'Counting On' Cookies (Maths)

Counting on. An often enormously difficult skill to ask of children - to begin counting at a number that is not one and to sometimes count objects that are not visible.

I have used this ‘counting on cookies’ pack to successfully teach children this concept and the idea is simple. A number of cookies are selected, counted and placed under the flap of the oven. The temptation to recount these cookies is automatically prevented as the cookies are hidden. Instead I teach the children to place their hand on the oven, say the amount of cookies that are in there, then continue to count the rest of the cookies on the plate!

This lays the foundation for more advanced skills such as manipulating larger numbers, faster calculating and learning to apply this skill to other areas in learning in fluid and flexible ways.

• The Teacher Traveller