And honestly, all of those "issues" are totally worth it! But the
biggest problem I've noticed lately is... kids can't do counting collections
if they aren't in the classroom! #distancelearning
Yes, parents can grab some things around the house to count, but, that's not
ideal to put on the parents--especially if they are full time parents.
So, digital counting collections were born! I love these for so many
reasons... let's talk about those and what the routines look like digitally in
the classroom or at home.
Why Should I Go Digital With Counting Collections?
Okay. Confession. When given the option between digital and
counting actual objects I can touch, feel and manipulate, I'd choose those
dang q-tips every single time. You just can't replace that.
But digital counting comes pretty stinkin' close. It's a great fit for
distance learning, if you want to be able to assign kids certain sets to
count. It's easy to do on a chromebook, ipad or even an iphone so many
kids will have easy access to digital counting collections.
Besides being a great option for distance learning, counting collections can
also be a great supplement in the classroom.
While I wouldn't recommend completely replacing your traditional counting collections with digital, there are some great ways to work it in that can add
value to your counting routines.
Digital counting collections work great as an additional math center because
the cleanup and set up is so much quicker than traditional counting
collections. They also work great as an early finisher task (read more
about those
here).
Again, this wouldn't replace your weekly or daily counting time, it would be
in addition to it!
What Do Digital Counting Collections Routines Look Like?
Digital counting collection routines are super similar to tradition counting collections routines. If you already do these in your classroom, adding
the digital routines will be a breeze.
If you are trying counting collections for the first time, digital is a great
first step to practice and see how it works in your classroom before
committing to collecting #allthethings in #allthetubs ! :)
If you are in your classroom, the first step is to introduce counting
collections and do a digital example together. Distance learning
teachers, simply video yourself explaining how to use digital counting
collections and showing them an example by using
this screen recorder free software!
Once you feel your kids understand what to do, assign them all the same
counting mat to practice and share together. This will give you similar
numbers and objects to talk about during the share time after their individual
counting time.
Then, you are ready to begin the real work of counting collections. You
can use the assessments in the paper counting collections resource to
determine where your kids should begin counting. Then assign them a
color level and you are set!
That's a quick overview of the routines. Are you new to counting
collections and want more details on what to do? Read
this detailed post
on getting started with counting collections.
The routine for digital counting collections is basically the same, just
online. :) If you want all the details about how to add it to Google
Classroom, assign different mats to different students, etc, watch this video
here!
Once you've assigned the mats, your kids will click and drag to count the
objects like in this kinder mat.
Then, they will count and double click to type in the total amounts and whatever other skills needed. (Kinder, 1st, and 2nd all have different skills they practice with their collection.)
Finally, they can use the "scribble" feature in google slides or the edit feature in google classroom on an ipad or iphone to show how they counted or label their counting.
This is one I did using the scribble feature on my laptop in google slides...
This is how my 7 year old did a kinder version on his iPad using the edit feature in the Google classroom app.
But what about share time? Share time is different, but very doable if you are doing digital counting collections. If you assign the mats in Google classroom, you can save the mat as a jpeg file once the student turns it in. Then, you can pull it up on your whiteboard in the classroom to discuss or use it to record a share time video for distance learning. You could even share your screen in zoom or google meet to do share time.
The awesome thing about the digital mats is you can see how they grouped the objects easily instead of counting on the kids to draw/represent how they counted accurately.
Where Can I Find Digital Counting Collections?
If you're ready to try digital counting collections, you can find the bundle of K, 1st, and 2nd mats here. Click on the individual pictures for just that grade's mats.
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