Cardinality, Addition & Subtraction Using Early Counting Strategies

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Go to Structuring within 5, 10 and 20   for addition and subtraction using chunking strategies within 20.

Also see Conceptual Place Value and Multi-digit Addition and Subtraction  .

  • Counters in All

  • Google Slides      
  • In this activity, students move a collection of counters to a number strip. This supports their understanding of one-to-one correspondence, cardinality, and numeral Identification.    
  • Video Tutorial      
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  • Last Revised: 06/20/24    

  • Counters and Covers

  • Google Slides       
  • These slides can be used to present both covered and uncovered addition tasks. Circle, bear, and dinosaur counters are provided.     
  • Video Tutorial  
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  • Last Revised: 06/20/24    

  • Row Task

  • Gooogle Slides      
  • The slide deck simulates the Row Task described in Teaching Number: Advancing children's skills & strategies by R. Wright, et al. The bear, berry, circles and the editable number can be used to mark or label individual dots and the blue covers can be used to screen dots.     
  • Video Tutorial  
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  • Last Revised: 06/20/24    

  • Linear Strips for Addition

  • Google Slides      
  • This is a teacher led activity that uses dot strips to advance students additive thinking. You can use the dot strips in place of loose counters.    
  • Video Tutorial  
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  • Last Revised: 06/20/24    

  • Comparing Shape Puzzles Level 1: Is It More or Less?

  • Google Slides      
  • This activity helps children to develop an understanding of the concepts of more and less, focusing on the relationship between the given quantities. In this activity, students compare 2 shape puzzles, and make a prediction of which holds more or less cubes, and moves a description card beside the corresponding shape. The cubes are included on the slide for counting or justification.    
  • Video Tutorial  
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  • Last Revised: 1/22/21    

  • Comparing Shape Puzzles Level 2: How Many More or Less?

  • Google Slides      
  • Once the children can determine if one quantity is more or less than another, we need to shift the focus to the actual relationships between the quantities; for example Five is one less than six, and six is one more than five. Children will estimate how many more or less cubes fit in one puzzle than another.     
  • Video Tutorial  
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  • Last Revised: 1/22/21    

  • Decomposing Numbers using Bead Chains

  • Google Slides      
  • "Bead chains" are a visual representation of chains with 1 to 10 beads, color coded to match Cuisenaire Rods. (For example, a single bead is white and a row of 10 beads is orange.) Students can manipulate the bead chains to show different ways of building a target number.    
  • Video Tutorial  
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  • Last Revised: 06/26/24