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Your FREE Number of the Day Poster Kit is here!

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Please be aware that resources have been published on the website in the form that they were originally supplied. This means that procedures reflect general practice and standards applicable at the time resources were produced and cannot be assumed to be acceptable today. Website users are fully responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is in accordance with current regulations related to health and safety and that an appropriate risk assessment has been carried out.

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This activity, from the Association of Teachers of Mathematics (ATM) publication 'Little People Big Maths', is designed to reinforce ideas about the properties of number and the use of knowledge and reasoning to work out the rules. Students are each given a card on which is written a number.

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Toy truck convoy - Have You Got Maths Eyes

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Developing Maths Eyes, Maths Ears and Maths Speak by Dr Theresa Maguire is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License. This work is based on Engendering Numeracy in Adult Mathematics Education.

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Ginger bread man biscuits - Have You Got Maths Eyes

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We have been working on comparing numbers and we have been playing a fun game with our subitizing dot plates!

We call it, DRIVE and COMPARE!

Here's how to play!

1. Each student gets a dot plate.
2. While you play some music, the students walk around the room with their dot plates. {We like to pretend that we are driving cars or spaceships!}

3. Turn off the music and have the students stop walking.
4. Each student finds a partner.
5. They compare the dot plates and discuss the numbers. Which number is greater? Which is fewer/less? Or are they the same?

Students use these sentence frames.

6. Then turn the music back on and play again!

You can pick up a fun holiday FREEBIE for comparing numbers in my TpT store! After you download it, please be sure to leave feedback!

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We have been working on comparing numbers and we have been playing a fun game with our subitizing dot plates! We call it, DRIVE and COMPARE! Here's how to play! 1. Each student gets a dot plate. 2. While you play some music, the students walk around the room with their dot plates.

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Our booklist includes a selection of the best maths-themed story books that open opportunities to explore a range of mathematical concepts.

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Bookcase Maths: Teaching Maths Through Your Bookshelves | NRICH

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Books are a great way of introducing children to new mathematical concepts. Picture books provide an entertaining and engaging context for practising recall of number facts, such as adding and counting in the Early Years. They can also encourage pupils to solve
real-life problems, thinking about how they could help the characters in the story. For older children, books can link together mathematical ideas and provide a rich environment for thinking in more depth about different areas of maths.

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​Whether you are an experienced teacher, a teacher trainee, a teacher educator, a parent, a researcher or a policy maker, we hope you will find this website interesting and useful. Specifically, we want to share with you the benefits of te﻿aching and learning mathematics through stories and creative writing, as well as to offer practical ideas for teachers and parents on how to embrace this approach.

This website has been designed and continuously developed based on the feedback we receive from the key stakeholders as noted above. There are plenty for you to do on this website, including, but not limited to:
Please take your time to explore the website using either the menu bar at the top of the page or from the menu below.

Finally, consider s ubscribing to our free quarterly newsletters, and please help spread the word about our project and its website :-)

Best wishes,

Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai B.A. (Hons), M.Sc. (Oxford), M.Sc. (London, UCL), Ph.D. (Cambridge), QTS

@NatthapojVinceT Natthapoj.org

Associate Professor of Mathematics Education
​University of Reading (UK)

Founder & Principal Investigator
​MathsThroughStories.org
​

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Demonstrate key math concepts in your classroom using our new virtual manipulatives!

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Online manipulatives bring all of the learning and fun without the mess. Our math virtual manipulatives help students grasp abstract concepts through modeling. Literacy virtual manipulatives create a fun space for practicing spelling, rhyming, and more!

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Virtual Manipulatives | Mathematical Modelling | Toy Theater

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Original teaching tools aimed at supporting teachers in the elementary school classroom. Two color counters, 3D dice, probability spinners, graph builders, fraction bars, base ten blocks, and more!

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Virtual counters for use in and out of the classroom.

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Click on the Title to open the problem...Upload pictures or answers to the Padlet to enter the Maths Week competition for PDST Numeracy Manuals and a class set of Active Learning Boards.
5 resources in this Learning Path

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Official education portal of the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland. Curriculum focused resources and support for primary and post primary teachers.

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Official education portal of the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland. Curriculum focused resources and support for primary and post primary teachers.

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This shed is designed to include resources for maths at home. Children spend a large part of their life at home with their parents and anything home can do to help children with their learning can be...

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Maths Teacher, Diane Murphy gives advice on how to incorporate learning in a relaxed and enjoyable way into normal household activities. Perhaps some of you are not comfortable with teaching maths to your child - methods may have changed since you were at school or perhaps you were never comfortable with maths and as a result, avoid teaching the subject at home. We will provide 5 ways that parents can easily teach maths in a meaningful way - away from the textbook and with a hands-on approach. Children will apply their basic maths knowledge to everyday household tasks. They may not know they are doing so but they will be thinking mathematically, making links with the maths curriculum and see the relevance of maths in their everyday world.
Maths is an important skill for all members of society to embrace. Maths is all around; it underpins almost everything we do! Whether you are completing the household shop, doing the laundry, or preparing dinner and setting the table - mathematical thinking is involved. By including children in these everyday jobs, you provide them with material and opportunities that will encourage learning in maths. If you talk to your children about simple maths concepts such as size, weight, distance, time and counting, they can hear maths language and see how it is used.

We want to give parents and carers the peace of mind that you can provide meaningful teaching and learning in maths.

Doing the laundry is one of those tasks that nobody really loves doing, am I right? You may already be outsourcing some of the tasks to your children by getting them to match socks and collect and count clothes pegs. Here are some other ways you can teach the curriculum while doing the laundry.

Sorting and grouping is the task of identifying a common feature to form a group. This basic maths skill is important in learning to organise knowledge and ideas. Children need to learn to discriminate differences, to reason and analyse, and to select items to form groups. This can be practiced very easily by asking the following questions:

Can you make a pile of all the towels?

Can you make a pile for colours, a different pile for dark colours and another pile for the whites?

Matching is the task of identifying which items are the same and which are different. Matching is important to help children develop a range of thinking and problem-solving skills, such as being able to identify patterns, relationships, similarities, and differences and discriminate on such basis. You can teach this by asking your child to:

Match pairs of socks. (identical objects)

Match pyjama tops and bottoms. (related objects)

Comparing is an important skill that young children learn very quickly, especially when it comes to treats - "but she got more than me!!". It is the task of looking more specifically at colour, size, shapes, patterns and number of items in order to compare items or groups of items. Students should be enabled to compare objects according to length, width, height, weight, quantity, thickness or size and compare sets without counting. (more than and less than.) Try asking the following:

Do we have more black socks or more white socks?

Who do you think has the most t-shirts in the washing basket - you or me? Let us check and see!

Is this white towel the same as that white towel? (Bigger, smaller, longer, shorter)

Build another pile of socks with the same number of socks as this one

Counting is one of those maths skills that can be incorporated into almost everything we do. Reinforcing the correct number sequence is important because it allows numbers to be used to describe and compare sets. You can practice this by asking the following:

How many towels are on the line?

How many pairs of socks have we matched? (push them aside while counting)

How many clothes pegs do we have?

How many clothes pegs do you think we will need to hang three towels?

The kitchen can provide lots of opportunities for rich mathematical experiences - as a parent you may be already sharing these with your children and not even knowing you are teaching the maths curriculum. Young children can help by setting the table, organising the shelves, cooking, and baking and apply the basic maths skills of sorting, grouping, matching, and counting. Develop their maths skills by asking the following when you are setting the table
SORTING:

Ask your child to sort the place mats, depending on colour or size

Give all the cutlery to the child and ask them to separate them into different groups - forks, spoons, knives etc and get them to talk about their arrangements

Get them to gather all the plastic plates together

MATCHING:

Match this fork with another fork exactly like it

Match this napkin to one exactly like it

Each person at the table should have a knife and a fork - will you place one fork and one knife at each setting

Match each cup to a saucer

Pop an unlit nightlight into each candle holder

Every chair should have one cushion on it, can you find a chair with more than one cushion?

Can you find a chair with less than one cushion?

Everyone has ice in their glass - can you spot someone who has more ice than you?

COMPARING:

What is different between Dad's slice of bread and yours?

Investigate the different sizes of serving bowls on the table

Demonstrate the portion sizes: big portion for parents, medium portion for children, small portion for baby

COUNTING:

How many people will be sitting at the table tonight?

How many cups are on the table? When you are placing cups on the table count them as you do so.

How many more do we need?

Ask the child to give two slices of bread to everyone

Count out enough spoons for everyone for dessert

Estimate how many cookies are in the jar (less than 20), count them and check.

For more ideas on how to develop mathematical thinking in the kitchen check out www.mathsweek.ie
Although children cannot accompany adults when shopping now, there are still lots of opportunities to share meaningful maths experiences with your child when completing this household chore. There are so many bargains to be had online now; involve your teenagers with the online shopping and discuss any saving opportunities. Young primary school children can continue to practice the maths concepts of sorting, matching, and counting. With the older students, Before leaving for the shop: it does not matter if you are unfamiliar with the methods they are using or if a child does not reach an end point, getting stuck is to be expected. Try figure out the problem together, facilitate a discussion about what they have done so far and where they aim to end up. Communicating mathematically in this way offers a very worthwhile learning experience. Talk to your child about having a growth mindset, praise hard work and resilience instead, instead of speed and intelligence. When at the shop - take photos of any special offers, try buy items that have a certain percentage free and hold on to the receipt after paying for the items. When home:

Sort the cupboards by matching similar objects and identifying anything low in stock or excess stock.

Group all the sauces together and arrange them in order of size, colour, shape

Compare items according to length, width, height, weight, quantity, thickness, or size

Classify the shopping list in terms of Dairy, Meat, Sweets and goodies, fruit, veg - discuss where each item should go, (add items to clearly defined set)

Ask children to count how many items are on the veg list - compare that to the goodies list - discuss

For older students encourage them to work with budgets. Give them a list of items that the house needs and a budget to work with - encourage research through catalogues and through internet searches.

Ask younger children to count how many shopping bags you have

Ask them to help sort the shopping into piles for fridge, cupboard, bathroom.

Estimate how much the shop came to

Give older students the receipt with the totals removed - ask them to estimate the total cost by rounding to the nearest euro or pound. Show actual total and calculate percentage difference x 100

With the items that came with a certain percentage free - ask the child to calculate how much of the product is free?

Show picture of deals on offer in the shop. What does 3 for the price of 2 mean? what is 50% extra free? Is it better to buy a big jar or two small jars?

Show a receipt from the petrol station - if petrol is €1.42 per litre and you spent €30 how many litres did get? If a full tank takes 65 litres how much would that cost? If you travel 17 km to shops at an average of 60km per hour - how long will it take you to travel to shops?

Of course, not all maths has to be applied to jobs around the house - recreational maths is maths that is carried out for entertainment and often involves mathematical puzzles and games.

Provide toys that encourage your child to explore maths concepts: card games, puzzles, dominoes, board games with dice, blocks, tangrams. Many of the maths week daily activities involve coins, cards and dice.

Play games of make-believe that involve maths ideas. For example, playing shop involves counting items and money. Playing doctor's and nurses encourages taking temperature and measuring height and weight. Playing post office provides opportunities to organise envelopes, boxes, and tubs by size.

Incorporate arts and crafts into the maths lesson. Check out the maths week's daily activities for loads of fun maths activities that your family can do with everyday things that you might have at home.... and a little imagination.

See measurement activity here

This activity will see secondary school children using problem solving strategies to create a scaled map of their garden. They will practice the skills that they have learned in the classroom and apply them to their world. They will observe their surroundings and then select and use appropriate techniques to complete this task. Children will make estimates, then accurately measure the dimensions of the garden, and present the project as a scaled map inclusive of symbols.
"By asking What do you notice? What do you wonder? we give students opportunities to see problems in big picture ways, and discover multiple strategies for tackling a problem. Self-confidence, reflective skills, and engagement soar, and students discover that the goal is not to be "over and done," but to realize there are many different ways to approach problems." Explains Anthony Persico from Mash up Maths
Children should be prompted to ask questions and make assumptions - qualities of a great mathematician!

During problem solving, children should be encouraged to communicate their mathematics and explain their reasoning in written and verbal form.

By planting these seeds of mathematical thinking from an early age means that your child will be more likely to grow to love and appreciate the subject.

Negative attitudes towards maths can seriously impair progress and these activities are a fun, no-pressure way of promoting a positive attitude towards the subject (and keep young people occupied). Wherever possible, try to draw on the children's interests. For example, if they love to play with Lego then be sure to try incorporate Lego into the maths learning whenever possible (measure, geometry, statistics, etc)

In summary:

Be positive about maths, even when you are finding it difficult. As a parent you are the most important influence on students. Maths can be challenging but that is why people love it. Encourage a growth mindset (link) and reward effort and resilience rather than speed and intelligence.

Show your children that maths is all round, make maths part of your everyday lives. Encourage curiosity and do not worry about not knowing the material yourself - share the struggle with your child, work through it together. Getting over the struggle is where the magic happens.

Make maths fun! Play games that involve numbers and calculations and where possible draw on your child's interests.

For more details and examples on incorporating maths into daily tasks with your child, see our website www.mathsweek.ie.

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Maths in Everyday Household Tasks - MATHS WEEK IRELAND

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Maths Week will take place from 14 - 22 Oct. 2023. We will have events and activities for all the family. Visit MathsWeek.ie for more info MATHS WEEK IRELAND

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Animated video clips of nursery rhymes and songs for learning the numbers 1 to 10.

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JoJo Gnome helps younger children aged 3-7, engage with maths through stories in a fun way. So these free maths stories and activities are perfect for parents, carers and teachers to enjoy with early years children.

JoJo Gnome & The Shape Map (STEM story)

This year as part of celebrating Maths Week Scotland's theme 'Maths In Motion' we have a new JoJo Gnome STEM story for you. 'JoJo Gnome & the Shape Map' finds JoJo Gnome making a map from all of the shapes he finds on a walk with his Grandpa. An ideal celebration of STEM and outdoor learning. This story was made possible by Maths Week Scotland funding.

Extra early years maths resources for teachers

There are free teachers notes to accompany this resource so you can make the most out of it. To obtain a free copy please email jojognome@gmail.com and put 'JoJo & The Shape Map PDF' in the subject box (please state Scottish or English curriculum). Please say what school or nursery you work in please. Parents and carers are most welcome to ask for a copy too.

JoJo Gnome's Maths Challenge (STEM story)

This exciting package of resources is built around STEAM and creative story telling. This JoJo Gnome project was made possible by funding from Creative Scotland. During the project Jo Hall has worked with a maths consultant and schools around Scotland. The result is fun maths based stories that allow the young people watching to go on and create their own versions of the stories. Find out more about the background to this project on Jo's blog. Including how Jo and the pupils of Hamilton School For The Deaf came up with a new deaf character, Ella the Elf, who is fantastic at maths. You can watch a short film about how Ella was created.

Extra Early Years Maths Resources For Teachers

For teachers there is a free PDF available that maps the resource to both the Scottish and English curriculum. It shares how to get the most from the resource and has extension activities. To obtain a free copy please email jojognome@gmail.com and put 'JoJo Maths Challenge PDF' in the subject box (please state Scottish or English curriculum). Please say what school or nursery you work in please. Parents and carers are most welcome to ask for a copy too.

JoJo Gnome's Shape Stories made by schools

We are adding some new shape stories made by schools for Maths Week Scotland 2023. Enjoy!

JoJo Gnome's Counting Stories

Enjoy these short stories that the children from various schools around Scotland have made with Jo Hall. Each story is different and there is an opportunity at the end of the film for your children to make their own version of the counting story. More of these fun stories will be added to throughout 2022.

JoJo Gnome's Maths Story Workshop 2022/23

Have Jo Hall and JoJo Gnome come to your school and deliver a Maths Story Workshop. If you are outside the Central Belt of Scotland the workshop can be delivered online. Check out our workshops page and find out more.

Feedback

Jo interested to hear what new counting stories you come up with. Email her at jojognome@gmail.com and share the pictures from your stories.

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JoJo Gnome's Maths and Number Page (early years) Free for parents & carers to use at home and early years teachers in schools and nurseries. Produced by Jo Hall

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Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

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The goal of this game is to match numerals cards to their corresponding dot cards. In this game, you set up a row of numeral cards and then match different dot cards to their corresponding numeral card. This is a really fun game that helps kids recognize how written numerals connect to quantities.

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This Monster Shapes Craft is such a fun way to craft and learn with shapes! The supplies are simple and the results are adorable! These are great for a Halloween-themed learning activity, but are awesome any time of the year! Keep on reading to see how simple it is to set up, or to get our free printable version!

Learn and Craft with Shapes!

What's better than crafting? Learning something in the process! This shapes craft monster does just that, with every body part and facial feature being a distinct shape!

A great way to extend this shape learning is with our printable bundle All About Shapes! With over 25 pages of activities, it explores a dozen different shapes!
All activities should be supervised by an adult. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links.

Watch This Shapes Craft in Action!

In this video, you'll see how fun my kiddo had constructing his shape monsters! One of the best ways to enhance the learning is to talk about the shapes and ask questions to reinforce that vocabulary.

The great thing about this shape activity is that kids can be really hands-on. Cutting out the shapes and then adding on the fun monster face and body features is a great way to keep them involved.

Watch This Shapes Craft in Action!

In this video, you'll see how fun my kiddo had construction his shape monsters! One of the best ways to enhance the learning is to talk about the shapes and ask questions to reinforce that vocabulary.

The great thing about this shape activity is that kids can be really hands-on. Cutting out the shapes and then adding on the fun monster face features is a great way to keep them involved.

FREE Printable Shapes Craft Monster Alternative

If your short on time, or construction paper, we have a solution for you with our Shapes Monster printable. It is free and easy to set up!

Kids can work on their scissor skills, cutting out the shapes while being guided by a dotted line. And then they can use tape or glue to assemble all the shape pieces into monsters!

And as I mentioned above, we also have a bundle All About Shapes. Plus, if it happens to be the spooky season, we have a bundle filled with Halloween Activities that cover lots of early childhood education skills including tracing, counting, the alphabet, writing, matching, phonics, and 2 DIY Halloween masks to color and wear!

Step 1

To begin, cut out the shape parts! Adults can prep this in advance, or kiddos can do this themselves! If doing themselves, it is best to provide lines for them to cut along. We created a different shape for each body of the monster - a circle, triangle, square, and rectangle. Then we created rectangles for the legs and arms, circles for the eyes in both white and black, semi-circles for the mouth, and triangles for the teeth!

Step 2

Now that all the parts have been cut, provide glue or tape for your kiddo to assemble their monsters. Use this opportunity to talk about the shapes to reinforce language development and an understanding of shape vocabulary!

Step 1

To begin, cut out the shape parts! Adults can prep this in advance, or kiddos can do this themselves! If doing themselves, it is best to provide lines for them to cut along. We created a different shape for each body of the monster - a circle, triangle, square, and rectangle. Then we created rectangles for the legs and arms, circles for the eyes in both white and black, semi-circles for the mouth, and triangles for the teeth!

Step 2

Now that all the parts have been cut, provide glue or tape for your kiddo to assemble their monsters. Use this opportunity to talk about the shapes to reinforce language development and an understanding of shape vocabulary!

The Importance of Learning Shapes!

This shape activity is really great for hands on learning. Not only are the going to learn how to cut out shapes and learn how to identify, sort, and match those shapes, but there is even more going on!

Shape learning is a foundation of early math. Yup, this is the beginning of geometry! Working with shapes allows kids to get exposed to geometric concepts such as shapes, size, space, and position.

Understanding shapes also helps with recognizing the alphabet and numbers because, after all, letters and numbers are shapes in and of themselves!

Finally, as mentioned above, naming the shapes as kids craft them will reinforce language development. Being able to describe objects based on their shapes will benefit communication skills.

The Importance of Learning Shapes!

This shape activity is really great for hands on learning. Not only are the going to learn how to cut out shapes and learn how to identify, sort, and match those shapes, but there is even more going on!

Shape learning is a foundation of early math. Yup, this is the beginning of geometry! Working with shapes allows kids to get exposed to geometric concepts such as shapes, size, space, and position.

Understanding shapes also helps with recognizing the alphabet and numbers because, after all, letters and numbers are shapes in and of themselves!

Finally, as mentioned above, naming the shapes as kids craft them will reinforce language development. Being able to describe objects based on their shapes will benefit communication skills.

Wooden Block Shape Train

This wooden stacking train is a fun way to combine block play, shape learning, and building! This set comes with the train car and 15 blocks.

Wooden Gemoetric Shape Puzzle

This set comes with 155 pieces of different color blocks for creating different forms contained in 24 design cards.

Wooden Shape Puzzle

This wooden puzzle includes 18 shape pieces a cotton bag. I love that it features so many types of shapes!

Shape Sorting Truck

This versatile shape sorting tooy includes 15 shapes and a laser engraved pull-a-long truck!

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Shapes Craft - Make a Monster and Learn Shapes

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This Monster Shapes Craft is such a fun way to craft and learn with shapes! The supplies are simple and the results are adorable! These are great for a Halloween-themed learning activity, but are awesome any time of the year! Keep on reading to see how simple it is to set up, or to get our free printable version!

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These tasks for 5 to 7 year olds are part of our Maths at Home feature and you can see all the tasks for this age group here. The activities below need some everyday bits and pieces. Anything will do so be creative! (The stars give an indication of challenge level, from one star to three stars.)

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There is a problem with the resource you are looking for, and it cannot be displayed. The domain may not be inserted correctly on Rewrite Maps. ARR-OK

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Maths Week will take place from 14 - 22 Oct. 2023. We will have events and activities for all the family. Visit MathsWeek.ie for more info MATHS WEEK IRELAND

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Here you have activities related to our fun fair poster. As the teacher you know your pupils best so feel free to adapt these activities to suit your class group: older or younger children, EAL learners, pupils of differing abilities and interests, group sizes etc.

If you think to other way to use the poster, we would love to hear about it. Please drop a description of the activity and how it went along to our email mathsweek@setu.ie

The learning points revolve around identifying objects, numbers, and spatial elements, fostering vocabulary development, sentence structure, thinking skills, turn-taking, and memory. Additionally, they include recognizing numbers, counting, understanding odd and even numbers, identifying objects by colour, and developing number sequencing skills. Spatial awareness involves counting, size description, and positional relationships. Finally, number stories and creativity are encouraged for an in depth understanding of concepts.

Click on the different titles to see the suggestions.

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Junior Primary Poster 2024 Funfair Math - MATHS WEEK IRELAND

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Maths Week will take place from 12 - 20 Oct. 2024. We will have events and activities for all the family. Visit MathsWeek.ie for more info MATHS WEEK IRELAND

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Rosie’s Walk Positional Language Word Wall Cards - Stay Classy Classrooms

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These FREE gorgeous Positional Language Word Wall Cards are designed to match the Rosie’s Walk Ready Made Story Stones.

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Step 1: Gather materials.

The book, Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins

Masks or other representations of an object or an animal for each child (You will need masks for Rosie, the fox, the wagon, the milk barrels, the farm house, the chicken coop, the windmill, the tractor, the beehives, the haystack, the goat and the pond. There should be a mask for each child in your group or class, so that everyone can participate in the role-playing.)

Using the book as a guide, create a map of the farmyard on a large piece of chart paper. The map should be large enough so that you can maneuver a cutout of Rosie and the fox around the map to emphasize the positional words. This could work with a felt board as well.

Note: Small parts pose a choking hazard and are not appropriate for children age five or under. Be sure to choose lesson materials that meet safety requirements.

Step 2: Introduce activity.

Begin the activity by asking the children to come near and join you on the rug. Use a couple of directional words to guide their positioning. Say: "If you are too far away from me, you won't be able to hear. Don't sit behind the easel because you won't be able to see." Emphasize the directional words as you give the instructions.

When the children are gathered, ask them how they knew what to do. What words gave them a hint as to where to go and how to position themselves? Explain that you asked the children to come near and you instructed them not to be too far away and not to sit behind the easel. Say: "Near, far and behind are all positional words that help you to navigate your positioning. We use positional words to give directions and to make sure we know where other objects are located in relation to ourselves." Say: "You all are near me. Nobody is sitting behind the easel. And nobody is too far away to hear me."

Introduce the book. Say: "Today we are going to take a walk with Rosie. We will be paying attention to all of the positional words that describe her walk around the farmyard. When you think you hear a word that describes Rosie's location or where she is walking, please raise a quiet hand. Let's begin by looking at the cover of the book."

Ask the children to describe the cover and what they see by using some positional words. Initiate dialogue by first describing where Rosie is. Say: "I see that Rosie is next to the chicken coop. Rosie is in front of the tree. Uh oh! I see a fox behind Rosie." Ask the children to describe what they see. If they don't use positional words, redirect their observations using directional words. Ask about several of the objects in relation to Rosie. Say: "Where is the windmill?" (Behind Rosie). You can also point out the opposite use of the positional words. For example, say: "Yes, the windmill is behind Rosie. Or we can say, Rosie is in front of the windmill. Depending on who or what we were asking about."

Using the map of the farmyard, model where Rosie is after the children describe her location. Be sure that you can position Rosie and the fox around the farmyard. Continue to move Rosie and the fox around the farmyard map as you read the book.

Read the book. There aren't many words in the book, so you will need to ask the questions that describe Rosie's locations. The first page shows Rosie in her henhouse. In this case, you could put the cutout of Rosie directly on top of the henhouse on the map. Ask: "Where is Rosie?" (In her house) Turn the page. Ask: "Uh, oh. Where's the fox?" (Under/underneath Rosie's house/coop) Position the cutout of the fox under the chicken coop.

Continue reading the book. Prompt the children to describe Rosie's location in relation to other objects and the fox. Use the fox and Rosie cutouts and the farmyard map to reinforce the positional words.

Step 3: Engage children in lesson activities.

Explain that now they will have an opportunity to act out Rosie's walk. Say: "Some of you will get to play a farm object and one of you will play Rosie and one of you will play the part of the fox. We will take turns so that all of you will get a chance to play several different parts." Hand out the various masks to each of the children.

Position the children all around the room. Encourage them to sit on chairs, crawl under tables and go behind one another. Say: "Everyone get into position and when I say 'Freeze!' you will need to stop and we will begin Rosie's walk."

Have the children describe where they are in relation to the other farmyard objects and Rosie and the fox. For example, say: "I am the wagon, and I am next to the barn. I am the chicken coop and I am above the table." Have each of the children call out their positions.

Start Rosie on her walk. When Rosie starts walking, have the fox slyly follow her. Again, say "Freeze!" as Rosie is walking and have the children give their positions in relation to Rosie and the fox. For example, say: "I am the windmill and I am far away from Rosie." Also have Rosie and the fox declare their positions, either in relation to each other or to the objects in the farmyard. For example, say: "I am the fox and I am behind Rosie. I am Rosie and I am in front of the fox."

Play this game several times, with the children changing roles each time. Encourage the children to get really creative (but safe!) with their positions to increase the number of positional words that can be used.

Additional Extensions

The children can draw their own maps of the farmyard, maneuvering their own cutouts of Rosie and the fox to describe the characters' positioning.

Give the children a sheet with some familiar positional words and have them draw a corresponding picture. Be sure to leave enough room after the words so that the children can draw a picture that represents the word.

Step 4: Vocabulary.

There are so many potential vocabulary words that could be listed. Below are some of the words used in this lesson, but you should feel free to add to this list. Keep a list of what has been used and incorporate the words into this lesson.

In front of:Located before or ahead of

Next to:Beside, along

Behind: At the back of

Under:On a lower level than

Above:Physically over, on top of

On:Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above

Near:Close to

Far:Distance in space or time

Inside:Interior, in something

Early Math Glossary

Step 5: Adapt lesson for toddlers or preschoolers.

Adapt Lesson for Toddlers

Toddlers may:

Have limited vocabulary and difficulty with word retrieval when describing the positions of the farmyard objects or characters

Have difficulty observing their positions in relation to others

Child care providers may:

Use just a few positional words in the beginning (behind, in front of, next to) and expand the positional vocabulary as the children learn new words

Ask questions that include a positional word so that the children can answer "yes" or "no" to the questions: "Are you behind the wagon?"

Adapt Lesson for Preschoolers

Preschoolers may:

Be ready to expand their vocabulary by adding more positional words to the game and to the story

Be able to demonstrate their understanding of positional words by not only describing the positions but by writing about and drawing them as well

Child care providers may:

Suggest some additional positional words to use when reading the book and role-playing (e.g., across from, between, opposite, outside)

Give the children a list of positional vocabulary words, with space next to the words that can be used to draw and write a definition of each word

Suggested Books

Music and Movement

Outdoor Connections

Play an adapted game of Simon Says in a playground area. Call out commands that use positional words. Say:"Simon says 'Go behind the tree. Simon says crawl under the slide.'"

Web Resources

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In this lesson, children will learn spatial vocabulary by reenacting Rosie's walk around the farmyard.