Unit Plan 10 (PreK Math): Add & Take Away Stories

Focus: Act out joining and separating stories within 5 using toys, counters, and fingers; say how many now and show parts coming together or apart.

Grade Level: PreK

Subject Area: Mathematics (Operations in Play)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 20–30 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Children explore story problems as mini-plays: characters join or go away, and students act, count, and tell how many now. Through quick dramatizations, they begin to use operation words naturally and match stories to simple models (mats, towers, five-frames).

Essential Questions

• How do I know how many now when we put together or take away?
• Which tools (fingers, counters, mats) help me show what happened in the story?
• How can I explain what changed in my own words?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Act out simple join and separate stories within 5 using toys/counters/fingers.
2. Tell the result of a story (how many now) and show it on a mat or five-frame.
3. Describe changes with everyday operation words (e.g., “got 1 more,” “1 went away”).
4. Create and share a very short math story within 5 for peers to act out.

Standards Alignment — Custom CCSS-style Pre-Kindergarten

• PK.OA.1 — Represent joining & separating within 5. Uses objects/fingers to show putting together and taking apart. Example: “I had 2 bears and got 1 more — now 3.” (Aligns to: K.OA.1, scaled)
• PK.OA.2 — Solve simple word problems within 5 (with objects). Acts out add-to/take-from stories and tells the result. Example: “3 birds on a fence, 1 flies away — now 2.” (Aligns to: K.OA.2, scaled)
• (Supportive) MP.1, MP.4, MP.6 — Try and make sense; model with tools; use clear language.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can act out a story and show what happened.
• I can say how many now after we put together or take away.
• I can explain my thinking with words and a model.