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Skills / Ages 5 to 8 / Math

Compare two groups

Looking at two groups of things, counting or matching them one to one, and saying which has more, which has less, or that they are the same.

Why it matters

The next lesson compares two written marks with no objects on the table. Those marks only mean something if your child has already put two real piles side by side and seen which one was bigger. Fair shares of snack, turns and toys all start here too.

What it looks like when your child can do it

  • Your child lines up two rows of crackers, one across from one, and points to the row with crackers left over as more.
  • Asked who has more spoons, your child counts both piles and says which.
  • Your child says a spread-out line of six buttons and a tight bunch of six buttons are the same.

How to teach it at the kitchen table

  1. 01

    Count each group first

    Make two small piles of beans. Your child counts one pile and says how many, then counts the other. Now there are two numbers to compare.

  2. 02

    Match them one to one

    Line the two groups up in rows, one bean across from one bean. The row with beans left over, with no partner, has more. The row that runs out first has less.

  3. 03

    Use the three words

    More, less and same. Say them every time. Same means both groups have the same how-many, even if they look different.

  4. 04

    Spread one row out

    Put five buttons close together and five buttons spread far apart. Ask which has more. Many young children pick the longer row. Count or match to find they are the same.

  5. 05

    Bring it to the snack table

    Set out two plates of crackers and ask whose plate has more. Real stakes help the words stick.

You will need: Dried beans, buttons or crackers (beans and buttons are small enough to choke on, so stay at the table) · Spoons or blocks · Two plates

Try it together

  1. Try 1

    Put two spoons in one pile and nine in another. Ask which pile has more.

    Listen for  The pile of nine. Your child can count both or line them up. Either way works. A big difference like this is a good place to start.

  2. Try 2

    Put six buttons close together in a row and six buttons spread out in a longer row. Ask which row has more.

    Listen for  Same. Both rows have six. If your child picks the long row, match them one to one together.

  3. Try 3

    Make two rows of crackers, five in one and three in the other, lined up one across from one. Ask which row has less.

    Listen for  The row of three. It runs out while the other row still has two left over.

  4. Try 4

    Give your child three blocks and yourself three blocks. Ask who has more.

    Listen for  Same. You each have three.

Watch for

  • Picking the longer row as more. Matching one to one is the fix, because it ignores how far apart things sit.

If it is not there yet

  • Make the difference big, like two and eight, so more is plain to see before you move to close groups like six and seven.
  • Go back to counting one group to ten until the count is sure. Your child cannot compare two numbers they do not have yet.

A few days of this is normal, and it is time well spent. The lesson will still be there, and it will go faster.

Where this skill comes up

  • Zig and Zag Count to Twenty · Lesson 16

    Which Mark Is More?

    Needs it because the marks stand for groups the child already compared with objects.