Five little ducks went out one day...
Five green and speckled frogs...
Five little monkeys jumping on the bed...
Sound familiar? Not only are they beloved chants and songs but they are ....
(da da-da DA!)
Number Stories!
The children have also been finding books in our classroom libraries that are number stories.
They have started to act these stories out using stuffed animals, pattern blocks, and even with their own bodies!
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| Five little monkeys swinging in a tree. Teasing Mr. Alligator, "Can't catch me!" |
The best stories are always about change, and that's what happens in a number story. The number changes by getting bigger or smaller.
Telling and seeing how the numbers change can involve all sorts of drama, comedy, and shenanigans.
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| There were 10 in the bed... |
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| ...and the little one said, "Roll over!" |
And of course, children have begun to write their own number stories!
We have heard tales of spiders and ducks and hungry pumpkins.
In the process of recording these tales children get experience writing numbers, while they also create a narrative complete with characters, a setting, plot, a problem and solution, title, author, sometimes letters, and all sorts of wonderful elements in literacy.
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| "I made the bark and the green speckled frogs on top!" Mathematics, literacy, art, drama .... it's all here. The children are looking forward to reading their own book aloud when they are all done. |
