Math  /  Kindergarten  /  Unit 1: Welcome to School

Welcome to School

Students build a joyful, inclusive math community, establishing their sense of belonging while developing foundational number sense. They practice the counting sequence and begin to build understanding of subitizing, one-to-one correspondence, and cardinality.

Math

Unit 1

Kindergarten

Unit Summary

In Unit 1 of Kindergarten, students begin their more formal math journey by building a joyful, inclusive math community where their ideas, experiences, and ways of thinking are valued. Instruction is grounded in the belief that all students bring critical mathematical knowledge from their homes and communities; their first teachers. Through intentional routines, whole class and peer to peer discussion, and collaboration, students learn that mathematics is a joyful, shared, sense-making endeavor, and that their voices and strategies both matter and belong in their math community.     

Students begin the work of Unit 1 by exploring what mathematics is and how they see themselves as mathematicians while developing foundational number concepts within 5. Through movement based experiences, including songs, games, and whole body activities, students practice the counting sequence and begin to build understanding of one-to-one correspondence; matching each object with one and only one number name, and cardinality; understanding that the last number said tells the number of objects counted. Kinesthetic learning is key as students count classmates, move their bodies in space, and use positional language (above, below, beside, in front of, behind, next to) to connect mathematical ideas to lived, physical experience, strengthening curiosity and engagement.

Throughout the unit, students continue to build early number sense by subitizing; recognizing the number of objects in a small set without counting, and connecting numbers to multiple representations, including fingers, dot patterns, objects, and numerals. Example:

[FIGMA]

Students engage in open exploration of math tools and the Counting Collections routine, where they use appropriate tools strategically MP.5 Use appropriate tools strategically. . As they organize and count collections across lessons, students begin to notice patterns and structure in numbers and representations, supporting their ability to look for and make use of structure MP.7 Look for and make use of structure. .

The work in this unit sets a critical foundation for mathematical development in Kindergarten and beyond, as students are introduced to one of the two critical areas of instruction in Kindergarten: representing and comparing whole numbers. Students begin to develop fluency within 5, one-to-one correspondence, and an understanding of cardinality, work that continues throughout the year. These skills prepare students for the work of 1st Grade where they will extend the counting sequence to 120, read and write numerals, and represent quantities 1.NBT.A.1 Count to 120, starting at any number less than 120. In this range, read and write numerals and represent a number of objects with a written numeral. , as well as relate counting to addition and subtraction by counting on 1.OA.C.5 Relate counting to addition and subtraction (e.g., by counting on 2 to add 2). .

Assessment

The following assessments accompany Unit 1.

Student Observational Spreadsheet

Print the Student Observational Spreadsheet to use as a formative tool to monitor the progress of students throughout the unit.

Post-Unit

Use the resources below to assess student understanding of the unit content and action plan for future units.

Unit Prep

Intellectual Prep

Intellectual Prep for All Units

  • Read and annotate the "Unit Summary" and "Essential Understandings" portions of the unit plan. 
  • Do all the Target Tasks and annotate them with the "Unit Summary" and "Essential Understandings" in mind. 
  • Take the Post-Unit Assessment.

Unit-Specific Intellectual Prep

Essential Understandings

  • When counting, each object is paired with one, and only one number name (one-to-one correspondence).
  • Understand that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted (cardinality), and this understanding can be built through counting objects, classmates, and kinesthetic experiences.
  • Represent numbers and quantities in many different ways, including fingers, dot patterns, objects, and numerals.
  • Recognize small quantities without counting (subitize), helping to build flexible and efficient number understanding.
  • Use appropriate math tools strategically MP.5 Use appropriate tools strategically. to develop early number sense through hands-on experiences.

Materials

  • Square tiles (5-10 per group of students)
  • Pattern blocks (5-10 per group of students)
  • Two-sided counters (5-10 per group of students)
  • Optional: Scissors (1 per student, if using magazines or newspapers)
  • Optional: Plastic cups (1-5 per pair of students)
  • Linking cubes (5-10 per group of students)
  • Rekenrek (1-2 per group of students)
  • Clipboards (1 per student)
  • Optional: Counting Collections Folder (1 per student) — See Tips for Teachers for more information
  • Hundreds Chart (Class Chart) (Visible in the classroom)
  • Bear counters (5-10 per group of students)
  • Chart Paper (1 per class for Target Task anchor chart)
  • Painters tape (1 per class) — To create class grid
  • Bags of collections of items — You may reuse the bags of math tools from Lessons 10-13
  • Anchor Chart
  • Attribute blocks (5-10 per group of students)
  • Geometric solids (5-10 per group of students)
  • Notice and Wonder Slides U1 Topic A
  • Hickory Dickory Dock
  • Optional: Camera (1 per teacher) — Or phone to use to take pictures for later
  • 5 Little Ducks
  • 5 Little Monkeys
  • Bowl (1 per group of 4-6 students) — 1 for teacher demonstration
  • How many do you see? Slides U1 Topic B
  • Classroom objects (1 per group of 2-3 students) — These can include balls, stuffed animals, books, etc.
  • Hula hoops (1 per group of 4-5 students) — 1 for teacher demonstration
  • Dot Cards (0-5) (1 per student)
  • Dot Pattern Number Path (1-5) (1 per pair of students) — These can be laminated and cut apart for individual use
  • Clothespins (1 per pair of students)
  • Large mat (1 per class) — Or shower curtain with tape forming a large grid
  • Optional: Magazines or newspapers (1 per group)
  • Number Cards (0-5) (1 set per table group) — Cut along all dotted lines, 1 teacher set cut only along outer borders for use with Anchor Task 1
  • Bin (1 per group of students) — Appropriately sized to fit their math tools for the day in
  • Counting Collections Recording Sheet - Kindergarten (at least 1 per student)
  • What do You Know About ______? B
  • Optional: Five Frame Template (1 per student) — These can be laminated and cut apart for individual use

To see all the materials needed for this course, view our Kindergarten Course Material Overview.

Vocabulary and Models

Unit Vocabulary

above

below

beside

behind

in front of

next to

To see all the vocabulary for Unit 1, view our Kindergarten Vocabulary Glossary.

Lesson Map

Topic A: Building a Math Community

Topic B: Math and Me (kinesthetic counting and numeracy)

Topic C: Exploration Station - Math tools in our classroom/Counting Collections

Common Core Standards

Key

Major Cluster

Supporting Cluster

Additional Cluster

Core Standards

Counting and Cardinality

  • K.CC.A.1 — Count to 100 by ones and by tens.
  • K.CC.A.3 — Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects).
  • K.CC.B.4 — Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.
  • K.CC.B.5 — Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1—20, count out that many objects.
  • K.CC.C.6 — Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies. Include groups with up to ten objects.

Geometry

  • K.G.A.1 — Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.

Measurement and Data

  • K.MD.B.3 — Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count. Limit category counts to be less than or equal to 10.

Standards for Mathematical Practice

  • MP.5 — Use appropriate tools strategically. Mathematically proficient students consider the available tools when solving a mathematical problem. These tools might include pencil and paper, concrete models, a ruler, a protractor, a calculator, a spreadsheet, a computer algebra system, a statistical package, or dynamic geometry software. Proficient students are sufficiently familiar with tools appropriate for their grade or course to make sound decisions about when each of these tools might be helpful, recognizing both the insight to be gained and their limitations. For example, mathematically proficient high school students analyze graphs of functions and solutions generated using a graphing calculator. They detect possible errors by strategically using estimation and other mathematical knowledge. When making mathematical models, they know that technology can enable them to visualize the results of varying assumptions, explore consequences, and compare predictions with data. Mathematically proficient students at various grade levels are able to identify relevant external mathematical resources, such as digital content located on a website, and use them to pose or solve problems. They are able to use technological tools to explore and deepen their understanding of concepts.

Future Standards

Measurement and Data

  • 1.MD.C.4

Number and Operations in Base Ten

  • 1.NBT.A.1

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

  • 1.OA.C.5

Standards for Mathematical Practice

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 — Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP2 — Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3 — Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 — Model with mathematics.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP5 — Use appropriate tools strategically.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP6 — Attend to precision.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP7 — Look for and make use of structure.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP8 — Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.