Kindergarten, Counting and Cardinality 3/3

Opinion – Comparisons in general

The idea of comparing runs deep. We can compare objects that we can measure. Of these two stones, which is heavier, and which is lighter? Two considerations here: we’re only talking about two stones, heavier is the opposite of lighter, where the heavier stone is superior with respect to weight and the lighter stone is inferior. Who cares? We all do because we compare objects all the time. You are taller than I am; you are younger than I am; etc. Help your child to understand what it means to compare two people with respect to a measure such as height or age.

What if we want to discuss more than two stones? Which of these five stones is the heaviest? In this case, heaviest is a superlative, heavier than all others.

One caution: some attributes are difficult to measure; we say they are subjective. Which of these designs is the prettiest? Which of these patterns is most suitable? Subjective attributes, while they may lend themselves to comparison, are not part of math per se. However, it may be possible to measure which pattern is more (or most) popular.

A lot to think about here and we’re still in kindergarten.

CCM Lesson of the Day: Counting and Cardinality (K.CC), 1/3/3

Compare numbers.

Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies.

Comment: Ah yes, definitions. Greater than (or “more”), Less than (or “fewer”), and equal to (the same number). Take some time with this because we are mixing words in with the math. I believe that this is where many people learn to fear and hate math. The problem may be that they never learn the definitions. If English is not your first language, you may want to devote a little extra time to definitions, because in the USA, English will almost certainly be the language in which your child learns math.

Compare two numbers between 1 and 10 presented as written numerals.

Comment: I assume that this means to use the symbols, 1, 2, 3, … Looking ahead, you might want to introduce three more symbols here: < (less than), > (greater than), and =, as in 1 < 3, 3 > 2, and 2 = 2.

Definitions

Equal: of the same quantity or amount. For example, I have an equal number of fingers on each hand. As mentioned, equal can be written “=”.

Greater (than): having a larger number or amount (than). For example, 4 is greater than 2, which can be written 4 > 2.

Less (than): having a smaller number or amount (than). For example, 2 is less than 4, which can be written 2 < 4.