Teacher Notes:

As students go beyond rote counting, they should be learning to count small collections of objects, keeping track of what they have already counted. Gradually, they should learn to count larger groups of objects by correctly keeping track of what they have already counted. Opportunities to count things should be natural situations within the classroom, such as counting how many snacks are at a table, how many snacks are needed at a table, etc.

Students should also begin to establish a system of tagging (one number to one object) as they move or touch objects when counting a collection.

Students learn to rote count through repeated experiences with counting and listening to the counting sequence. One way to give this practice meaning is to offer students one row at a time of the 100s chart. As the students master counting 1 to 10 (in various venues), the next row can be added so that they learn to count 1 to 20, but they also focus on the bridge numbers (9–10, 19–20, 29–30, etc.) and visually see how the tens continue to grow: 10–20–30–40…

Evidence of mastery is the student counting 1 to 100 without hesitation at the bridge numbers.

TEACHER NOTES:

Teachers may want to highlight the bridge numbers on the 100s chart.

Differentiation: They may want to challenge some students by asking them to begin counting at a number other than “1” to check for understanding.