Goldfish Counting
By Caroline Wyman
Read the book Swimmy by Leo Lionni and work on your students addition and subtration skills.
Kindergarten - 1st grade
Objective: The students will be introduced to simple addition and subtraction through the use of goldfish. Students should be able to follow simple directions and "add and subtract" goldfish while listening to subtraction terms like "how many do you have left" and listening to addition terms like "how many do you have all together".
Initiation: The students will be read a book about fish. "Swimmy" is a good one to use. After reading the book the teacher will discuss the story and talk about how fish travel in "schools" and that they have to be careful not to be eaten by bigger fish.
Development: After talking about fish in the ocean in their reading circle, students will transition to their seats with goldfish materials already at their seat. Each student will have a small cup of goldfish crackers made to look like a shark's mouth by cutting jagged edges along the rim. Each student will have a paper plate that looks like the ocean by drawing blue waves on the plate already made by the teacher or made previously by the students as an art project. The teacher will then instruct the students to put 3 fish in their ocean by taking 3 out of their cup and placing them on their plate. The teacher will then tell them that 2 fish were being chased by a shark and eaten, so put 2 fish in the shark's mouth. How many fish do you have left? The teacher will then tell about a school of fish swimming by and 4 more fish decided to stay, so take 4 fish out and put them in your ocean. "How many fish do you have all together now?" Continue this for as many addition stories and subtraction stories for the students to follow.
Closure: What are some words that you heard when we took fish away? What were some words that you heard when we added more fish? Point out subtraction and addition terms. Let the kids eat their fish like the shark did after completing math terms.
Materials: "Swimmy" book, goldfish crackers, small cups, paper plates.
Time: 30-45 minutes.
Caroline Wyman has a degree in Sociology and a Masters in Elementary Education and is the administrator for TeacherNet.com.