The Right Number Of...

Have you ever asked your students to tell you "how many" of something you might need?  What kind of answers to you get?  100! 1,000! 1,000,000!  This activity introduces children to the idea of "resonable numbers."  Reasonable numbers are defined by Chris Confer as "quantities of things that come in particular ranges."  A person might have one or two dogs, but not 20 or 30.  Confer shares in her book, Teaching Number Sense, that the concept of reasonable numbers (and the understanding of them) are based on the real life experiences of the child. 

This is as fun little lesson that introduces the idea of reasonable numbers. It also comes from Chris Confers Book: Teaching Number Sense.

You will need this book:





This is a silly non-fiction book, but it provides lots of experiences for counting - something that those little babies need a lot of in the beginning of the year!  As you read, encourage the children to count the number of elephants on each page.  Guide them to notice the number pattern in the book as well - the numbers decrease as the pages increase. 

When you are finished reading the story, allow the children some time to brainstorm the "right number" of various things.  (This time though, it will be real, true things!)  Children may vary in their answers as in, "The right number of earrings on an ear is...."  Some things will have definite concrete answers, while statements like the one above will vary based on what the children have experienced.  You want to guide children to understand reasonable numbers - it wouldn't be reasonable for a person to have 30 earrings on an ear, but it might be reasonable to have 4.

In her book, Confer provides a writing frame and the children fill in the sentence that they have brainstormed together.  I have made up a little book for you with the complete sentence frame.  I think this would be much easier for the kiddos at the beginning of the year to complete!  The children can complete the pages with pencils and crayons or make construction paper pictures (these are always so cute!)

You can grab the book here:


Be sure to leave a comment or follow my blog so I know that you all are enjoying the free downloads!
Posted by at
Labels:

26 comments:

  1. Tiggeriffic 2nd GradersJuly 7, 2011 at 10:01 AM

    What a great idea! Thanks for sharing! Number sense can be so hard for some kids, even in 2nd grade!
    Stacee

    ReplyDelete
  2. NickiJuly 7, 2011 at 10:29 AM

    fun activity, thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  3. BeckiJuly 7, 2011 at 10:45 AM

    Thanks so much for a new way of looking at this book. I read it every year, but focused on the counting aspect. I love that I can use it for numberness and possible extend it to estimation. Thanks for the adorable download -- you're so sweet to share.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cindy Hutter and Tanya WildmanJuly 7, 2011 at 11:12 AM

    Thank you for sharing your great ideas!! Awesome!
    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  5. RoseJuly 7, 2011 at 11:24 AM

    Thanks for sharing this book and great activity
    Rose

    ReplyDelete
  6. Karen LeBlancJuly 7, 2011 at 11:26 AM

    What a great extension to a story I read every year!
    Thanks for sharing :)

    froggyfriendsfun.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. ChrissyJuly 7, 2011 at 11:41 AM

    Thanks, Kathleen! This looks great!

    ReadWriteSing

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jessica WilliamsonJuly 7, 2011 at 11:52 AM

    Thanks for sharing, I love it!! The font you used and border are so cute! Where are they from?

    mrswilliamsonskinders.blogspot.com
    jwilliamson06@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thinking in PrimaryJuly 7, 2011 at 1:22 PM

    Super cute! Thanks for sharing!


    ☺Jody

    Camp Kindergarten

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousJuly 7, 2011 at 2:52 PM

    I really like this!! Thanks! :0)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Busy BeesJuly 7, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    Thanks for the awesome download!! Can't wait to put it to use real soon!!
    BusyBees

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mrs. LottJuly 7, 2011 at 4:14 PM

    I just wanted to say Thank You for all the wonderful downloads! I have spent the afternoon going through your posts, and downloading stuff. I am so excited that you are willing to share as I am preparing my first classroom this summer, and will be teaching my first very own group of Kindergarteners! I need all of the ideas I can get!

    Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
  13. NatalieJuly 7, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    Wow! This is super! I have ordered the book and printed the pages. This will be fantastic to do at the beg. of the year. Hopefully when we estimate seeds from the pumpkin in October we will get some "reasonable" answers!! Thanks so much for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  14. ToddJuly 7, 2011 at 6:45 PM

    Thanks so much for this post! I LOVE this book. Using it for teaching number sense is a fabulous idea! ~Tracy

    ReplyDelete
  15. AmyJuly 7, 2011 at 7:28 PM

    Yeah! Another book that we can make that relates back to a math standard. Amy

    ReplyDelete
  16. Jennifer @ Simply KinderJuly 7, 2011 at 11:11 PM

    I love this idea! I love linking books to learning! Especially numbers. It's so hard to find books to do this too! Thank you so much! I just ordered the book and I am your newest follower!

    Empowering Kinders and Other Kids Too

    ReplyDelete
  17. sspellerJuly 8, 2011 at 11:03 PM

    I have been LOVING having time to peruse the different blogs this summer! I can't wait to use this when we go back in a few weeks...

    ReplyDelete
  18. BarbaraJuly 10, 2011 at 2:43 AM

    THis is a perfect way to have them "see" the reality of numbers...thanks for this. I can't wait to use it..I know the children will love it.
    B.

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousJuly 10, 2011 at 8:05 AM

    Love it! So cute! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  20. tenth avenue southJuly 10, 2011 at 5:28 PM

    Thanks for posting! I just found your blog. I'm starting my first year in K this year!

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousJuly 13, 2011 at 3:19 PM

    Thanks for the download! I got this book from my cooperating teacher when I student taught and have used it year after year since. It'll be great to have the students make the book after we've read it. Enjoy the rest of your summer and have a great school year!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Actually KristenJuly 14, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    Sounds like I book I need to go out and get!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Miss EvansJuly 16, 2011 at 10:37 AM

    Thank you for the download. I have this book and am looking forward to using it.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Mrs. Michelle DunnJuly 17, 2011 at 9:39 PM

    Thanks for the great idea and cute download

    ReplyDelete
  25. kellyoatJuly 19, 2011 at 4:00 PM

    Thanks so much! Love your stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  26. JallápennoFebruary 9, 2017 at 9:16 AM

    This is super cute, thanks! I'm going to give each student a page, and I like too that it's got a variety of objects with "right" numbers so that all students can be successful.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)