson · Pencil · Word meaning log · Crayons · Word cards: sucker, warmer, chew

FULL LESSON — 20 MINUTES

Ask what it is, then find the answer (5 min) Read the passage aloud with a partner, one taking Wanda and one taking Albert. Wanda asks a question here that you can ask about any new thing. Underline the question, then underline the sentence that answers it, and say aloud what a secret sucker is meant to do.

Word preview: sucker Wanda stared at him. “What is it?” “It’s a secret sucker,” Albert explained proudly. “It’s for sucking secrets out of other mice. I made it myself.” Break a long name into its parts (5 min) Read the printed passage aloud. The thing Albert brings has a three-word name. Say each word by itself and draw what each one tells you, then say the whole name and tell your partner what it warms. Write the name in your word meaning log.

Word preview: warmer He brought in his electric tail warmer. “That’s seven things,” he said.

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Ask your own question about the gum ball (5 min) Read the printed passage aloud. Ask your partner a question that starts with what, then ask one that starts with why. Your partner must answer using words from the printed passage, and you point at the words as they say them.

Word preview: chew “Well, it isn’t exactly a ball anymore,” Albert said. “But you can chew it as much as you like before you give it back.” Say a meaning you can point to (5 min) Choose secret sucker or tail warmer. Say what it is in one sentence, then read aloud the words from a passage printed in this lesson that told you. Listeners put a thumb up only when they hear real words from the page.

“It’s for sucking secrets out of other mice.” S H O RT V E R S I O N — 9 M I N U T E S Ask what it is, then find the answer (5 min) Read the passage aloud with a partner, one as Wanda and one as Albert. Underline Wanda’s question and the sentence that answers it, then say what a secret sucker is meant to do.

Word preview: sucker Wanda stared at him. “What is it?” “It’s a secret sucker,” Albert explained proudly. “It’s for sucking secrets out of other mice. I made it myself.” Break a long name into its parts (4 min) Read the printed passage aloud. Say each word of the three-word name by itself, then say the whole name and tell your partner what it warms.

Word preview: warmer He brought in his electric tail warmer. “That’s seven things,” he said.

THREE LEVELS

Support. Stay with the secret sucker. Read the passage with the teacher, then answer two questions aloud before writing: what is it, and what is it for? Copy one answer sentence into the log. The number of things is reduced; the asking, the answering from the page and the log entry are unchanged.

At Grade. Work all three printed things. For each, write what it is and the exact words from the printed passage that told you, and keep only the answer you can point to.

Extension. Albert names things by what they do. Invent one more thing Albert could carry in, give it a name built the same way, and say which words of your name tell what it does.

ENGLISH LEARNERS

English builds names for things by stacking words in front of each other, so tail warmer means a warmer for tails and the last word is the thing itself. Many languages put that thing-word first instead.

Invite students to say a two-word name from their strongest language and say which word is the thing, then compare the order with English. Rehearsable frame: A ___ is a thing for ___.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 9: What Is It? Getting a Meaning Out of the Page

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Word cards

Cut apart. One set per pair.

sucker

warmer

chew

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 9: What Is It? Getting a Meaning Out of the Page

Word meaning log

Keep only the answer you can point to.

A ________ is a thing for ________.

The words on the page that told me: ________________.

Draw each word of the name.

LESSON 10

First and After All: What Albert Wanted, Twice

Literature · What changes from beginning to end Albert opens wanting the book first and closes wanting it together, and the book prints both wishes plainly. Students write the two wishes on the two sides of one card, hear the sentence Wanda had been trying to say all along, and read the one-word ending aloud. The skill is holding a beginning and an ending side by side and saying what moved between them.

Materials Albert Adds Up!, the passages printed in this lesson · Beginning-and-end card · Pencil · Word cards: library, listen, together

FULL LESSON — 20 MINUTES

Say what Albert wanted at the start (5 min) Read both printed passages aloud with a partner. These come from the beginning of the story. Say in one sentence what Albert wants, then write it on the left side of your beginning-and-end card.

Word preview: library “I’m back from the library.” “Please let me read it first,” he begged.

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Hear what Wanda had been trying to say (5 min) Read the printed passage aloud, one partner as Wanda. Wanda says she tried to tell Albert something. Say aloud what she was trying to tell him, using her own printed words, and say why Albert did not hear it.

Word preview: listen “But Albert, you don’t need anything,” Wanda said. “I tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen. I got that book out of the library for you.” Read the ending and write it down (6 min) Read the printed passage aloud with a partner, taking turns line by line. The last word is a whole sentence on its own. Write what Albert chooses at the end on the right side of your card, then read your two sides aloud, start then end.

Word preview: together “You know what, Wanda?” he said. “I don’t want to read it first after all.” “You don’t?” Wanda asked.

“No!” Albert said. “I’d much rather read it. Together.” Tell a partner what changed (4 min) Read the printed passage aloud once more, then hold up your card and tell a partner: at the start Albert wanted ___, and at the end he wanted ___. Your partner listens for both sides before answering.

“You know what, Wanda?” he said. “I don’t want to read it first after all.” “You don’t?” Wanda asked.

“No!” Albert said. “I’d much rather read it. Together.” S H O RT V E R S I O N — 9 M I N U T E S Say what Albert wanted at the start (4 min) Read both printed passages aloud with a partner. Say in one sentence what Albert wants, and write it on the left side of your card.

Word preview: library “I’m back from the library.” “Please let me read it first,” he begged.

Read the ending and write it down (5 min) Read the printed passage aloud with a partner, taking turns line by line. Write what Albert chooses at the end on the right side of your card, then read both sides aloud, start then end.

Word preview: together “You know what, Wanda?” he said. “I don’t want to read it first after all.” “You don’t?” Wanda asked.

“No!” Albert said. “I’d much rather read it. Together.”

THREE LEVELS

Support. Fill the left side of the card only. Read the beginning passages with the teacher, then choose your sentence from two the teacher reads aloud, and copy it. Add the right side after hearing the ending read twice. The writing load is reduced; both sides of the card and the reading aloud are unchanged.

At Grade. Fill both sides of the card in your own words, then read the printed passage that backs each side aloud to a partner.

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Extension. The ending prints a single word as a whole sentence of its own. Say why that one word had to stand alone, and read the ending twice, once with the word joined to the sentence before it and once standing alone, so a listener can hear the difference.

ENGLISH LEARNERS

Together carries an idea some languages build into the verb rather than a separate word. Invite students to say we will read it together in their strongest language and point at which part carries the togetherness, then compare with the English word standing alone at the end. Rehearsable frame: At the start he wanted ___. At the end he wanted ___.

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 10: First and After All: What Albert Wanted, Twice

Word cards

Cut apart. One set per pair.

library

listen

together

Workbook · Albert Adds Up! · Lesson 10: First and After All: What Albert Wanted, Twice

Beginning and end

Read both sides aloud, start then end.

At the start Albert wanted ________.

At the end he wanted ________.

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