Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand and apply basic arithmetic concepts such as addition and subtraction, while having fun with unicorns!

Materials and Prep

• Unicorn-themed manipulatives (e.g., unicorn stickers, unicorn toys)
• Pen or pencil
• Plain paper or a notebook

Activities

1. Unicorn Counting: Use the unicorn-themed manipulatives to practice counting. Start with 1 unicorn and ask the student to add one more unicorn. Repeat this process several times, gradually increasing the number of unicorns. Encourage the student to count out loud as they add the unicorns together.

2. Unicorn Subtraction: Ask the student to imagine a group of unicorns and then remove a certain number of unicorns. For example, say, "Imagine there are 5 unicorns. If we take away 2 unicorns, how many will be left?" Allow the student to use the manipulatives to physically remove the unicorns and count how many are left.

3. Unicorn Addition and Subtraction Story Problems: Create simple addition and subtraction story problems involving unicorns. For example, "There are 3 unicorns playing in the meadow. 2 more unicorns join them. How many unicorns are there in total?" Encourage the student to draw pictures or use the manipulatives to solve the problems.

Kindergarten Grade Talking Points

• "Math is like magic, just like unicorns! We can use math to count and add things together."
• "When we add, we put things together to find the total. For example, if we have 2 unicorns and add 3 more, we count 2, 3, 4, 5 to find that there are 5 unicorns in total."
• "Subtraction is when we take away or remove some things. If we have 4 unicorns and take away 2, we count 4, 3, 2 to find that there are 2 unicorns left."
• "We can use pictures or objects like stickers or toys to help us understand and solve math problems. Let's use our unicorn manipulatives to make math more fun!"