Resources

Lesson Plans by Mathematical Thinking Areas

The lesson plans listed below all require Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Number Sense
  • A Name Graph (PDF, 140KB)
    Children will graph the number of letters in their name and the number of letters in their classmate’s names.
  • Birthday Wishes (PDF, 202KB)
    Children use felt birthday cakes with candles to count using one-to-one correspondence, then identify and match numerals and sets.
  • Old MacDonald’s Counting Farm (PDF, 178KB)
    Children will sort objects, count objects, and compare sets of objects.
  • One, Two, Tie My Shoe (PDF, 176KB)
    Children will chant and clap a rhyme to begin learning number names (spoken).
  • The Little Red Hen (PDF, 554KB)
    Children will learn about and use ordinal position words (e.g., first, second, third) through a classic story.
• Number and Operations
  • Apples and Oranges (PDF, 143KB)
    Children will separate a set of objects (e.g., chairs, apples, oranges) into a maximum of four parts with teacher support.
• Patterns and Seriation
  • Pizza Patterns (PDF, 187KB)
    Children will use variety of toppings to create a pattern on their individual pizza.
  • Fruity Patterns (PDF, 165KB)
    Children will use math manipulatives and fruit to copy identical patterns and to create their own patterns with at least two elements.
  • What Comes Next? (PDF, 155KB)
    Children identify a pattern unit then draw what comes next in the pattern.
  • Dog Bone Patterns (PDF, 130KB)
    Children will use dog bone treats to create a pattern. Children will also order, compare, and describe dog bone treats according to size.
    
  • It’s a Snowman Kind of Day (PDF, 196KB)
    Children will discuss the components of a snowman’s body. Then they will make spheres of different sizes out of shaved ice to create their own snowman.
• Geometry
  • Circle, Triangle, Rectangle, Square… I See Shapes Everywhere (PDF, 188KB)
    Children will use two-dimensional shapes (e.g., circle, triangle, square, rectangle, oval) to create a picture.
    
  • Sponge Paint Shapes (PDF, 195KB)
    Children will sponge paint various shapes on easel paper.
    
  • It’s a Snowman Kind of Day (PDF, 196KB)
    Children will discuss the components of a snowman’s body. Then they will make spheres of different sizes out of shaved ice to create their own snowman.
  • Shapes all Around Us (PDF, 158KB)
    The teacher and children will go on a shape walk to look for three-dimensional shapes in and around their learning environment.
  • Ladybugs (PDF, 559KB)
    Children will analyze pictures of objects to see if they are examples of symmetry or non-symmetry. Each child will construct a ladybug and explain whether or not it is an example of symmetry or non-symmetry.
    
• Spatial Relations
  • I See (PDF, 153KB)
    Children will play I See (similar to I Spy) and identify objects that are being described based on their location (position) in the classroom. Children describe the relative position of objects that have been described.
  • Simone Says (PDF, 173KB)
    Children will play Simone Says (similar to Simon Says) and follow directions with positional words to move through space and find places in the learning environment.
  • Diagonal, Horizontal and Vertical (PDF, 695KB)
    The teacher will introduce new vocabulary words (e.g., diagonal, horizontal, and vertical), with pictures that represent each word. Children will identify and sort the pictures of objects with a diagonal, horizontal, and vertical orientation.
    
• Measurement
  • Wormy Worms (PDF, 196KB)
    Children will use yarn wormy worms to measure a variety of objects, then record and compare the lengths of the objects.
    
  • What I Like About Me (PDF, 204KB)
    Children analyze data about their classmates’ similarities and differences and graph the data.