READY-TO-TEACH LESSONS
A useful sequence.
A visible next step.
Nine original lesson plans with materials, teacher prompts, adaptations and observation checks. Choose by what the learner can already do, not by an age deadline.
CHOOSE BY READINESS
Preschool–Kindergarten
Start with meaningful talk, matching and small visible sets. Reading or writing fluency is not a prerequisite for a pointed or partner-assisted response.
Match a letter’s two written forms
Match three familiar uppercase/lowercase pairs and find the same letter in a meaningful printed word.
Count each object once and name the total
Pair one spoken number with each object in a set of up to five and explain that the final count names the total.
Make five in different ways
Use objects to show at least two ways to split a set of five, explaining that the parts still make the same whole.
CHOOSE BY READINESS
Kindergarten–Grade 1
Connect familiar spoken ideas with letters, objects, drawings and symbols. Choose only the sound patterns and number range the learner is ready to use.
Hear a first sound, then connect its letter
Identify /m/ or /s/ in familiar spoken words, then connect the sound to m or s and blend a known simple word with adult support.
Add by counting on from a known group
Model a small addition story and count on from a known quantity, while explaining why the total increases.
Tell a subtraction story and check what remains
Represent a take-away story with objects or a drawing and check the result using a related addition fact.
CHOOSE BY READINESS
Grades 2–3
Explain equal groups and useful relationships. Keep representations available while learners connect addition, multiplication and unknown quantities.
Build equal groups, then arrange an array
Build equal groups, describe rows and columns, and connect an array to a repeated-addition expression.
Use a known fact to work out a new product
Split an array into known parts, combine their products and explain the connection to the original multiplication fact.
Find a missing factor and check the whole
Use a known total and group size to identify a missing factor, then check it with multiplication.
The wider Little Learners audience is ages 2–9. These plans span preschool through Grade 3 by readiness; multiplication is not an expected task for every young child. Use large, safe materials and adult supervision appropriate to the learner.