Make math "bear"-able

The students will use teddy bear counters to explore addition and subtraction facts (1-10). Students will demonstrate an understanding of ordinal numbers by locating the position of their counters on their workmats.

A lesson plan for grade 1 Mathematics

By Nikki Gilmore

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• demonstrate an understanding of basic addition and subtraction methods.
• demonstrate an understanding of ordinal numbers.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

2 days

Materials/resources

• Ten teddy Bear counters (per student)
• One “Cave”-shaped workmat (per student)
• One “Cave”-shaped workmat made on transparency film
• Ten Bear-shaped overhead counters

Technology resources

Overhead projector

Pre-activities

The day before this activity you should put 10 teddy Bear counters of assorted colors in a snack sized Ziploc bag for each student. Also, laminate “Cave” shaped workmats for future use.

Activities

Day One

1. Give the children a cave-shaped workmat and 10 teddy bear counters each.
2. Say, “Today we will use bear counters to solve addition problems.” Then direct the children’s attention to the overhead projector.
3. Begin your lesson by modeling one problem for the children on the overhead. Say, “I see 3 bears in a cave.” (Put 3 overhead counters on the bear shaped transparency, in a straight line.) “Then 4 more bears come into the cave.” (Put 4 more bears on the overhead, so that you have 7 bears in a straight line.) “How many bears are in the cave?”
4. After the children answer, direct them to the 7 bears in the cave. Ask, “What color bear is 1st in line, 5th in line?”, and so on.
5. Instruct the children to take their counters out of the ziplock bags and put the bears in a straight line across the top of their desks. Ask, “How many bears do you have on your desk?” (Wait for a response.)
6. Then ask various children what color bears they have 1st in line, 3rd in line, and so on. (Try to give each child a chance.)
7. Tell the children that they will now use their bear counters and caves to solve addition problems and tell the ordinal position of the bears in the cave. Now say, “Five bears are asleep in a cave.” (Have the children place 5 counters on their workmats.) “Two more bears decide to take a nap in the cave.” (Have the children place 2 more counters on their cave-shaped workmats.) “How many bears are sleeping in the cave?” (Wait for a response.)
8. After the children respond, ask about ordinal position. Continue to make up your own problems.
9. When you are ready to close this lesson, tell the children to put the counters back in the ziplock bags.
10. Once all counters are in the bags, direct the children’s attention back to the overhead projector. Solve problems together on the overhead. (Don’t forget to ask about ordinal position.)

Day Two

1. Begin Day Two the same as Day One. However, instead of solving addition problems, you will solve subtraction problems. You may also want to begin with all the bears in the cave. For example, “Bryce saw 10 bears in a cave. Two bears left to find food. How many bears are left in the cave?”

li>You may close the lesson the same as Day One. (Make sure that you incorporate ordinal numbers.)

Assessment

• You may want to expand your assessment over a two day period, so that you can assess the children individually.
• The children will model an addition and subtraction story using counters. (Allow the children to tell their own math stories.)
• To assess ordinal numbers, allow the children to put the counters in a straight line or (to save time) have the counters in a straight line and ask about the ordinal position.

Supplemental information

Comments

These lessons will take 30-45 minutes. You could also use cooperative groups when implementing these lessons, or solve problems on the overhead and allow the students to write the equation.

Students really become involved in the lesson when you use their names in the problems.