Skills / Ages 5 to 8 / Math
Show five
Showing five as one hand of fingers, a line of five things, or a full top row in the box of ten holes, and knowing it is still five when the things move. Matching it to the mark 5.
Why it matters
Five is the number the rest of this book leans on. The quick-look lesson goes up to five, the box of ten holes has five in its top row, and five gets split into parts later. A child who knows five as one hand can later see six as five and one more.
What it looks like when your child can do it
- Asked to show five, your child holds up one hand with every finger open, without raising the fingers one at a time.
- Your child fills the top row of the box of ten holes with five beans and says that row is five.
- Asked for five crackers from the box, your child counts out five, stops, and leaves the rest.
How to teach it at the kitchen table
- 01
Five is one hand
Hold up one hand and count the fingers together. One hand is five, every time. From here on, five is something your child always carries with them.
- 02
Build five from four and one more
Put four crackers down, add one, and say, four and one more makes five. That is how the book names it.
- 03
Make a box of ten holes
A dozen-egg carton has two rows of six. Cut off one end, one cup from each row, so it has two rows of five. Or draw two rows of five circles on paper. The book calls this the box of ten holes; teachers call it a ten-frame. Put a bean in each hole of the top row. A full top row is five.
- 04
Count out five and stop
Put a big pile of crayons on the table and ask for five. Your child counts one, two, three, four, five and stops, with more crayons still waiting. That stop shows five is a how-many, not only a word in a rhyme.
- 05
Match it to the mark 5
Write the mark 5. Hold up one open hand and point from the hand to the mark and back. When you see 5, think of one whole hand.
You will need: An egg carton cut to two rows of five, or two rows of five circles on paper · Dried beans (small enough to choke on, so stay at the table) · Blocks or crayons · Paper and a pencil for the mark 5
Try it together
Try 1
Ask your child to show you five with their fingers.
Listen for One full hand. If your child raises the fingers one at a time while counting, that is fine for now. The goal is a whole hand held up at once.
Try 2
Put five beans in the box of ten holes, three in the top row and two in the bottom. Ask how many. Then slide them so the top row is full and ask again.
Listen for Five both times. Moving the beans does not change how many. The full top row only makes five quicker to see.
Try 3
Put eight blocks in a pile. Ask your child to hand you five.
Listen for Five blocks, then a stop, with three left in the pile. Counting out is harder than counting what is already there, because your child has to remember to stop.
Try 4
Write the marks 3 and 5. Hold up one open hand and ask which mark matches it.
Listen for The mark 5. One whole hand is five.
Watch for
- Counting every hole in the box when the question is how many beans. The beans show how many. The empty holes are the rest of ten.
If it is not there yet
- Back up to four. Build four as three and one more until four is certain, then add one.
- Spend time on the hand alone. Trace around your child's hand on paper and put one bean on each finger.
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 7
See It Without Counting
Needs it because the glance groups only go up to five, which this book just taught.
Zig and Zag Count to Twenty · Lesson 8
The Box of Ten Holes
Needs it because the top row is five, which has to already mean something.
Zig and Zag Count to Twenty · Lesson 19
Parts of Five
Needs it because you cannot name the parts of five until five is a solid quantity.