Counting Up Addition Strategy
Counting up from one number (not always starting to count from 1) is a valuable addition strategy for kindergarten students to learn. It helps them develop number sense, understand the concept of addition, and solve simple addition problems efficiently.- It involves starting from one number and counting forward to the total or to find the total.
- For example, to solve the problem 3 + 2, start at 3 and count on 2 more numbers: 4, 5.
- When numbers are close together, we are aiming for this counting to be eventually replaced with known number facts (memorizing +1, +2 facts without counting)
How to Teach Counting Up
One simple method to practice counting up is to use a number line. Start by placing a counter on the first number in the problem. Then, have students count on the number of spaces indicated by the second number. For example, to solve 3 + 2, a student would place a counter on 3 and then count-on 2 spaces to land on 5.Practice Activity
One practice activity could be counting up with objects. Give the child a set of objects (craft sticks) and ask them to count out a certain number. Then, have them count-on a certain number of sticks to find the total.You could use the crab cards in the math kit to play Count Up Crab.
- choose a number crab - e.g. 9
- roll a dice and start with this number of legs - e.g. 2
- count up from 2 to 9 to find the missing addend - 2+7=9
- practice with different crab numbers and roll again to find a new strating number
I hope your students are excited for math today and this idea has you feeling supported and excited to teach. If you’d love more ideas for math and early-years learning be sure to join my newsletter so you don’t miss out!