A Lesson Plan for Sidney the Silly (greater than/less than)
Sidney the Silly Who Only Eats 6
The theme of Sidney is number sense and problem solving. In young children the concept of number grows out of ideas about relationships between quantities, and the story provides many opportunities for examining these relationships.
CCSS
K.OA.1. Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings1, sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations.
K.OA.2. Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.
K.OA.3. Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each decomposition by a drawing or equation (e.g., 5 = 2 + 3 and 5 = 4 + 1).
K.OA.5. Fluently add and subtract within 5.
NCTM Standards: Pre-K–2 Expectations
The Number and Operations Standard states that in prekindergarten through grade 2 all students should:
• count with understanding and recognize “how many” in sets of objects
• understand the effects of adding and subtracting whole numbers
• develop and use strategies for whole-number computations, with a focus on addition and subtraction
• use a variety of methods and tools to compute, including objects, mental computation
The Communication Standard states that in prekindergarten through grade 2 all students should:
• communicate their mathematical thinking coherently and clearly to peers, teachers, and others.
Lesson Plan for grade levels K-1
Addition and Subtraction
Greater than/Less than
New words: greater than/less than; add to; subtract from
You will need:
• A copy of the book
• Rasins or pieces of cereal: enough of any snack that is composed of many small pieces for each child to receive about thirty pieces
• Cups or bags to hold the snack
• A piece of construction paper and pencil for each child
Anticipatory Set and Objective: Tell children you will read them a story about a young king who lives in a palace and has a very silly way to eat, and that they will have to decide what Sidney won’t eat and why, and what they can do to have him eat it.
Input: Read the story. Pause occasionally to count the illustrations of food on the table or to ask questions such as if they think Sidney will eat the food in the picture. If they tell you he won’t eat it, ask them to explain why.
Modeling: Give each child a cup of the snack and a piece of paper. Have them fold the paper in half lengthwise and draw a line along the fold, then lay the paper flat.
Read the page of the story that says that when Brolly makes Sidney just 4, Sidney pounds on the table and sends for 2 more. Have each child put 4 pieces on one side of the sheet. Now ask them how many more Brolly must give Sidney to make 6. Have them place the 2 additional pieces on the other side of the sheet.
Now do the same for 3 pieces, then 2 pieces, with the children aligning the pieces below each other on the sheet of paper.
Check Understanding: Be certain that the children always have 6 pieces in each row; if the number of pieces in any row are more or less than 6 determine why the child made the error and them to correct the number.
Now ask them to count the pieces in the first row (4, 2) and then the third row (2, 4). Ask one child to explain the relationship. “If you have 4 you need 2 and if you have 2 you need 4 because?” “Because 2 and 4 make 6.”
Independent practice:
Note that this method can be used for first experiences with addition, expanding it to any number other than 6 and also to subtraction by beginning with a larger number and asking, “How many must you take away to make 6?” After the subtraction, the first row will contain 6 and the second half of the sheet will have the number you must ‘take away’ to have 6 remain.