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This post has been co-written with Ben Wolfson, a full-time educator and assistant principal in the USA.
You and your students will love this new Acorn Comparing Numbers Worksheet!
Fall marks the end of the beautiful freedom of summer and the start of formal schooling for most kindergartners. However, it can be a magical time in your classroom as the weather is warm enough to get outside for academics, from scientific observation of the changing leaves to counting and grouping the numerous objects that fall to the ground. It’s easy, therefore, to bring a feeling of these outdoor activities into your centers, and this squirrel and acorn themed fall theme numbers activity is a great tool for practicing their number sense.
Teaching Number Comparison
It’s likely that most kindergartners will walk into your classroom knowing how to say the number words in sequence. This will have been taught either by well-meaning parents or their preschool teachers. Your job is to help them realize that these words have special meanings, and that each number name also has an order of magnitude associated with it. Simple counting exercise can help students develop their one to one correspondence between the name of a number and the number of items it refers to. You can then keep the counting objects to show students how to construct greater than and lesser than comparisons. The key piece is to remind that the size of the object is irrelevant; they are only comparing the number.
Preparing This Fall Theme Numbers Activity
For this activity you will need:
Paper
Printer
Writing or coloring tools to mark the answer
Optional: laminator
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Scaffolding With Acorn Comparing Numbers Worksheet
This cute acorn themed comparing numbers activity is a great review activity. On each card, the students need to pick the acorn that satisfies the equation of being greater than and lesser than the value of the acorn that the squirrel is holding. You can help students develop this number comparison skill with some of these scaffolding activities:
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Use real acorns – for those students struggling with the abstract concept behind these cards, try bringing in a bunch of actual acorns for them to count. They will quickly begin to see the size difference in the piles and be able to associate those with the magnitude of the different numbers.
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Use a number line – number lines are a student’s best math tool from kindergarten all the way through middle school. The visual representation of numerical magnitude, from single digits through complex fractions, helps students to understand the value of each digit in comparison to each other. In this fall theme numbers activity, give students a number line from 1 to 10 and have them find each acorn’s number on it. They should then be able to visually tell which numbers are greater than and lesser than others.
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Create their own cards – scaffolding should also include plans for students who quickly master these acorns comparing numbers worksheet. Start by making it a self checking exercise, where you laminate the card and write the correct answer on the back. Once students can quickly get the correct answer, give them a set of squirrels holding acorns (print out a spare set and white out the numbers) and have them construct their own cards to challenge a partner or an adult in the room.
Looking for more ways to master the greater than and lesser than symbols? Grab my Comparing Numbers Worksheet Pack!
This pack contains 45 b&w worksheets perfect for homework, morning work, fast finishers, or no-prep math centers in the classroom.
Some of the worksheets included:
– Comparing numerals to 5 and to 10
– Count and compare to 5 and to 10
– Cut and paste the alligator signs to compare the numbers
– Fill in the words (greater than, lesser than, etc) to make the sentence true
– Compare and color the set with more/less
– Spin, write and compare
– Draw a set with more/less than the amount shown
– Choose the correct symbol to compare the 2 numbers
and many more!