Let’s Count

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• Let’s Count, by Tana Hoban

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Preparation

1. Read the story through before presenting it to the children. Think about how you might engage your children in subitizing as you read (see Directions for some suggestions).

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1. In Let’s Count, the author shows each number in a variety of ways: numeral, number word, dots, and everyday items.
2. Before You Read: Tell the children that you will hold up the book cover for a couple of seconds, then hide it, and they must tell you what they saw on the cover. Ask, How many balloons did you see on the cover? What colors did you see? How many balloons of each color? Show the book cover again and have the children check their answers. Point to each word as you read aloud the title and the name of the author.
3. As You Read: Use the book to strengthen children’s subitizing skills in the following way:
   • Tell the children that you will show them some of the pages quickly, just like you did the cover, and they should tell you what is on the pages.
   • One at a time, show each spread for the numbers 1–5 for two seconds only.
   • Ask for volunteers to tell you how many of objects are in each of the photos, for example, on the first spread there is one chicken.
   • Before you move to the next spread, ask for volunteers to count the dots and/or objects on the pages. (You may want to skip this for the higher numbers.) If a child gets stuck, encourage another child to help her or him).
   • As you read all the pages, say the word for the number while your finger scrolls across the bottom of the letters.
4. After You Read: Talk about the story. Ask the children which page they liked the most and why.

Note: If you have children who are struggling with subitizing, use this book to help them practice counting from 1 to 5. Have children count each group of objects on the pages.