Hands-on Activity on Comparing Numbers

We are moving on with our math by introducing new math concepts, one of which is the more or less activity and using the greater than or less than symbol.  To do this, I made use of the holiday season’s symbols so Vito can easily relate and used manipulatives like some Christmas erasers and Montessori beads.


I made these cards and learning material as a tool for our learning.  There are three kinds of activities for this learning pack, but for now we are using the more or less cards.  You can use these in so many ways, but right now, we are using it as a guide for our set-up.


First, I let Vito pick a card and let him count the objects in each section and he will pick a bead corresponding to the count in each section. Like in the picture below, he picked this card, represented the stars with brown [8] bead and stockings with white [7] bead.


We will then compare the two beads, which one is more, which one is less.  We've setup the beads side by side and identified which one is longer or has more beads.


After which, I tell Vito to place the greater than sign in between the two beads, with its “mouth” or opening to the bead that is “bigger” or has more count.  He enjoyed this part so much!  I told him it’s like a pretend game of an alligator eating the beads that has more count.


He wanted to work some more, so we tried some other cards to work with.  I Can’t believe that he enjoyed this activity!


For an alternative set-up, you can use erasers or any other counters in this activity.  If you have an older child, you can just count and mark the objects that has more in this card, but for younger kids, it is best to recreate the counts using manipulatives as this will enhance their counting skills and 1:1 correspondence.


In my learning pack, the math symbols are included and a black/white version is also provided if you wish to color the objects and mark them with pens.  More post to come as soon as we progress with these learning materials!

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