Combining sets activities for your pre-K and preschool math centers! WOW! This Combining Sets pack has 15+ hands-on activities, so every child gets excited to learn about combining sets and beginning addition with a wide variety of engaging activities you can use all year long.

Children put two small groups together and count to find how many in all. They count rainbow bears, buttons, ice cream scoops and cube towers, roll and build with snap cubes, match picture sets to numbers and show their thinking with play dough. Every activity keeps little hands busy while children build a strong foundation for addition.

With this preschool combining sets pack, you get

• 15+ hands-on combining sets and beginning addition activities
• Clip cards, puzzles, matching games and build a tower sets
• Play dough mats and write and wipe cards for fine motor practice
• Roll it, show it activities that connect counting with addition
• Math centers you can use all year long

Print, laminate and your combining sets centers are ready to go!

What's Included

• Rainbow Bear Sets Clip Cards
• Button Jar Combining Sets Activity
• How Many in the Room?
• 2 Addition Matching Games
• Play Dough Addition Write & Wipe Cards
• Play Dough Combining Sets Mat
• 4 Puzzle Sets
• 4 Build a Tower Sets
• See, Show, Write
• Roll it, Show it
• Roll it, Show it, Write it
• How Many Scoops?
• LEGO® Cards

Why Teachers Love It

• A gentle start to addition: Combining two small sets is a concrete first step before children work with written equations.
• So many ways to practice: Clip cards, puzzles, matching games, towers and play dough keep combining sets fresh all year.
• Hands-on and visual: Bear counters, buttons, cubes and ice cream scoops let children see and touch every set they count.
• Math and fine motor together: Play dough, snap cubes and clip cards build hand strength while children count.
• Easy to reuse: Laminate the mats and cards once and pull them out again and again.

Skills Students Practice

Primary Academic Skills

• Combining sets: Children join two groups of objects and find how many in all.
• Beginning addition: Activities like 2 plus 1 equals 3 connect combining sets with simple addition.
• Counting: Children count bears, buttons, cubes and scoops one at a time.
• Number recognition: Puzzles and matching games ask children to match sets with numbers.
• Representing numbers: See, Show, Write and Roll it, Show it, Write it have children show and write what they count.
• Fine motor skills: Clip cards, play dough and building towers strengthen little hands.

Secondary Life & Learning Skills

• Following directions
• Taking turns
• Using mathematical language
• Working independently
• Communicating choices
• Maintaining attention

How to Use It

Step 1: Choose the combining sets activities that fit your current focus. Print the mats and cards, laminate for durability and cut apart the cards.

Step 2: Model combining two sets with the class or a small group. Count each set, push them together and count again to find how many in all.

Step 3: Set the activities out in math centers or small groups. Rotate in new activities throughout the year to keep the practice fresh.

Easy Differentiation

Preschoolers come to early addition with very different skills. These activities are easy to adjust for each child.

For Children Who Need More Support

• Use real counters, buttons or cubes to build every set
• Start with very small sets before combining larger ones
• Count each set together before putting them together
• Begin with the play dough combining sets mat

For On-Level Practice

• Use the activities as written in math centers
• Play the addition matching games with a partner
• Complete the rainbow bear clip cards
• Build towers and count the cubes in all

For an Extra Challenge

• Use Roll it, Show it, Write it to add a writing step
• Write the matching number on the write and wipe cards
• Say the addition sentence aloud, such as "2 and 1 make 3"
• Combine three small sets and count how many in all

For Speech, OT, ELL or Special Education Support

• Practice math words such as more, in all, together and how many
• Use a simple sentence frame such as "___ and ___ make ___."
• Use play dough and clip cards for extra fine motor practice
• Let children point to or move the objects when speaking is hard
• Give extra processing time and model each activity first

Perfect For

• Preschool and pre-K math centers
• Small groups
• Partner games
• Independent work
• Fine motor centers
• Special education classrooms
• Homeschool preschool
• Substitute plans

Standards

These preschool combining sets activities support the 2022 Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines and Virginia's Early Learning and Development Standards (2021) and build toward kindergarten skills in Common Core, the TEKS and the Virginia SOL (Math 2023):

Common Core State Standards

• CCSS K.OA.A.1: Represent addition with objects, fingers, drawings and equations.

Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines

• Texas Pre-K Guidelines PK4.V.B.1: Use objects, pictures or a spoken word problem to show adding up to 5 objects.
• Texas Pre-K Guidelines PK4.V.A.2: Count up to 10 objects, touching one object for each number.
• Texas Pre-K Guidelines PK4.V.A.5: Recognize numerals 0-10 while matching sets with numbers.
• Texas Pre-K Guidelines PK4.IX.B.1: Show control in tasks that take small-muscle strength, such as squeezing clips and shaping play dough.

Texas TEKS

• TEKS Math K.3.A: Model the action of joining to represent addition.

Virginia Early Learning and Development Standards

• Virginia ELDS CD3.2: Understand number relationships and solve problems by combining sets.
• Virginia ELDS CD3.1: Count and recognize quantities in each set.
• Virginia ELDS HPD3.2: Develop small muscle control with clip cards, play dough and snap cubes.

Virginia SOL

• VA SOL Math K.CE.1.f: Model and solve join problems using concrete objects.

Add the Combining Sets | Pre-K/Preschool Math Centers pack to your cart and have 15+ hands-on activities ready for your preschool math centers. Print, laminate and watch your little learners count, combine and build early addition skills all year long!

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Download Details

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