Ready-to-teach lesson
WISCONSIN CURRICULUM PLACEMENT
Grandma's Tiny House
Kindergarten · Mathematics · Where This Fits in Your Year Use this pack while children are building reliable counting and cardinality. They count concrete sets one object at a time, state how many without restarting, confirm that rearranging a set does not change its total, order short numeral sequences, and sort picture cards into categories before counting each category.
STRONGEST CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS - OUR SUMMARY
TEACHES · K.CC.B.4
Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.
Student evidence: Lesson 1 requires one-to-one counting of concrete sets, an immediate how-many answer from the last count word, and a recount after rearrangement to establish that the total is unchanged.
TEACHES · K.CC.B.5
Count to answer how-many questions for up to 20 arranged objects or up to 10 scattered objects;
given a number 1–20, count out that many objects.
Student evidence: Lesson 1 requires one-to-one counting of concrete sets, an immediate how-many answer from the last count word, and a recount after rearrangement to establish that the total is unchanged.
TEACHES · K.MD.B.3
Classify objects into given categories; count the objects in each category and sort categories by count.
Student evidence: Lesson 3 sorts picture cards into two given categories, counts each category accurately, attaches a numeral to each total, and reports the category together with its count.
Curriculum source: Wisconsin Standards for Mathematics (2021) https:/ / dpi.wi.gov/ sites/ default/ files/ imce/ standards/ New%20pdfs/ MathematicsStandards2021.pdf
Grandma's Tiny House
KINDERGARTEN MATH LESSON PACK
Three focused lessons in counting, cardinality, number order, and
sorting
Children build and count the groups that arrive at Grandma's house, reconstruct the book's number sequence, and sort story cards into meaningful categories. Each lesson includes a clear checkpoint and a ready-to-use printable.
page 1
Lesson 1
How Many Came Through the Door
Counting and cardinality
- OBJECTIVE
- Count a set accurately to 15 and state that the last number said tells how many are in the set.
- STUDENT PRODUCT
- A built set and an oral answer to “How many?”
- TIME
- 20 minutes
Materials
- Doorway counting mat per pair
- 15 counters per pair
- Number cards 1-15
- Counting strip 1-15
Lesson sequence
- 1.Connect to the book · 3 min Pause after an arrival number. Show the matching number card
and ask children what the number tells us.
- 2.Build and count · 7 min Partners place one counter on the doorway mat for each number word.
One child moves; the other says the count.
Switch roles.
- 3.Answer how many · 5 min Cover the number card. A partner asks, “How many?” The child
answers with one number without beginning the count again.
- 4.Move them; count again · 5 min Spread the same counters into a new arrangement. Predict
whether the total changed, recount once, and explain what stayed the same.
- Three levels
- Support:
- Work within 1-5 and line counters against a counting strip.
At Grade: Count sets within 15, answer how many, and confirm the total after rearranging.
Extension: Use a teen number and explain why spreading the counters does not add any.
Watch for: Children may skip or double-count counters in a heap. Have them slide each counted counter across a line.
Checkpoint: Show 12 counters in a new arrangement. The child counts each once and answers “12” without recounting.
Lesson 2
Who Comes Next Through the Door?
Number sequence
- OBJECTIVE
- Order numerals within 15 and identify a missing number in a short sequence.
- STUDENT PRODUCT
- An ordered card run and an oral missing-number explanation
- TIME
- 20 minutes
page 2
Materials
- Number cards 1–15
- Five-space number track per pair
- Counting strip 1–15 for support
Lesson sequence
- 1.Rebuild a short run · 5 min Give each pair four consecutive number cards in mixed order.
Children arrange and read them left to right.
- 2.Hide one number · 6 min Place a five-card run, then turn one interior card face down. Children
name the missing number and the two neighbors that prove it.
- 3.Start somewhere other than one · 5 min Repeat with runs such as 7–11. Children begin with the
first visible card instead of counting from one.
- 4.Who comes next? · 4 min Hold up a number card. Children hold up or name the card that
comes next and explain, “___ comes after ___.”
- Three levels
- Support:
- Use 1–8 and a printed track with matching numerals.
At Grade: Order four consecutive numerals and find an interior missing number within 15.
Extension: Order nonconsecutive numerals, then explain why they belong in that order.
Watch for: A child may recite from one without attending to the local sequence. Ask them to point to both neighbors.
Checkpoint: Given 10, blank, 12, the child names 11 and cites 10 and 12.
Lesson 3
People at the Door, Food on the Table
Sorting and counting
- OBJECTIVE
- Sort picture cards by one clear attribute, count each category, and name what each count represents.
- STUDENT PRODUCT
- Two sorted groups with labeled totals
- TIME
- 20 minutes
Materials
- 15 supplied story sorting cards
- Two hoops or trays with a person picture and a food picture
- Number cards 1-15
Lesson sequence
- 1.Name the sorting rule · 4 min Show one person card and one food card. Children state the two
groups before sorting begins.
- 2.Sort the story cards · 6 min Reveal one card at a time. A child places it in a hoop and says why
it belongs there.
- 3.Count each group · 6 min Children touch and move each card once as they count. Place the
matching numeral beside each hoop.
- 4.Attach meaning to the number · 4 min Partners report, “There are ___ people cards” and “There
are ___ food cards.” Recount to settle any disagreement.
page 3
- Three levels
- Support:
- Use six highly distinct picture cards and provide sentence frames.
At Grade: Sort all 15 cards, count both sets accurately, and name the category with each total.
Extension: Resort the cards into numbers 1-8 and numbers 9-15. Predict which cards will move before checking.
Watch for: Do not mix the quantity printed in the story with the number of cards in the hoop. Say explicitly: “Now we are counting cards.” Checkpoint: The child gives a numeral and a category together, such as “7 food cards,” after a one-to-one count.
Printable · Doorway counting mat
Place one counter in the house for each number word. Then say how many.
GRANDMA'S TINY HOUSE
How many? ______
Printable · Number cards 1–15 Cut apart. Use for ordering and missing-number work.
12 45 78 10 11 13 14
3 6 9 12 15
Printable · Number track and counting strip
Use the five-space track for short ordered runs. Use the counting strip for matching, counting support, and checking what comes next.
Five-space number track
Counting strip 1-15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sorting labels Cut apart.
Place one label in each hoop or tray before sorting begins.
10
11
12
13
14
15
page 4
Printable · People and food sorting cards
Cut apart. Odd-numbered cards show people arriving; even-numbered cards show food being carried in. Children sort by the picture, then count the cards in each group.
1 4 7 10 13
2 5 8 11 14
3 6 9 12 15
page 5