🐿️Children touch the dots on each numeral to add, then learn to start from the larger number and count on. Squirrels and acorns carry the theme as sums grow from within 5 to within 18 over a 3-week plan.
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These free Fall Addition Worksheets with Counting Dots teach kindergarten and 1st grade students to add with a touch and count strategy. Each numeral carries a set of dots, and children touch and count them to find a sum before moving on to more efficient counting.
The progression is gradual. Students first learn where the dots sit with a counting dot numeral chart for 0 to 9 and Trace the Dots practice. Level A worksheets keep sums within 5 and add acorn pictures for support, Level B moves to sums within 10, and Level C teaches children to start with the larger number and count on, with sums up to 18.
Practice goes beyond rows of equations. Stack It Up pages introduce vertical addition, Acorn Word Problems ask students to apply the strategy to a short story, a Find the 10s Maze adds a puzzle, and Feed the Squirrels is a cut and paste activity. Squirrels and acorns keep everything in a cozy fall theme.
A 3-week addition plan and a How to Touch & Count strategy guide show you how to introduce and pace the strategy. Two quick checks let you see who is ready to move up, answer keys make grading fast, and a Super Squirrel Adder Award marks the finish.
The 27 black and white pages fit math centers, guided math, small groups, intervention, special education, morning work, homework, homeschool, early finishers and sub plans.
📖 Teaching guide · 12 min readTeaching Addition with Counting Dots: From Touch and Count to Counting On in Kindergarten and 1st GradeRead the guide →The dots give children something to touch, so addition does not depend on fingers or pictures alone. Moving from counting all to counting on from the larger number builds a more efficient strategy step by step.
Yes, it is a free download on TPT.
Sums within 5 with picture support, then within 10, then counting on to sums up to 18.
A 3-week addition plan is included, with two quick checks to see who is ready to move on.
Kindergarten and 1st grade, including small groups, intervention and special education.
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