Tally Marks

One thing we are working on in math is making and counting tally marks, which are of course a way to easily make a group of five. We say "1, 2, 3, 4, make a gate with 5,... 6, 7, 8, 9, make a gate with 10," etc. to practice this grouping. We practice counting  the tallies by fives and then ones. 

Last week I had students count out exactly 20 popsicle sticks (have your child count, count, count anything and everything you can-- accurate, organized counting is such a foundational, important skill we try to weave it into everything at this point). Then we played a flash and build game: I showed students a drawn collection of tally marks-- but only for two or three seconds. Students then had to copy the amount using popsicle sticks. To do this they had to subitize, or "see" 5 without having the time to count 5. Tally marks grouped by 5 helps students see 5 and more quickly. We will practice lots of strategies this year that help us benchmark on the numbers five and ten and twenty to tell amounts efficiently. Here they are at work.