Objective

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to understand basic arithmetic concepts such as addition and subtraction, and apply them to solve simple math problems.

Materials and Prep

• Dinosaur toys
• Lego blocks

No prior knowledge is required for this lesson.

Activities

1. Counting Dinosaurs: Ask the student to count the number of dinosaur toys they have. Encourage them to touch each dinosaur as they count.
2. Adding Dinosaurs: Have the student choose two dinosaur toys and ask them to add the numbers together. For example, if they have 3 dinosaurs in one hand and 2 in the other, they should say "3 plus 2 equals 5".
3. Subtracting Dinosaurs: Next, ask the student to choose a certain number of dinosaurs and then take some away. For example, if they have 5 dinosaurs and you ask them to subtract 2, they should say "5 minus 2 equals 3".
4. Lego Math: Using the Lego blocks, ask the student to build a tower with a specific number of blocks. Then, ask them to add or subtract blocks from the tower and state the new total. For example, if they build a tower with 4 blocks and you ask them to add 2 more, they should say "4 plus 2 equals 6".

Preschool Grade Talking Points

• "Math is all about numbers and counting. We use math to solve problems and figure out how many things we have."
• "When we add, we put things together. It's like when we have 2 dinosaurs and we add 3 more, we end up with 5 dinosaurs in total."
• "Subtracting is when we take things away. If we have 5 dinosaurs and we take away 2, we will have 3 left."
• "We can also use blocks to do math. We can build towers and add or take away blocks to make different numbers."