Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Skip Counting by 2's With Socks

A few weeks ago, I shared 10 ways to work on counting by 2's and yesterday I shared some of my new favorite count by 2 math literature.  Today I want to keep the count by 2 fun going with a very fun lesson that has many applications. 


My students had recently brainstormed a list of things that come in pairs.  They had thought of things like earrings, shoes, socks, hands, twins and ears.  I knew I wanted to provide them with an authentic experience counting real world objects by 2's.  I looked around for something I had that came in pairs and I found baby socks.  Socks are not usually the go to object when you are looking for something cute and fun to count but baby socks are not like regular socks.  We had a great time with these baby socks!


I simply taped a piece of plastic string to the chalk board and used mini clothespins to attach the socks in pairs.  I then had kids take turns numbering each sock.


Once the socks were numbered, we circled the count by 2 numbers and talked about how counting by 2's was a more efficient way to count socks.  This kind of activity really shows kids how the count by 2 numbers work and why we are skipping a number each time. 


The next day we wrote the count by 2 numbers in and used the board to practice counting by 2.  

If you are looking for more count by 2 resources, you can check out my complete bundle here!

For lots of great ideas about teaching young children, check out the Love to Learn Linky!



2 comments:

  1. I love lessons like this ~ very authentic!
    I've done a similar lesson with handprints and counting by 5.
    I'm pinning. Thank you!

    BL Designs

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    1. I am going to try a hand print counting by 5 lesson and then use the hand prints to make a Christmas wreath. We will see how it goes!

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