This counting collections activity engages students in predicting and then identifying the number of lollies dispensed by a vending machine.
Students can estimate the size of a collection using number sense in a real-world context. Collections can be grouped and counted reliably and accurately. Students can record their estimation and count using words, numbers and pictures.
Counting collections promotes number sense, and is an essential foundation for students to be successful mathematicians. Recent literature (e.g. Boaler, 2008) suggests that flexible grouping practices best supports equitable opportunities for student learning.
It is important to share the mathematical focus with students. This task provides students with opportunities to wonder about how many there are in a collection. Students will use prior mathematical and contextual knowledge to estimate how many, before seeing the collection in its entirety and counting it. The progression in the sophistication of students’ thinking when asked to count a collection of objects goes from counting in ones, to counting in groups.
Consider the mathematical language your students are likely to use when grouping and counting and the language you want to develop. Provide the students with opportunities to work collaboratively, to record and share their thinking and their counts. Student agency is promoted if students have choice over their own counting and recording methods.
Rather than suggesting particular solutions or counting methods to students, teachers can use enabling prompts to support students who require assistance. Extending prompts can be offered when students have completed the task to build more sophisticated strategies and understandings.
This task encourages students to wonder about quantity in an engaging context, and promotes mathematical curiosity and inquiry.
Printed from https://nzmaths.co.nz/resource/i-wonder at 6:58am on the 17th May 2024