Research-Driven Education
  • Home
  • Our Story
  • Blog
  • Enrichment Programs
  • Workshops and Camps

Preschool Math Standards: Problem Solving

8/29/2014

1 Comment

 
In order for a child to have a comprehensive mathematical understanding, he must be exposed to mathematical concepts beyond numbers and counting. There are five fields into which we group our Math Standards: Number Sense, Geometry, Measurement, Sorting and Patterning, and Problem Solving.


This blog entry will cover the Academic Standards that fall under the Problem Solving category.
Picture
Thinking Ahead - By playing strategy games like "Nim," a child can develop the ability to think one or more steps ahead of her opponent.
What's Missing? - Given a pattern or a set of objects, a child can determine what is missing.
Estimation
Probability - For preschoolers, this is the ability to determine whether an outcome is likely or unlikely. Given the shapes shown below, is it likely or unlikely that I will pick up a square?
Story Problems
Skip Counting - Counting by fives, tens or twos. At this age, this could be categorized with problem solving skills or number sense.
Problem Solving is just one small part of preschool mathematics. We have broken Problem Solving into six standards:

Thinking Ahead
What's Missing?
Estimation
Probability
Problem Solving
Skip Counting

In our classroom, each lesson, game or classroom material has been intentionally planned and placed in the room to fulfill our Academic Content Standards. 
1 Comment

Skip Counting: Tens

3/15/2014

0 Comments

 
One of the ways that we teach children to count by tens is through song. Any child can be taught to do this; it is simply memorization. There is not necessarily any mathematical understanding involved. 
This is why it's important for us to spend time working with groups of ten to give children the understanding of WHEN we CAN count by tens. 

Each child in my small group made a group of ten unifix cubes. When they were done, I asked how many cubes were in each stick. "Ten!" They shouted. 
"How do you KNOW?" I asked.

(Pause)
"Because we counted them...?" One girl responded. 

"Yes! Now that we know there are ten cubes in every group, we can count by tens!"
Each child got a turn to be the "teacher" and point while we counted. It's interesting - the first time we do this every year, the children's one-to-one correspondence goes down the drain. They haven't yet associated each separate number (ten, twenty, thirty) with a separate group of ten. They regain this quickly. It's quite fascinating to watch.
We made necklaces to get some practice recognizing the numbers and putting them in order. 
Again, we practiced making groups of ten.
The next day we found another fun way to practice making groups of ten. 
We practiced putting our numbers in order again, too. The more we practice, the easier it gets!
0 Comments
    LearnWithJoy
    Picture

    Author

    Wendy Joy Yohman
    Eleven years teaching experience
     at a small private  school. 
    Current preschool supervisor.
     Bachelor's Degree in 
    Psychology with an emphasis
     on educational kinesiology 
    (how different movements 
    activate certain areas of the 
    brain). 

    tpt store

    Archives

    December 2017
    October 2016
    February 2016
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    Categories

    All
    Academic Standards
    Art
    Attribute Blocks
    Auditory Discrimination
    Auditory Memory
    Chapel
    Classifying/Sorting
    Counting
    Counting Bears
    Creativity
    Dr Seuss
    Fine Motor
    Freebie
    Geometry
    Letters
    Math
    Measurement
    Money
    Music
    Patterning
    Patterning Blocks
    Phonics
    Pre Reading
    Problem Solving
    Reading
    Rhyme
    Skip Counting
    Story
    Strategy
    TPT
    Unifix Cubes
    Visual Discrimination

    RSS Feed

    Sites I recommend:

    The Homeschool Mom
    Visit LearnWithJoy's profile on Pinterest.

    Affiliate Disclosure:


    Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. When you make a purchase, the price you pay will be the same whether you use the affiliate link or go directly to the vendor’s website using a non-affiliate link. By using the affiliate links, you are helping support the LearnWithJoy website, and I genuinely appreciate your support.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.