Guided Small Group Math Activities

Build math and executive function skills at the same time. Introduce the activity in Whole Group before engaging in Small Groups. Then play in Center Time once children are very familiar with the rules.

Explore Activities

Why Executive Function Skills Matter in Preschool

Executive function skills, or EF, begin to develop in early childhood and remain useful throughout life. EF includes the ability to follow instructions to complete a task, stay focused despite distractions, and successfully switch between tasks. Research shows that:

  • EF supports problem solving, which in turn supports the development of math skills.
  • Both EF and math skills are linked to a wide range of important academic outcomes.

Using These Activities

  • These activities use common classroom materials or free downloadable materials that can be printed from this website.
  • The activities cover two key areas of preschool math: 1) Number, Counting, Cardinality, & Operations, and 2) Geometry & Spatial Thinking
  • Each activity outlines specific math objectives to guide teaching.
  • Each activity includes one, two, or three versions corresponding to different levels of difficulty.
  • Each version includes a short description and objectives. For any given activity, become familiar with all versions to meet different students where they are.

Over a period of weeks or longer:

  • Introduce the activity in Whole Groups.
  • Then, engage pairs or small groups of students in the Small Group activities over several days or weeks. The Small Group activities are designed to focus on learning and practicing math and EF skills. You can revisit the same or different versions of each activity throughout the year as children’s math or EF skills increase.
  • Finally, provide a Center version of the activity after children are familiar with the materials and activity.
  • If the activity is too easy for some students, or too difficult for other students, consider adjusting the math or EF skills, or both skills, to increase or decrease the challenges. Detailed suggestions for scaffolding are provided for each activity.
  • All activities include printable cards that support children’s EF skills during the activities. For example, Step Icons help students keep track of the steps of an activity. Think-Pair-Share cards remind students when to think silently or share with their partners. Role Play cards help students keep track of what role they play in the activity.

Using These Activities

  • These activities use common classroom materials or free downloadable materials that can be printed from this website.
  • The activities cover two key areas of preschool math: 1) Number, Counting, Cardinality, & Operations, and 2) Geometry & Spatial Thinking
  • Each activity outlines specific math objectives to guide teaching.
  • Each activity includes one, two, or three versions corresponding to different levels of difficulty.
  • Each version includes a short description and objectives. For any given activity, become familiar with all versions to meet different students where they are.

Over a period of weeks or longer:

  • Introduce the activity in Whole Groups.
  • Then, engage pairs or small groups of students in the Small Group activities over several days or weeks. The Small Group activities are designed to focus on learning and practicing math and EF skills. You can revisit the same or different versions of each activity throughout the year as children’s math or EF skills increase.
  • Finally, provide a Center version of the activity after children are familiar with the materials and activity.
  • If the activity is too easy for some students, or too difficult for other students, consider adjusting the math or EF skills, or both skills, to increase or decrease the challenges. Detailed suggestions for scaffolding are provided for each activity.
  • All activities include printable cards that support children’s EF skills during the activities. For example, Step Icons help students keep track of the steps of an activity. Think-Pair-Share cards remind students when to think silently or share with their partners. Role Play cards help students keep track of what role they play in the activity.

Activity Directory

The Guided Small Group Math Activities were created by the University of Denver team led by Douglas H. Clements and Crystal Day-Hess, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota led by Michèle M. Mazzocco. The Denver team included Holland Banse, Christina Mulcahy, and Julie Sarama, and the Minnesota team included Megan Onesti and Jenny Chan. The authors are grateful to their collaborating teachers in the Denver and greater Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan regions who provided valuable constructive feedback on the activities.

Adapted for the DREME Network with permission from © 2019 Learning and Teaching with Learning Trajectories. https://learningtrajectories.org/

In addition, the Math + EF articles written to support the Guided Activities were developed by the University of Minnesota team, led by Michèle M. Mazzocco, with Jasmine Ernst and Sarah Pan.

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