Numbers & Counting
Activity Summary
Use this storybook guide with the book “Eric Carle’s 123.”
Many public libraries have this book.
Reading guide
About the Story
“Eric Carle’s 123” is a counting book. We meet different animals on each page as we count from one to 10. Each page also includes dots that match the number of animals.
Words to Learn
COUNTING WORDS
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
NUMERALS
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
ANIMALS
giraffe, elephant, bear, hippopotamus, pig, dog, squirrel, turtle, chick, caterpillar
About the Math
While counting the number of animals, your child can learn:
- Each animal is counted only once and matched with only one dot.
- The last number counted indicates the total number of animals.
- How to say the counting words in order: one, two, three, four, etc.
- How to read the written numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
- The written numbers tell us the total number of animals.
Math Talk During Reading
- EXPLORE COUNTING THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS
How many animals are there? - EXPLORE MATCHING THE NUMBER OF DOTS AND ANIMALS
Are there the same number of dots as animals? How do you know? - TALK ABOUT THE ORDER OF THE ANIMALS
Which animal is first in line? How about third?MAKE PREDICTIONS
If there are five animals on this page, how many animals will we see on the next page? How do you know? - EXPLORE COUNTING BACKWARD FROM 10 TO ONE
Let’s try it backward! What comes before 10?
Try to come up with some of your own questions and comments, too!
Activity After Reading
- TALK ABOUT COUNTING EVERYDAY OBJECTS
Let’s count how many steps we take as we walk!