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This post has been co-written with Ben Wolfson, a full-time educator and assistant principal in the USA.
It’s essential for kindergarten students to get their heads around counting and one to one correspondence when counting, and these squirrel ten frame mats will make mastering this skill fun and engaging!
What is One to One Correspondence?
When they’re learning to count, many preschoolers will get good at saying the numbers from 1 to 10 in order without understanding what they mean. One to one correspondence is the next skill where they are able to say one number as they touch one object; it’s the ability to accurately count a set of objects. These free printable number mats are split into ten squares, meaning that you can encourage your students to touch and count small objects accurately. To complete the perfect fall math center, use acorns, fallen leaves or pine cones on your counting mats 1-10!
Setting Up Your Fall Math Center
For this activity you will need:
Paper
Printer
Fall themed counting tokens like acorns or mini erasers
Optional: laminator
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These free printable number mats are a must-have in your independent fall math center rotation. Print each number full sized and laminate them for students to use over and over again. You can print them smaller, but the full sized letter paper option means you can fit more interesting fall themed objects for them to count!
Teaching with Number Mats 1-10
It can be hard to find engaging ways to teach one-to-one correspondence but these squirrel ten frame mats have a variety of possible uses:
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Count and touch with a partner – for those students who need to master accurate counting to ten, have them work with a partner and place a small fall themed object in each square in turn. As they place an object, they should say the next number in sequence out loud. The addition of the partner will slow them down and make it so that they say one number at a time.
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Use number mats 1 – 10 to start addition – once your students have the concept of one to one correspondence when counting, they can start to add single digits together. For this activity, you should work with students to add together groups of different objects. For example, lay out three red leaves and have them put one in each square. Then provide four yellow leaves and have them count on from 3 up to 7 as they add each yellow leaf. You can then help them construct the equation 3 + 4 = 7 and prove to themselves that this is true using the number mat. Addition underpins every other branch of mathematics: subtraction is just the inverse, and multiplication and division are shortcuts for repeated addition and subtraction.
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Number bonds to 10 – as your students become more confident with their addition skills, it will be time for them to master their number bonds to 10. You can use the big digit in the corner of the counting mats 1 – 10 as their starting number, and ask them how many squares or objects it would take to complete the ten frame. This will help them learn the pairs of numbers that add together to make 10 which will help them add larger numbers down the line.