math.gK.f.lesson_04
One-to-one correspondence — count and tag
- Students can count a collection of 1-10 objects with strict one-to-one correspondence using a touch-and-move strategy.
- Students can identify a peer's counting error (skipped or doubled object).
Lesson plan
Warm-up
5 minNumber Talk: teacher claps 4 times slowly; children hold up finger configuration matching the clap count. Repeat with 3, 6, 7 claps. 'How many claps? How do you know?'
- Clap deliberately with pauses; model 'one clap, one finger' raise.
- Press for explanation: 'How did you keep track?'
M-K-F-NS-04-B
Illustration
Watercolor illustration of Strega Nona (elderly Italian woman with kerchief and apron, warm-brown skin tone) in her garden, harvest basket beside her. She gestures at tomatoes on a vine — one row of 5 tomatoes painted in red. Caption banner reads: 'Strega Nona counts her tomatoes — one tomato, one count.' Italian-village Calabrian setting.
Direct instruction
8 minYesterday we practiced SEEING numbers. Today we practice COUNTING — and the secret is: one word, one thing. Watch what happens if I get sloppy.
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When we count, we need to make sure we touch each thing ONCE.model Children identify the error: 'You counted one twice!'prompt Teacher counts 5 counters in a line, deliberately doubles back over one. '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6!' Ask class: 'Is that right?'
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When the cup is full, the counting is done.model All 5 counters moved from 'pile' to 'counted' cup.prompt Now watch — I will MOVE each counter as I count. 1 (move), 2 (move), 3 (move).
- Why did I move each counter? (so I don't count it twice)
- What do you do every time you say a number? (touch or move one thing)
M-K-F-NS-04-A
Video
Physical / non-image
60-second split-screen video. Left side: a child counts 5 counters in a line but doubles back on one (says '1, 2, 3, 2, 4, 5' — gets 5 but doubled). Right side: same child counts again, moving each counter to a 'counted' cup, saying '1, 2, 3, 4, 5.' On-screen captions appear: 'WRONG — touched 2 twice' (left) and 'RIGHT — one word, one thing' (right). Color-coded backgrounds (left red-tinted, right green-tinted).
Guided practice
7 min-
Pair work: Partner A picks a collection card (3-10 objects shown); partner B counts the objects using touch-tagging. Partner A confirms or corrects.scaffold Start with cards showing objects in a line; progress to scattered.
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Cup-counting game: each pair has a pile of 10 counters and a 'counted' cup. Race to count and move 10 counters with correct one-to-one. Speed is not the goal — accuracy is.
Formative assessment
2 min- Teacher places a pile of 8 counters; child counts them aloud while teacher observes one-to-one technique.
Closure
2 min- Class chants: 'one word, one thing!'
- Preview: 'Tomorrow we find out the MAGIC of the last number we say.'
Homework
5 min- At home, count 7 things in your kitchen (raisins, spoons, blueberries) — touch each one as you count. Grown-up confirms the count.
Exercises in this lesson
Differentiation
- Pre-arrange objects in a line; do not use scattered until line is mastered
- Use the counting cup so each counted object is physically removed
- Scattered arrangement of 12-15 objects
- Circular arrangement (requires starting-point strategy)
- Count-along audio in child's home language available
- Sentence frame 'I counted ___ ___.' on table tent
- Pre-counted cup of 5 to start (success before stretching)
- Larger counters (2.5-cm) for fine-motor needs
Teacher notes
One-to-one correspondence is THE keystone counting skill. Without it, every later counting and arithmetic skill collapses. Observe carefully today — children who recite '1, 2, 3, 4, 5' fluently but don't coordinate the spoken word with object-tagging need explicit slow-down. Use the move-to-cup strategy generously; it externalizes the coordination. The Strega Nona connection ties counting to a real-world food-gathering tradition, validating that math is a daily-life act, not just a school activity.