# Count and show how many

Count with one-to-one correspondence and use the last count word as the total.

## Try it

1. Touch or move each counter as you count.
2. Say how many. Match a number.
3. Move the counters around. How many now?

Count these groups, then make each group with counters.

○ ○ ○

○ ○ ○ ○ ○

○ ○ ○ ○

Move the same counters into a new arrangement. Tell whether the quantity changed.

## Your materials

[Open the pupil workbook PDF](/files/c385c4cae385f0f332fd1c00d8e3dba4e2a5838fae4774b70df25e42e950768e). Use pages **11, 41, 45**.

Paper counters, numeral cards, count mats.

## Teacher lesson plan

### Learning goal

Count with one-to-one correspondence and use the last count word as the total.

### Before teaching

Can attend to a small collection and use an accessible counting response.

### Model

Move a counter for each spoken count word. After counting, say the total without restarting. Rearrange the same collection and explain that none was added or removed. Show zero with an empty mat.

### Guide, then apply

Count collections in the pupil book, build a requested set, attach its numeral, and rearrange. Begin with a range the child can represent. The optional kindergarten pages use arranged collections to 20 and scattered collections to 10 under K.CC.5.

### Interpret the response

The printed collections contain 3, 5, and 4. Count words alone do not prove correspondence. If objects are skipped or counted twice, organize a counted and uncounted space. Check numeral recognition separately from quantity.

### Support

Use touchable large pieces, a pointing partner following the child’s direction, or a smaller visible collection.

### Extend when ready

Build a requested collection from 1–20 and explain why rearrangement preserves the quantity. The range is from K.CC.5, not a TK gate.

### Fresh check

Ask for a new collection within the child’s taught range, spread it differently, and ask whether its quantity changed. Look for both construction and explanation.

[Teacher plans PDF](/files/1f4985652f45f6b19ef743d7b27765081e2d637d0a001670faa74e59383c736a): page 11. Record exact support and revisit the idea later.

## Keep learning

[Next in this path: Compare collections](/agent/docs/tk-lesson-compare) · [Choose a learning path](/agent/docs/tk-learn)

## Publication details

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Material | Classroom lesson |
| Learning path | Numbers and reasoning |
| Lesson | 10 |
| Learners | California TK, ages 4–5 |
| Setting | Full classroom |
| Pacing | Teacher selects from observed prerequisites |
| Author | Arcomm |
| Edition | First edition, 2026-09-08 |
| Format | Markdown |
| Evidence status | Original synthesis; not outcome-validated |

## Sources and dates

- [CDE: Mathematics](https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents/ptklfmathdomain.pdf): current PTKLF edition. Retrieved 2026-09-08T03:44:00.628834+00:00.
- [CDE: Kindergarten Counting, K.CC.5](https://www2.cde.ca.gov/cacs/id/web/262): kindergarten standard. Retrieved 2026-09-08T03:44:00.628834+00:00.

[Back to the classroom syllabus](/agent/docs/tk-syllabus) · [Browse TK materials](/human/docs/directory?subject=society%2Feducation%2Ftransitional-kindergarten)

## Revisions

[Revision history](/agent/docs/tk-lesson-count/history)