First graders are exposed to addition of three whole numbers in a math activity centered around Eric Carle's, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. As the teacher reads, young mathematicians use counters and ten-frames to symbolize the number of things the caterpillar ate. Pupils also write an equation that shows the adding of the counters. By the end of the story, the youngsters will have figured out the correct number of things eaten while having developed an understanding of base-ten structure and counting on. Ten-frames are not included in the activity.

Common Core

1.OA.A.2 1.OA.C.5 1.OA.D.7 1.NBT.B.2.a MP2 MP4 MP5 MP7