(9781844281640)
Written by April Pulley Sayre and Jeffrey Sayre
Illustrated by Randy Cecil
Published by Walker Books
Theme/topic: Addition, Comparison, Counting, Grouping, and Multiplication
Suggested learning area: AC9MFN01 (Mathematics – Foundation), ACMNA001 (Mathematics – Foundation), ACMNA002 (Mathematics – Foundation), ACMNA031 (Mathematics – Year 2),
This delightful and imaginative book introduces young readers to counting (ACMNA001, AC9MFN01 – Foundation Year, Mathematics) and basic multiplication concepts. By using the number of feet on various animals, the story encourages children to explore basic counting with feet (ACMNA002 – Foundation Year, Mathematics) and repeated addition, grouping, and arrays to represent numbers. This creative approach not only reinforces counting skills but also provides a playful foundation for understanding multiplication (ACMNA031 – Year 2, Mathematics). Additionally, the book supports early number recognition and sequencing as children practice counting and comparing quantities. With its vibrant illustrations and humorous scenarios, this book engages young learners while fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills in an enjoyable way.
• 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
• reading stories from other cultures featuring counting in sequence to assist students to recognise ways of counting in local languages and across cultures
• identifying the number words in sequence, backwards and forwards, and reasoning with the number sequences, establishing the language on which subsequent counting experiences can be built
• developing fluency with forwards and backwards counting in meaningful contexts, including stories and rhymes
• understanding that numbers are said in a particular order and there are patterns in the way we say them
• understanding that each object must be counted only once, that the arrangement of objects does not affect how many there are, and that the last number counted answers the ‘how many’ question
• using scenarios to help students recognise that other cultures count in a variety of ways, such as the Wotjoballum number systems
• representing array problems with available materials and explaining reasoning
• visualising a group of objects as a unit and using this to calculate the number of objects in several identical groups
What do one hundred sunbathing snails have in common with ten crabs? Find out in this joyful, award-winning counting book with a funny focus on feet.
If one is a snail, and two is a person … we must be counting by feet! Children will love this hilariously illustrated introduction to simple counting and multiplication with big feet and small – on people and spiders, dogs and insects, snails and crabs – from one to one hundred!
