Home / Educators / Professional Development (3 - 5 YEARS) / Engaging Children in Math
- Introduction
- Integrate Math into Daily Activities
- Use the Language of Math
- Assess What Children Understand
- Try It
- Wrap Up
- Standards
- assessment: an accounting of what learners know using objective evidence. Informal assessment is ongoing as adults monitor young children’s learning each day
- math concepts: early ideas about numbers, counting, shapes, measurement, time, greater than, less than, money
- math language: commonly used math vocabulary, such as more, less, how many in all, fewer, add, take away, number, triangle, square, and circle
- open-ended questions: questions that require critical thinking, invite opinion or explanation, and result in more than a one-word answer
Try It
It’s time to practice what you’ve learned. In this activity, you’ll apply the strategies and techniques you’ve learned to your program’s learning environment.
Math All Around
Strategize how to integrate math into various learning centers. Download and print Math All Around (PDF).
- Make a list of the learning centers in your environment.
- Think of a math activity that can be planned for each center.
- List three ideas for math vocabulary that might be developed in each center.
- List the math goals and objectives for each activity.
- List the strategies you will use to meet the needs of children who need extra help.
- Suggest ways the activities can be tailored for children with accelerated math understandings.