Beyond Sorting Counters

Many preschool and kindergarten classrooms have a variety of shaped manipulatives. Their design makes sorting a natural activity for them. Beyond sorting by color and shape, here are 7 ideas for getting the most out of your fruit-shaped counters.

1. Patterning

By looking for patterns students begin to develop algebraic thinking skills. Non-number patterns like red, blue, red, blue build a foundation for later work with numeric patterns. Students learn to identify patterns and make generalizations that allow them to make predictions. These skills are useful in working with equations and expressions in later grades. Fruit-shaped counters can be used to copy and extend patterns. 

2. Sensory Bin

Bump sorting up a notch by placing the fruit-shaped counters in a container of sand, rice, or dirt. Students can search for the fruit and sort what they find. Use colored containers, trays, or sorting mats.

3. Counting

Children need multiple experiences with counting. Fruit-shaped counters can provide practice with counting through different activities. One activity uses ten-frame mats to provide a structure for counting.  My ten-frame mats come in color and black and white and include a blank set and a set with counters for those who need more support with counting.

Another way to use fruit-shaped counters to practice counting is with counting jars. Place some fruit-shaped counters in small plastic jars or containers. Label each jar. Have students count the number of items in each jar. Using five- or ten-frames can help students organize their counting and provide practice using these structures. You can extend this by having students identify which jar has the most or least.

4. Equal Shares

Even at a young age, students can understand the idea of fair-shares. They can use the “one-for-you” approach to dividing a small number of items among a few children. They can also understand the idea of “same” when evaluating whether they have created fair shares.

5. Graphing

Use ice cube trays or egg cartons to provide a frame for graphing. Place a colored dot in the first row of each column. If fruits are sorted by color, students can grab a handful of each fruit and place in the corresponding column. Students can also roll a die and place that number of the first fruit in the tray, continuing until all fruits have been used. 

6. Counting by Tens

Your students can use fruit-shaped counters to practice counting by tens. With my Fruit Stand set, students use dimes and ten-frames to fill orders for fruit. They then write the totals for each customer on an included bill.

7. More/Less

Students can explore the concepts of more and less by grabbing a handful of counters and matching each counter to a connecting cube. Next, students should connect the cubes. After building another cube stack, students can compare the two stacks to see which is more.

Students can also play a game with dice, counters, and ten-frames to compare quantities. Each player can roll a 10-sided die and place that many counters on their ten-frame. Whoever has more, is the winner of that round. That player receives a cube or counter. After five rounds, the player with the most cubes/counters is the winner.

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Welcome to My Blog!

Welcome! This is me dipping my toe into the blogging pool (or more accurately, ocean.) I’m often asked for suggestions to teach problem-solving skills. To me, the key is to have a consistent set of steps that begin with comprehension. Students can’t solve a problem if they don’t understand what it’s about.

The Importance of Word Problems

Every time I present a computation problem for students, it’s a word problem. It’s unlikely that someone will be walking down the street and see 37 x 12, so teaching students through word problems is important to me. It allows them to practice their comprehension skills as they try to determine what is happening in the problem and what they need to find out.

Understanding the Problem

The first thing I ask students to do is read and retell. I started doing this after attending a training by Sue O’Connell.  Sue recommends having students retell the problem in their own words. This allows me to make sure students understand the problem before attempting to solve it. Consider this simple problem:

Jonah had some apples in a basket. There were 4 red apples and 5 green apples.

How many apples did Jonah have in his basket?

A retell for this problem might sound like this, “Jonah had some red apples and some green apples in a basket. I need to find out how many apples he had all together.”  

The next step is for students to write an answer statement. For the apple problem, it might look like this, “Jonah had _______ apples in all.” This step helps students focus on what they are trying to find. It also provides a unit for their answer.

Making a Plan

Now, students are ready to make a plan. This includes determining what information is necessary to find the solution and deciding which operation to use and why. Finally, before solving, students should estimate an answer. Estimating answers is an important step that often gets skipped. Computational estimation allows students to check the reasonableness of the their answers and assess whether their work makes sense as they go.

Solving and Assessing Reasonableness

Students then use the information they have to solve the problem, using pictures, numbers, or words. I encourage them to show their work with enough detail that anyone would know how they solved the problem.

In the final step, students need to make sure they’ve answered the question and that their answer is reasonable.

In order for students to practice the problem-solving steps, they answer journal prompts each week during guided math rotations. I created a checklist that was glued onto the inside front cover to serve as a reminder. After writing the date on their journal page, students glue a journal prompt on the page. Then, as they work to solve the prompt, they follow the steps we’ve learned for problem-solving.                  

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