LESSON NOTE: NURSERY ONE THIRD TERM MATHEMATICS WEEK 2

Introduction to this Lesson-Note-Nursery-One-Third-Term-Mathematics-Week-2

I wrote this Lesson-Note-Nursery-One-Third-Term-Mathematics-Week-2 based on the Nigerian National Early Childhood Education Curriculum. Particularly, I used the Pre-Primary Teaching Schemes that the Education Resource Centre, Abuja developed. However, this scheme is the same as those of the other 36 states’ education resource development centre. Nonetheless, I only crosschecked this topic in that of Lagos, Kano and FCT only. Regardless, this lesson note is suitable for use in any Nigerian school that adopts the National Curriculum.

NOTE:  I wrote and extensive on the latest 9-Year Basic Education National Curriculum. If you haven’t read that, click here to read it up. Also, if you need any scheme of work based on the latest 9-Year Basic Education Curriculum, chat me up on WhatsApp for it.

Complete Lesson Objectives

As with the rest of our notes, the primary focus of this lesson note is to present an enriched content for the topic. This lesson notes, also like the rest, provide guide for teachers on how to deliver the content to attain the topic objectives. In this regard, I adopt the modern teaching style in Mathematics as NERDC specified

Unlike most lesson notes you may find around which focuses majorly on cognition, I brought out and set objectives to cover other domains of education – affective and psychomotor. This is to ensure a balanced learning experience for the learners. For as Dr Emmanuel Atanda of the Faculty of Education, University of Ilorin wrote – in his Curriculum Development Study Guide for students in Postgraduate programme in Education – no student can be said to have learned anything if the three domains of educational objectives are not taken into consideration.

Leading Guide to Adapting this Lesson Note

I wrote this lesson note in outline of standard lesson plans. However, I advise teachers that want to use this notes for official purpose – i.e. to create their lesson plans which they will submit to their supervisors – to follow this guideline to writing standard lesson plan. To make it faster, click here to get my lesson plan template for N300 only or click here to chat with me on WhatsApp.

REMARK: If you find the terms lesson plan and lesson notes confusing, quickly read this article on their differences.

My Note to Nursery One Mathematics Teacher

The teacher to deliver this lesson must understand that teaching numeracy at the early age entails much more than rote memorization and singing/demonstrating rhymes. Yes, these are effective tool for teaching the pupils how to remember what you have taught them. But much more, the question of numeracy – much as all of the topics at this level – serves as the foundation for the pupils’ progress in the subject in future academic engagements.

Why many adults have Mathematics anxiety

After having taught Mathematics at pre-primary, primary, secondary as well as tertiary level; I can categorically say that the majority of the numerous issues that students have in Mathematics is due to poor foundation.

A common point that most early years’ teachers miss in teaching numeration and notation is the aspect of the concept of numerical values. Any Mathematics Teacher in higher classes starting from Primary 4 upward will attest to the fact that majority of the learners finds Number Bases difficult due to their lack of understanding the concept of values of numbers. Even now, you can take the percentage of the primary level learners upward that truly understands the concept of value of numbers above 10. A simple question to test this is: Why do we write 10 and 1 and 0?

My Suggestion

Despite that many early years’ teachers are coming to understand this and consequently adjusting the focus of their classes, more are yet to. Consequently, you should not only measure the success of your class by how your Nursery One pupils are able to recite and perhaps identify and write numbers 1 – 500. You should also evaluate to see how many of them truly understands the concept of the values of the numbers. It is in this regard that I urge you to also focus on the affective objective of this lesson.

Lesson-Note-Nursery-One-Third-Term-Mathematics-Week-1

Class: Nursery One

Term: Third

Week: 2

Subject: Mathematics/Number Work

Topic: Counting numbers 1 – 30

Copying numbers 1 – 4

Recognition of numbers 1 – 30

1.             OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, the pupils should have attained the following:

• Cognitive:
  • Count numbers 1 – 30
  • Identify numbers 1 – 30
• Psychomotor:
  • Write and copy numbers 1 – 4
• Affective
  • Demonstrate/internalize the concept of numerical values of numbers 1 – 30

2.             Previous Knowledge

The pupils had in the previous terms learned the following:

1. Meaning of number
2. Patterns of writing numbers
3. How to combine patterns to form numbers 3 and 4
4. Counting numbers 1 – 25
5. Form numbers 3 and 4

3.             Instructional Materials

1. Concrete writing patterns
2. Number models – plastic, metallic or cardboard cut-outs – consisting of several 1’s through 9’s including 0’s
3. Stand counters of 30 beads
4. Several counters – bottle covers, blocks, pebbles, etc. in bundles of 10. I recommend bottle covers in tens packed into an improvised container that can contain no more than 10 counters – 2 and a half (i.e. 25) for each pupil
5. Chalk/Marker and black/white board
6. Number charts of 1 – 30
7. Several (carton) boxes for each pupil
8. Education Resource Centre. (2014). FCT Nursery Teaching Scheme. Abuja: Education Resource Centre.
9. Kano Education Resource Department. (2016). Pre-Primary Schemes of work. Kano: Kano Education Resource Department.
10. Lagos State Ministry of Education. (2016). Early Childhood Care Education Scheme (Mathematics). Lagos: Lagos State Ministry of Education.
11. Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC). (2012). Mathematics Teachers’ Guide for the Revised 9-Year Basic Education Curriculum (BEC). Yaba, Lagos: Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).

4.             PRESENTATION

The teacher delivers the lesson as in the following steps:

I.         Introduction

To introduce the lesson, the teacher does the following:

• Writes the topic on the board

Orally asks the pupils questions based on the previous lesson

1. What we say or write to tell people how many things we have is called ___
   1. Number
   2. Story
2. We have _____ numbers/How many numbers do we have?
   1. 5
   2. Many
3. Every number has different name and how to write it
   1. Yes
   2. No
4. What is nothing (in local dialect) in English?
   1. Zero
   2. One
5. How do we write zero?
   1. 0
   2. 2
6. One bundle of number is called ___________
   1. Ten
   2. Seven
7. How do we write one bundle and nothing?
   1. 10
   2. 13
8. Two bundles or two tens are called ____________
   1. Twenty
   2. Ten
9. 25 is called ____________
   1. Fifteen
   2. Twenty-five
10. 18 is called __________
    1. Eighteen
    2. Seventeen
11. Two tens and 3 is called __________
    1. Twenty-three
    2. Thirteen
12. Which is more, 9 or 8?
    1. 9
    2. 8
13. If I give 12 sweets to Musa, and 17 to Eze, who has more sweets?
    1. Musa
    2. Eze
14. If one bundle is called ten, then two bundles (twenty) is 2 tens
    1. Yes
    2. No
15. What is 8 in local dialect (call the language e.g. Hausa)?
16. Go and bring 3 pieces of chalk
17. Count numbers 1 – 25
18. Write 3
19. Write 4
20. Everyone (a row or pupil at a time) come and pick 25 counters

After the oral question, the teacher tells the pupils the progress they have made and commends their effort

FInally, s/he revises the previous lessons

1. 1. 1. A number is what tells us how many things we have
      2. There are many numbers because we can have many things
      3. Each of the many numbers has its special name and way it is written
      4. Teacher writes different numbers (one at a time) between 1 and 25; then asks the pupils the name of each.
      5. Teacher displays chart of numbers 1 – 25, names a number and require a pupil to come point at it on the chart
      6. One added to 9 makes a bundle. And a bundle is called ten
      7. Ten is written as 10. 11 is called eleven and it means one bundle and one.
      8. Two tens (bundles) is called twenty. Twenty is written as 20.
      9. Teacher concludes introduction by telling the pupils that they shall learn 5 more numbers in the week. After this, s/he explains the objectives for the week and then proceeds as I describe below.

II.         Recognizing Numbers 1 – 30

Following the introduction, the teacher teaches the pupils how to count and identify numbers 1to 30. S/he first revises numbers 1 – 25 as I discussed in the previous week’s lesson.

Numbers 26 – 30

After explaining numbers 25, the teacher continues to numbers 26 – 30 as follows:

Number 26

The teacher directs each pupil to count 25 counters from the pack – as in the last exercise under introduction.

1. 1. 1. Thereafter, the teacher confirms the number of counters with each pupil.
      2. The teacher gives each of the pupils three bundle packs and directs the pupils to arrange the counters in the packs. When done, they should have 2 filled packs and an extra 5 counters left.
      3. Therefore, the teacher asks the pupils how many counters they have. The pupils may say 2 bundles and 5. In such case, the teacher asks further, what is another name for 2 bundles and 5 – i.e. 2 tens and five or twenty-five.
      4. Following this, the teacher tells the pupils that if one already has 25 items – s/he distributes one counter to the pupils; then we say the person now has 2 bundles (tens) and 6. Thereafter, the teacher explains that we write 2 bundles (tens) and 6 as 26 – 2 and 6 close to each other. And we call it twenty-six. S/he pronounces twenty-six and makes the pupils to repeat after him/her – several times.

Number 27

1. 1. 6. After explaining number 26, the teacher asks the pupils how many counter have they now – the pupils should say 26!
      7. Thence, the teacher teaches them that if one has 26 items and gets one more – the teacher distributes one more counter to the pupils; then we say the person now has 2 bundles (tens) and 7. Thereafter, the teacher explains that we write 2tens and 7 as 27 – 2 and 7 close to each other. And we call it twenty-seven. S/he pronounces twenty-seven and tells the pupils to repeat after him/her – many times.

Number 28 and 29

The teacher repeats the same steps for numbers 28 and 29.

Number 30

1. 1. 8. After the teacher has finished explaining number 29. S/he directs the pupils to arrange the 9 counters left in the third bundle pack.
      9. Once the pupils have finished arranging, the teacher asks whether the pack is completely filled. The pupils should probably notice that the pack can still take one more counter. Hence, the teacher explains that since the third pack is not completely filled, they cannot say 3 bundles just yet. Instead, they count and say the incomplete counters individually – the teacher directs them to unpack the incomplete counters and count it once again. After counting it as nine, the teacher reminds them that they have 2 bundles and 9 – which is the same as 2tens and 9 or twenty-nine.
      10. Thereafter, the gives each of the pupils one more counter. After that, s/he directs them to fill the third bundle pack once more. Once the pupils have finished filling the third pack, the teacher asks the pupils if it is completely filled. The pupils should answer yes.
      11. Hence, the teacher explains that since the third pack is now completely filled, we say the total number of counters is 3 bundles. And 3 bundles are the same thing as three tens. S/he concludes that we write 3tens and nothing as 30 – 3 and 0 close to each other.
      12. Thence, the teacher pronounces thirty and makes the pupils to repeat after him/her several times.

Stage Evaluation Question

Before proceeding to the other part of the lesson, the teacher assesses the pupils’ understanding of the concept of numbers 1 – 30. S/he does this by giving the pupils the following exercises:

1. 1. 1. 30 is called ___________
         1. Twenty
         2. Thirty
      2. Peter has 25 sweets and his mummy gave him one more. So how sweets have Peter now? Note: teacher reads the question in local and explains where necessary.

Revision

After the teacher had finished explaining the concept of the values of number thirty, s/he revises the numbers 1 – 30 all over again. The teacher focuses on helping the pupils to identify the numbers, their names and symbols (how each is written) as well as to understand the concept of the value of each.

III.         Counting Exercise

General counting with stand counters

After the revision, the teacher leads the pupils into general counting:

He or she puts up the stand of 30 counters. Then sliding each counter to the other side, s/he together with the pupils, counts until the counters finish from one side. The teacher repeats this by sliding each counter back to the original position and again – several times. The teacher may invite willing pupils to lead the counting by sliding the counters as the entire class counts.

Group and Individual Counting

After the general counting, the teacher further strengthens the pupil’s memorization of the names and order of numbers through group counting.

1. 1. • The teacher groups the pupils into pairs
      • Going to each group and while the pupils watch, the teacher counts different number of counters for each pupil
      • Then the teacher directs each pupil to count differently given number out of his or her counter and give it to the partner
      • Individual pupil counts the new number of counters in their possession and tells the teacher
      • The teacher confirms the number then make the pupils to repeat the process – exchange some counters and count

Oral Counting without Counters

After the pupils are able to count very well with the counters, the teacher directs them to put the counters away. Then s/he leads them to count orally without using the counters. The teacher and the pupils do this several times. S/he may invite different willing pupils to lead the oral counting as well.

Evaluation

The teacher may assess the individual pupil’s counting ability by:

1. 1. 1. Asking them to orally count from a number that s/he states to another
      2. Sending them to go and fetch a given number of item for him/her
      3. Asking them to count the number of items in the class

Recognition of the symbols of Numbers 1 – 30

After the counting exercises, the teacher reminds the pupils that each of the numbers has its own way that we write it. Thus, s/he explains that they are now going to learn how to we write each number – 1-30.

Consequently, the teacher starts from zero and forth; explains that:

1. 1. • Zero means nothing and is written as 0
      • One is a number which means – (in local dialect) and we write it as 1
      • Two is a number which means – (in local dialect) and we write it as 2
      • —
      • Ten (one bundle and nothing) is a number which means – (in local dialect) and we write it as 10.
      • Eleven (one bundle and 1) is a number which means – (in local dialect) and we write 11
      • – – –
      • Twenty (2 tens and nothing) is a number which means – (in local dialect) and we write it as 20
      • Twenty-one (2 ten and 1) is a number which means – (in local dialect) and we write it as 21
      • —
      • Twenty-five (2 ten and 5) is a number which means – (in local dialect) and we write it as 25
      • —
      • Thirty (3 tens and nothing) is a number which means ______ (in local dialect) and we write it as 30.

Succeeding the explanation, the teacher writes the numbers 1 – 30, serially on the board or uses the large number chart, then points at each number and asks the pupils to name the number – then in reverse, the teacher calls the name of a number then calls pupils to points at each.

The teacher may call the local names of numbers and asks pupils to mention the English equivalents.

Following this, the teacher uses the number chart of 1 – 30, and lead the counting once again – several times. S/he may invite pupils to come, point at the numbers and lead the counting.

Evaluation

The teacher evaluates the pupils’ ability to recognize the numbers through physical exercise thus:

S/he places different number of counters into the boxes. Then gives the boxes to the pupils with the number models or cardboard number cut-outs. Thereafter, the teacher directs the pupils to open up each of the boxes, count the number of items in the boxes and then pick the corresponding number model/cut-out and place on/inside the boxes with the counters.

The teacher moves round or collects the boxes, confirms the counters and the number model/cut-out that is in it.

Writing Numbers 1 to 4

Succeeding the counting/recognition exercises, the teacher tells the pupils that they shall now continue to learn how to write some of the numbers they learned in the lesson.

The teacher first revises concave (outside) curves as well as vertical and horizontal lines writing patterns. S/he may give the pupils a quick exercise to make the patterns.

REMARK: Take note of the pupils that have difficulty with the patterns. And endeavour to take any child back to the needed prerequisite skills for the writing exercise. DO NOT HOLD THE CHILD’S HANDS – it is outdated. With the right basic skills, most children of 3 to 3.5 years are able to form and write numbers on their own.

Following the writing pattern exercise above, the teacher proceeds with the number 1 to 4 writing exercises thus:

How to Write Number One (1)

This is a single vertical stroke (refer to pre-writing pattern). To form it, make two dots such that one is directly above the other:

Then both dots are joined with a straight line:

Exercise

The teacher explains and demonstrates how to form it several times. After that, the makes the pupils to attempt same on sand/air  several times. Then from sand/air , the teacher makes the pupils to repeat their previous term’s tracing – of number 1 – exercises. After this, the teacher makes the two dots for the pupils to join with a straight line. Finally, the teacher tells the pupils to make the dots and the join it themselves.

How to Write Number Two (2)

This number has a curve, a slant line and a horizontal line:

To form number 2, start with the curve:

Join the slant line:

And finally the horizontal line:

Exercise

The teacher explains and demonstrates how to form it several times. After that, the makes the pupils to attempt same on sand/air /air several times. Then from sand/air, the teacher makes the pupils to repeat their previous term’s tracing – of number 2 – exercises. After this, the teacher makes the four dots in number 2 for the pupils to form and join the curve, slanting and horizontal lines in order to form the number. Finally, the teacher tells the pupils to make the dots and form/join the lines by themselves.

The teacher picks the model/cut-out of number 3. Then s/he analyses, demonstrates and guides the pupils to form it as I describe below:

Number three is two curves joined.

To form number 3, mark off three vertical dots – one above the other – the middle being at the centre:

Then draw a curve from the top dot to the middle:

And from the middle to the bottom:

Exercise

The teacher explains and demonstrates how to form it several times. After that, the makes the pupils to attempt same on sand/air  several times. Then from sand/air , the teacher makes the pupils to repeat their previous term’s tracing – of number 3 – exercises. After this, the teacher makes the three dots for the pupils to join with curves. Finally, the teacher tells the pupils to make the dots and the curves themselves.

To form number 4, draw the first vertical stroke:

Then from the bottom end of the vertical line, draw a horizontal:

And finally draw another vertical across the horizontal:

Exercise

The teacher explains and demonstrates how to form number four several times. After that, the makes the pupils to attempt same on sand/air several times. Then from sand/air, the teacher makes the pupils to repeat their previous term’s tracing – of number 4 – exercises. Finally, the teacher tells the pupils to form number 4 on their own – several times.

1.             EVALUATION

The teacher assesses the pupils understanding of the lesson by giving them the following exercises.

Exercise 1: Oral counting

The teacher asks the pupils (either individually or in small groups) to count numbers 1 -30. S/he observes those that may have difficulty pronouncing or missing one or two numbers – so as to help them and/or recommend assistance for their parents.

Exercise 2: Recognition of numbers 1 – 30

• The teacher uses a number chart or a handwritten numbers 1 – 30; points at each number and ask individual pupil to name it – then the reverse and randomly.
• The teacher calls the local names of numbers and demands pupils to mention the English equivalents.
• The teacher gives the pupils the matching exercise contained in accompanying worksheet.

Exercise 3: Numerical Values

• Teacher collects some items (recommended is biscuit or sweet); divides the items into two groups – one being more than the other.
• The teacher asks pupils to count each group; thereafter, reminds the pupil the number of each group, then asks the pupils to pick either the smaller or greater.
• Then the teacher gives the corresponding exercise in the worksheet
• The teacher gives pupils simple ordering of numbers – see worksheet
• Teacher gives pupils greater/less than exercises

1. count and circle the greater/lesser

• Fill in missing number

Exercise 4: Copying Numbers 1 – 4

1. The teacher gives the pupils reasonable tracing exercise for number 1 – 4
2. Then s/he gives the pupils several copy down exercises. Note that the teacher can give the pupils tracing and copy down exercises for one number at a time, the day s/he finishes teaching the pupils how to form the number – as I described above.

2.             CONCLUSION

The teacher concludes the lesson by recording pupils’ performance and if necessary, providing feedback to the parents for needed home assistance.

Feedback format:

1. Starts from child’s strength – attentiveness in class, willingness to learn, happiness to participate in activities, participation in class discussion, numbers s/he has mastered – counting, recognition, value, writing, etc.
2. Express optimism in child’s ability to improve in all areas
3. Weak areas – numbers the child finds difficult to count, recall, recognize, conceptualize or write
4. State possible reasons for weakness or assures that the occurrence is natural
5. Suggest how the parents can help

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