Class Title: Early Childhood Special Education Preschool for 4 year olds

Grade Level: Preschool (3-4 year old class)

Lesson Topic: Apples Small Group Counting Activity

Number of Children in the Small Group: 4-6

Link to Curriculum Standards:

Missouri Early Learning Standards for Mathematics:
I. Number and Operations
1. Uses number to show quantity
Indicators:
a. Shows interest in counting and quantity.
b. Develops an increasing ability to rote count in sequence
c. Counts objects with understanding

Content Outline:

Originating Ideas:
The children have recently been on a class field trip where they were able to pick
apples of many types and varieties. The apples have been available in classroom center
areas for children to explore and describe similarities, differences and attributes of the
apples (VI. Science Developmental Goal: Explore physical properties of objects and
materials.)

Teacher Directed Portion:

Children are seated in a semi circle. The teacher tells the children that she has brought
some of the apples from the field trip to small group. The apples are all in the basket.
One by one, the teacher pulls out the apples and places them on a felt tree that is on the
table, until the tree has the same number of apples as the number of children in small
group. The teacher puts on a farmer’s hat and introduces herself as an apple farmer.
The teacher begins to sing:
“Farmer Kate has (number) red apples, hanging on the tree.” With each verse, the
teacher has one child remove an apple, until all the apples have been removed and each
child has an apple in their hand. Apples are counted chorally every time an apple is
removed.

Activity:
The teacher then hands each child their own basket of apples for counting. After
saying, “I had (number) of apples in my basket! We counted them together!” She tells
the children that they can count their own apples and poses the question: “How many
apples are in your basket?”

The children open up their baskets and take out the apples.

The teacher moves from child to child, helping the children as they take out the apples
and place them on the table in front on them and begin counting. She supports children
as they try to maintain one to one correspondence. She asks the question, “How
many?”

The teacher writes on a piece of chart paper how many apples each child has in their
basket after the children have finished counting them.

The teacher hangs the chart paper at children’s eye level in the classroom.

Length of Lesson: 20-25 minutes

Materials to be Utilized:
The materials used in this group activity/experience are as follows:
 Felt tree
 Large basket
 Farmer hat
 One basket for each child in the small group
 Apples
 Paper and markers
 Tape (for hanging apple chart)
 Back up materials:
-Additional apples for children who want to count more
-Dry erase boards and markers for children who want to write their own
number of apples in imitation of teacher or independently

Mastery Criterion:
Missouri Early Learning Standards for Mathematics:
II. Number and Operations
1. Uses number to show quantity
Indicators:
a. Shows interest in counting and quantity
The child will join in /repeat counting singing games with numbers. (“Apples hanging
in the tree” song)

The child will count familiar objects (apples).

 b. Develops an increasing ability to rote count in sequence

The child will count by rote up to 10.

c. Counts objects with understanding

The child will count specific numbers of items (apples) accurately.

Monitoring/Evaluation Methods:
Student progress will be monitored by systematic teacher observation.

Data will be collected as teacher observes student’s participation during the “Apples
hangin in the tree” song. Teacher will make note of whether children are joining in
verbally as group counts the apples each time. Teacher will note whether child joins in
during the singing of he Apple song.

Data will be collected as teacher moves from student to student in the small group,
making note of how children are counting and maintaining one to one correspondence.