Julia Counts All & On…
If you haven’t already done so, please view the “Julia Clips.”
Although she hasn’t even entered kindergarten yet, Julia has learned to efficiently count on her fingers (at times, perhaps, doing so in her head). She also knows how to count on from a number. This skill serves her well throughout the interview process.
How do you think she would tackle the chore of counting piglets? How many levels of the Charlie & Lola germ-counting game do you believe she would successfully complete? (Why?)
How might Julia have answered some of the interview questions more quickly? For which questions would she have been able to do that? Describe (or provide a link to) at least one activity which Julia could participate in (at age 4 years, 9 mos), and which would also introduce skip counting to her. (Hurry! Share your idea/link quickly. No two of you should provide the same link(s)!!!)
Julia would be able to count the piglets. She seemed to be able to count in one’s when she could see what she was counting. She would be able to do the germ counting game, since they were in front of her to count. And the germs were few in number at a time. Julia could have answered some of the questions more quickly if she knew how to skip count. She could have used this when she was asked how many blocks of colors she had, when the third card was face down. She counted by ones instead, and just visualized the blocks on the third card.
Brandi Harbour
February 5, 2008
Can anyone else think of an example where skip-counting would’ve enabled Julia to answer an interview question more quickly? (Brandi, do you have an activity or website to share with Julia, which would help her make sense of skip counting?)
vkier
February 5, 2008
I think that she shouldn’t have any trouble counting the piglets, since they are still and they have the dots on them. The germs on the other hand may be a bit harder because if you do not count them quickly then they start moving again.
The link that I would have given to her to use is: http://www.mkdowney.com/mkd-skipcounting.htm. The reason that I picked this one is because I think that by using songs it will help children learn more difficult things faster.
Torrey
February 5, 2008
Teaching skip-counting through singing is a fantastic idea – especially at Julia’s age. I wonder how many adults can still recite the first ten multiples of three because of Schoolhouse Rock’s “Three is the Magic Number”?
vkier
February 5, 2008
Julia was able to count doubles, as 3 and 3 is 6 and also 10 and 10 is 20. She is capable of skip counting but I don’t think that she’s connected it with something yet. I love Torrey’s idea of using music, I was going to suggest something similar. Most little girls like to do cheers. What about the old standby ” 2, 4, 6, 8 who do we appreciate?” or something along those lines? Something that connected her with something fun and something she can recite to herself as she’s counting.. Not another song but a site that could be useful in teaching skip counting: http://www.rblewis.net/technology/EDU506/WebQuests/skpcount/skpcount.html
I don’t think Julia could count the germs, they moved and that could be frustrating but I think she would be able to count the piglets because they are still and the dots also help categorize them like: there are 10 yellow dotted piglets plus 5 red dotted piglets that equals 15 yellow and red dotted piglets..
mom22boys
February 5, 2008
The pigs were staying still and it should have been eaiser for her. I would have grouped the pigs in tens. Put ten dots of one color on ten pigs. So that way she could have counted by tens.
The germs might be a little harder for her to count them because if you did not count them right away they would move very quickly.
njd2005
February 6, 2008
She could use skip counting by a pattern of 1, oink, 2, oink, 3, oink, and so on. Yes it would take a long time but I think she could do this effectively. If Julia is good with a mouse and computer I think she could finish at least 4 of the levels, because each of the germs have different shapes and colors.
Tiffany Segers
February 6, 2008
I think that Julia could have answered some of the questions more quickly if she knew how to skip count and count by 2s. She could have used skip counting and counting by 2s, when she was shown a long row of counters and asked to count them in 2’s in Task 2.
Tiffany Segers
February 6, 2008
I think Julia shouldm’t have any problem because the pigs were still. The picture was a good idea. She also put different color dots on them so all she had to do is count the ones with the red dots first them go to the next color. After she gets done counting each color, add them up.
The grems would have been harder. Maybe count all the germs that looked alike then go to the next germ. When you get done counting each grem. Count up the different grems.
cmh022007
February 7, 2008
One way for Julia to count the pigs would be she could group the pigs up in groups of threes and add them up together to get a total of all pigs. It would break them down into small groups instead of starting out in a large group. Also the skip counting would had been good. One way to practice would be some file folder games and finger plays. Singing and cheering I agree also is a great idea.
Courtney
February 7, 2008
http://members.learningplanet.com/act/count/free.asp
This is a good website. This is a good game to play learning to skip count. You can choose to skip count from 2 to all the way to 9.
Brandi Harbour
February 8, 2008
I think that Julia would have no problem counting the pigs; we know that she can count higher than thirty, so she shouldn’t have a problem. The Charlie and Lola Germ Game would be much harder for her, she could easily count them; however the time constraints and the necessary motor skills required to click on the moving germs would make this game much more difficult. A good website for suggestions to help children learn math and games for young children to play is http://www.papajan.com/math/preschool
Kelley Hale
February 8, 2008
I think Julia would be able to count the pigs, but she may have a little trouble since they are bunched up together. By the pigs being so close together she may get confused trying to figure out if she had already counted one of them or not. I think she would have trouble with the Charlie and Lola germ game, if she was not very familiar with a mouse and trying to multitask with it and counting the germs, and trying to do all of it before she ran out of time.
Angel Cabe
February 8, 2008
I think Julia would be able to count the piglet do to fact that they all have colored dots, this should make this task easier for her, plus the fact that they are not moving.
I do not think that Julia would be able to count the germs do to the fact that they are all moving, I think this would make counting very difficult for her.
Hollie Mullins
February 9, 2008
I think that Julia would be able to do both the pigs and the game. The pigs only because of the dots, and the game because most kids now can use a computer by the time they can talk, at least the ones i know can, so motor skills of moving a mouse shouldn’t stop Julia from counting the germs.
Dennis
February 9, 2008
I think that Julia would do well counting the piglets,perphaps if she was able to “touch” each pig as she counted them she would be able to remember better which ones she had already counted. If Julia has already had some experience using the computer I also believe that she could complete several levels of the Charlie and Lola game. Some past computer skills would give her the ability to concentrate on counting and not so much on moving the mouse.
Kendra
February 11, 2008
I think that she would be able to count the pigs because they are still. She may have some problems because there are so many, expecially if she is only comfortable counting up to ten at time. If the pigs were grouped by color in tens she would have no problem counting the groups. The germs would be much more difficult because they move and because they ask you to count different germs seperatly. It may be confusing for her to have to seperate the different groups or count something that is’nt stationary.
xanneb
March 17, 2008
I think Julia would count the piglets by grouping the yellows into tens and then add the leftover yellows, blues and reds. I think Julia would have been able to complete all the levels in the germ game. It seems that she has learned to count by the idea of “how many”. This means she can count by actual things, such as an arrangement of dots (not by actual numerals). Each level of the game consists of counting different colored germs. This concept stays the same in all levels and just adds more germs to each level. This would not be any different than counting dots or patterns. I think Julia may have been able to answer some of the interview questions easier if the objects were arranged differently. She understands numbers in patterns like on dice, dominos, or flash cards. In one of the clips she is faced with 9 yellow pieces, but she cannot tell how many there are. I think if these pieces were grouped in amounts she is familiar with then she could start with on group and count up to 9.
Links:
http://fun.familyeducation.com/numbers/activity/37217.html?mail-10-21
http://www.myweblets.com/myweblets/kids/math/worksheets/displayworksheet.aspx?wno=623
burns18286
September 15, 2008
I believe that Julia would be able to count the piglets because she associates one on one numerals. I think the Charlie & Lola germ-counting game might be a little bit harder because for her to count a larger number she was pointing at the object and since the germs move that would probably be difficult. I think one question she would have been able to answer more quickly was the skip counting by two. She was already saying 2+2 is 4, but if she would have continued from the four instead of going back to the 2, I think it would have been solved quicker. One thing I found was a site that had rhyming songs that introduced skip counting. I think this one would be good for younger children who are learning how to count. http://www.mathdynamics.com even has a book and blocks to reinforce the information provided with hands on tools. On this website they give the Whisper counting method for teaching young children, which is something I am using right now with my four year old.
hughes6871
September 16, 2008
Julia is so smart (at least it appears to me) for her age. I do think she would have no trouble counting the piglets, but that she would do so one at a time. I don’t think, though, that she would get very far with the Charlie and Lola germ counting game. The germs speed up as they are caught and it gets harder to catch them. Julia is definitely ready to start skip counting. This would help her answer the questions much faster. She wasn’t able to count in two’s, five’s, or ten’s. She knows that five and five make 10, but counted on her fingers to get 15. When she counts 2+2+2+=6 and adds again on her fingers to get 8. The digi-blocks would be a great tool for learning sip counting. There are also website resources that would be fun. One that I found was teaching skip counting through songs, http://www.songsforteaching.com/math/skipcountingpatterns.
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/maths/mathscontinuum/number/N20001P.htm is another website that helps teach skip counting by playing counting games and activities.
lockhart8292
September 19, 2008
Julia is one smart little girl. She counts on her fingers, but she also has a perception of understanding that a pattern can be covered and still be the same. I think she could handle counting piglets that are still easier than the germs that are moving. She appears to understand the doubling concept of single digits, but can’t do skip counting by two’s. Maybe if she played a game replacing the odd numbers with a clap and mentally counted the odd while saying the even numbers aloud would help her practice skip counting. Young children also do well with songs that have a mathematical theme.
weaver17536
September 19, 2008
Julia seems extremely bright for her age. I was impressed by her basic addition skills and her skills at perception counting. Because Julia seems to have mastered counting by ones and understands that the last number she counts represents a total amount, I believe she would not have a problem counting the piglets because she has already shown the ability to count objects one by one. I wonder if she might even go so far as to separate the piglets by the color of light on their backs. The game of counting germs might be a different story. Based on my experience with this game, I think Julia may have some difficulty getting through the upper levels. The germs in this game move quickly and the player has to have mastered his or her hand-eye coordination as well as the ability to count quickly. I did a quick internet search on sites with resources on skip counting, and I found the following three sites to be informative and fun:
This site included themed math games that included skip counting.
This particular site uses games, songs, and rhymes to help children learn skip counting.
This site was the best I found; it appeals to multiple learning styles, especially the tactile/kinestetic.
sefrancis
September 21, 2008
I just realized that the three websites I included with my previous posting are not showing. I’ll try to post them once more.
http://www.apples4theteacher.com
This site included themed math games that included skip counting.
http://www.mathdynamics.com/skip_counting
This particular site uses games, songs, and rhymes to help children learn skip counting.
http://www.fi.edu/pieces/knox/skipcounting.htm
This site was the best I found; it appeals to multiple learning styles, especially the tactile/kinestetic.
sefrancis
September 22, 2008
At 4 years and 9 months, Julia is exceptionally smart! It was really interesting watching the videos over how she counted. I do think that she could tackle the chore of counting the piglets in the picture because they have a dot on them and makes them easier to see. She could even turn this into an activity where someone could ask her “How many yellow piglets are there?” or “How many red piglets are there?” So I do not think that counting the piglets would be any problem at all for this child. I think that if Julia was good with a computer and mainly a mouse, then she could complete four levels of the game. But depending on how well she did under pressure, like the temperature rising, and how fast the germs are moving make a big difference. I have no doubt in my mind that she could not count all of the germs.
I think that Julia could have answered some of the interview questions more quickly by grouping the objects in bases, such as base two, base five, or base ten. She could have also used skip counting. She could have done the counting by twos in the second task, but instead she is not confident with counting by twos, she would rather count by ones. She could have used the base five methods, or skip counting by fives in the third task, but instead she still counts by one to fifteen when all she would have had to do is say 5, 10, and 15. There are three groups of five, so fifteen.
One activity that Julia can participate in is an activity called, “Group It”. In this activity, is uses the simple method of counting shoes by twos, what better way to introduce skip counting by twos. I think that this activity would really give Julia some more confidence when counting by twos. This link has some really great activities on skip counting by fives and tens also. The link is http://www.education.com/activity/article/groupit_first/. I also found another website that showed a little video that introduced skip counting. It can be seen by following this link, http://www.cleverisland.com/teachers/counting/story/6.asp.
sam5712
September 29, 2008
Even today I still skip count. I love to count with my nephews that are 5 and 6. They approach some of the problems in the same way Julia did. I love ask why they did it that way and how they came up with their answers.
avila15745
October 2, 2008
I believe that Julia would be able to count the piglets without a problem. She really did not have a problem if it was in fact a visual item.
I am not sure that she would be able to go very far with the Charlie and Lola germ-counting game. They were visual, but they moved after a certain amount of time. I think that she might have been able to go to possibly the second level, but I am not sure that she would even get through it because of the difficulty of the germs moving and the necessity of motor skills.
I think that Julia could have answered the interview questions more quickly if she had used skip-counting. She might could even use grouping. She seemed to understand these fairly well. In the second task that she is given, she could have skip-counted by twos. This would have helped her tremendously. There was also other places where she could have skip-counted. There were places where she could have skip-counted by fives. These methods would have helped her so much, but instead of this she counts.
I have provided a link below to a website that you can print skip-counting worksheets to work with students. It seems to be a good start (or maybe just an exercise) in skip-counting education.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/math/counting/skipcounting/
I liked this site because they have so much to offer and have more than one exercise available to print off. They also provide the answers, which I am not sure that any of us would need anyway!
deedowdy
October 10, 2008