FRAGMENTS
Kindness in Mathematics: page 3 of 6
MATHEMATICS FOR CHILDREN. COUNTING
COUNT THE FLOWER'S PETALS
(fragment from the book "Kindness in Mathematics")
3 + 1 =
‘Why are you sad, little flower?'
‘I lost a petal just now.
There was a huge gust of wind,
And it flew behind a cloud.'
I'll make sure I don't let the wind
Take away the remaining three.
Look how pretty they are,
Just bend down and you'll see.'
Thinking, counting, drawing :
- How many petals did the flower have in total ? Write out a sum to represent the poem.
- How could you help the flower keep its three remaining petals?
- Draw petals on different flowers, and colour them in.
HOW THE BEAVER BUILT A FENCE
5 + 1 =
‘What are you building, beaver ? '
‘A fence, it's a difficult chore!
I've laid out 5 planks of wood,
And now I'm filing one more.
How many planks do I have?
Please tell me if you can,
I'll spend the whole day building ,
And end up with a beautiful dam!'
Thinking, counting, drawing :
- Draw the ‘fence' in the water, made out of 6 pieces of wood. Then write a sum to represent the poem.
- Why do beavers need to build dams?
- What do humans usually make from pieces of wood?
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