classifying – Early Math Counts

Data Analysis and the Young Child – Week 2

Early Math Counts — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 11:00:11 +0000

Last week we took a first look at how teachers of young children approach data analysis. I thought that we could look at the way the NCTM lays out this standard.
According to the NCTM website:

Programs should enable all children to:

Formulate questions that can be addressed with data and collect, organize, and display relevant data to answer them

This can be demonstrated by the children in the following ways:

pose questions and gather data about themselves and their surroundings;
sort and classify objects according to their attributes and organize data about the objects;
represent data using concrete objects, pictures, and graphs.

And…programs should enable all children to:

Select and use appropriate statistical methods to analyze data…

This can be demonstrated by the children in the following ways:

describe parts of the data and the set of data as a whole to determine what the data show.

Sorting and classifying is something we do all the time with children. We can have children sort nearly anything that we have many of. It is easier for children to sort by one attribute at a time (for children under 4, only sort by one attribute at a time). When putting the cutlery out for lunch, put it out in a pile, all mixed up with spoons, forks, and knives. Have the children sort them before setting the table. There is a great lesson about this very idea in the Early Math Counts site. Click here to see it.

There are a couple other lessons available in the Early Math Counts site about sorting and classifying. Click here or here to check them out.

If you try any of them out, let us know how they go.

The Common Core – Measurement & Data Pt. II

Early Math Counts — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 10:39:03 +0000

Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category.

CCSS.Math.Content.K.MD.B.3 Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.¹

1 Limit category counts to be less than or equal to 10

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This second part of the Measurement and Data Standard of the Core for kindergarten outlines a simple and straightforward expectation that children can “classify” and “sort” and then “count” and “sort” again.

Over the past several months this blog has discussed Sorting, Classifying, and Counting in a variety of ways. If you use the search engine at the side of the page, you will find activities, ideas, and discussions about all three of these mathematical concepts.

Data collection is usually done when a question has been posed (How many children are wearing short sleeves and how many children are wearing long sleeves?) and then the information is classified using attributes (short and long sleeves), sorted into categories (in this case – 2 categories) and then counted.

The picture above is a great example of a teacher in a 3-year-old class classifying, sorting and counting the children in her class. Take note of the way that she shows number in several ways.

The Common Core – Measurement & Data Pt. II

Early Math Counts — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 10:30:22 +0000

Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category.

CCSS.Math.Content.K.MD.B.3 Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.¹

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Well you can’t get more straightforward than that, now can you? The ability to sort and classify into straightforward categories comes fairly easily to many children. You may find very young children sorting their stuffed animals into piles based on an attribute (small vs. large) or their toy vehicles into groups (cars, trains, or trucks). This “sorting” activity can feel very fun and game like for children, so as opportunities arise, allow them to sort through materials in the classroom, the will get better and better at it so by the time they arrive in kindergarten, they’ve got this one covered.

Counting each pile is also fairly straightforward, especially since the parameters of this standard only ask that the children can count up to 10. For most children, this is more like an “entering kindergarten” skill. We’ve got this one covered!

Cookie Shapes

Early Math Counts — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:55:24 +0000

This one is from the Goodie Games series. In the next month or so, I am going to explore some early learning games that promote math skills on Manipulative Mondays, but for today, I thought we could take a look at this as a simple tool for sorting, classifying, and making patterns.

There are several directions you could go with this set. I would start by introducing it on a table (rather than in the Housekeeping Area) so that children can explore the shapes in whatever way they choose. The children themselves may come up with some very interesting ways of playing with these cookies. Observe carefully. You may find that the children naturally begin sorting them into categories without any prompting from the adults. I imagine that some of the categories children will come up with, may be hard to see or recognize. They may sort the cookies into piles of “Cookies I Like” and “Cookies I don’t Like”. That is what I would do.

Later, you can ask that they sort the cookies in specific ways by observable attributes (color, size, shape). They can count them, distribute them, make patterns out of them and eventually play all of the games that come with the set.

The thing I like best about this set, is that these cookies look like the cookies I grew up with. Do you remember the “Pinwheel” cookie, or am I aging myself?

Geometric Solid Shapes

Early Math Counts — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:00:14 +0000

We might all agree that young children begin to develop geometric concepts when they are able to identify simple shapes, not simply by memorizing the words of the shapes but by recognizing the attributes of a shape by its characteristics (a triangle has 3 sides- and is therefore, by definition a Triangle).

Solid shapes are a little bit harder and slightly more advanced in terms of defining attributes. When a circle is 2 dimensional, it is a circle. When it is 3 dimensional, it is a sphere. This bucket of Geometric Solid Shapes supports the young child’s emerging concepts of 3-dimensional shapes. They can be sorted, classified, and counted based on color, shape, size or attribute. They might seem too advanced for the smaller children, but I guarantee, that some of your kids are ready for this manipulative.

Attributes – What are They?

Early Math Counts — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:00:42 +0000

When I was little- around 3 or 4, legend has it that I was in the grocery store with my mom, when we bumped into our neighbor. My mother and this woman spent a moment or two catching up and chit chatting while I played in the shopping cart. When it was time to go, my mother turned to me and said, “Jennifer, say good-bye to Mrs. Kroll,” and I, without missing a beat said, “Here’s to you, Fat Lady.”

This story has been told and retold over the years so often that I question its truthfulness…even though it does make a great story.

Young children will often pick out the most obvious attribute of something they see and point it out. I’ve had children ask me why my teeth are yellow, or what is wrong with my skin (I have freckles- a lot of them)? It is pretty normal for children to do this. We, as adults have to remember that they are not making judgments as much as they are making observations.

The word “attribute” usually refer to a specific characteristic or property of a thing (an object, person, idea, or animal). It helps define that thing by providing a quality to that thing. An apple can be “red” or “round”- both are attributes, and a dog can be “tall” or “smelly” – also attributes.

We use defining attributes with children as they begin to sort out the world around them. Once they have a concept of “color” they can use this attribute as a means of sorting, classifying, patterning, and defining. Some attributes are easy to see – color and shape, while others are much more nuanced and will take longer to understand.

This month, we are going to look at manipulatives that support young children’s understandings of attributes, while also exploring websites that also do so.

So, “Here’s to you, Fat Lady.”