Problem:

Have students sit in a semicircle facing you. Each of you has a mat ( blank sheet of paper) and 10 counting pieces. Read the story “Mr. Vet’s Dogs.” Say to the students, “For every dog named in the story, we will place a counting piece on our mat to represent that dog.”

“Mr. Vet has a black dog with one brown spot.”

(Pause. Put one counting piece on your mat to stand for the black dog with one brown spot.)

“Mr. Vet has one white dog.”

(Pause. Put one counting piece on your mat to stand for the white dog.)

“Mr. Vet has one dog with long, brown hair.”

(Pause. Put one counting piece on your mat to stand for the dog with long, brown hair.)

“Mr. Vet has one gray dog with short hair.”

(Pause. Put one counting piece on your mat to stand for the gray dog with short hair.)

“Mr. Vet has one dog that is four different colors.”

(Pause. Put one counting piece on your mat to stand for the dog that is four different colors.)

“How many dogs does Mr. Vet have altogether?”

(Pause. Let the students counts the chips on their mat to tell how many dogs Mr. Vet has.)