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Counting Mice (Counting forward)

The Book

Mouse Count

Written & illustrated by Ellen Stoll Walsh, published by HMH Books

This charming story supports early maths and literacy development. As a hungry snake finds and counts ten mice one by one, children are invited to practise counting forward and backward, reinforcing the concept of matching quantities with numbers (AC9MFN01 – Foundation Year, Mathematics).

The story has clear features of a narrative, which create opportunities for children to share ideas about events, such as the problem and its resolution, and the characters in the text (AC9EFLE02 – Foundation Year, English). Children can also retell the story through drawing, role-playing, or sequencing events, building their comprehension and creative expression (AC9EFLE05 – Foundation Year, English).

With its simple text, bold illustrations, and engaging plot, Mouse Count is an ideal resource for integrating numeracy and literacy in early childhood learning.

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Resource creator

Lian Khanh

Subject

Mathematics,

Level

Foundation,

Description

In this interactive counting lesson, students listen to Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh and join in as the mice are added and then escape the jar. Through hands-on activities using paper cutouts, students practise counting forward and matching quantities to numerals.

Learning Intentions

• We are learning to count objects and match them to numbers.

Successful Criteria

• I can count forward as mice go into the jar.
• I can match a number to the correct number of mice.

Curriculum Alignment

AC9MFN01 9.0 (Mathematics Foundation): Name, represent and order numbers including zero to at least 20, using physical and virtual materials and numerals

• responding to a request to collect a quantity of objects or reading a numeral and selecting the associated quantity of items from a collection to match the number required; for example, collecting 9 paint brushes after hearing the word ‘nine’
• recognising the order in the sequence of numbers to (20) and identifying the number that is “one less” than a given number and the number that is “one more”; for example, playing instructive card games that involve reading and ordering number cards; using counting songs, story books and rhymes to establish the forwards and backwards counting sequence of numbers in the context of active counting activities
• understanding and using terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, … “fifth”… to indicate ordinal position in a sequence; for example, creating a number track using cards with the numerals zero to (20) and describing positions using terms such as first, last, before, after, between
• recognising, writing and reading numerals written on familiar objects; for example, in images, text or illustrations in story books; writing a numeral on a container as a label to show how many objects it contains
• connecting quantities to number names and numerals when reading and reciting stories and playing counting games or determining and reasoning about the size of sets of objects within First Nation Australians’ instructive games; for example, Segur etug from Mer Island in the Torres Strait region

Materials

A copy of Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Large whiteboard or poster of a jar
Paper cut-out mice (10+ for teacher)

Instructions

Introduction

Gather students in a circle. Introduce the book Mouse Count and explain that they will help count the mice.

Read Aloud

Read the story aloud. As the snake adds mice to the jar, pause and invite the children to count together: “1 mouse… 2 mice…”
Reinforce counting each time a mouse is added.

Whole-Class Jar Counting

On the board, draw a large jar. Use paper mice to mimic the story. Ask volunteers to come up and add mice as everyone counts aloud.

One-on-one Matching Numbers

Hand out a jar poster/image and 10 paper mice.
Ask: “Can you put 4 mice in the jar?” Children respond by placing the correct number of mice.
Then, use number cards: hold up a “6” and say, “Can you show me 6 mice in the jar?”

Extensions

Numeral recognition: Hold up number cards instead of saying the number aloud.
Writing numerals: Practise writing numbers beside the mice.
Backwards Counting: Pretend the mice are escaping the jar. Act it out and count backward as each mouse “runs away”: “10 mice… 9 mice…”