AC9MFN05_E1
Use role-play and materials to represent mathematical relationships in stories. Draw pictures, use objects and record the result of an action with a numeral.
About This Foundation Maths Topic
Addition and subtraction begin with practical experiences. Children need opportunities to act out stories, move objects, draw pictures and talk about what happens when quantities are joined, separated or compared.
In this chapter, students represent simple mathematical situations using counters, toys, drawings, role-play, number stories and virtual materials. They use counting and subitising strategies to determine how many objects there are before and after an action.
Students also explore practical situations involving sharing, comparing collections and using one-dollar coins in simple classroom shop activities.
These activities support the Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 content descriptor AC9MFN05 and its associated elaborations.
Australian Curriculum Alignment
AC9MFN05
Represent practical situations involving addition, subtraction and quantification with physical and virtual materials, and use counting or subitising strategies.
AC9MFN05_E2
Take part in practical situations involving quantifying, comparing collections and simple money transactions, including using one-dollar coins in classroom shop activities.
AC9MFN05_E3
Represent additive situations described in First Nations Australians’ stories and explore their connections to Country and Place.
AC9MFN05_E4
Represent addition and subtraction situations found in leaf games and storytelling activities, including examples from the Warlpiri Peoples of Yuendumu.
Learning Intentions
Students will learn to:
- represent simple addition situations using objects and pictures;
- represent simple subtraction situations by taking objects away;
- use role-play to act out mathematical stories;
- identify the starting quantity, the action and the result;
- use counting or subitising to determine the total;
- compare collections to decide whether there are enough objects;
- use one-dollar coins in simple classroom shop activities;
- record the result of a mathematical action using a numeral;
- explain what happened in a number story.
Student Success Criteria
I can act out an addition story.
I can act out a subtraction story.
I can use objects to show what happened.
I can draw a picture to represent a maths story.
I can count how many there are altogether.
I can count how many are left.
I can decide whether there are enough objects.
I can record my answer using a numeral.
I can explain how I found my answer.
Key Vocabulary
addition
subtraction
add
take away
join
separate
altogether
left
more
fewer
same
enough
count
subitise
dollar
total
Teacher Guide
Recommended Materials
- counters, blocks, buttons or bottle caps;
- toy animals, vehicles or classroom objects;
- number cards from 0 to 10;
- ten frames and five frames;
- dice and dominoes;
- story picture cards;
- small baskets, hoops or sorting trays;
- play food and classroom shop items;
- play one-dollar coins;
- drawing paper and pencils;
- leaves or safe natural objects for storytelling.
Suggested Teaching Sequence
- Begin with simple joining stories using small collections of objects.
- Ask students to act out the story by physically moving the objects together.
- Introduce subtraction by removing objects from a visible collection.
- Ask students to describe what happened using words such as joined, added, took away and left.
- Represent the same situation using objects, drawings and numerals.
- Use ten frames, dice and dominoes to support counting and subitising strategies.
- Introduce practical comparison situations such as checking whether there are enough pencils or scissors for a group.
- Set up a classroom shop where students use one-dollar coins to pay for items priced in whole dollars.
- Encourage students to explain how they found the result.
Teacher Questions
- How many objects were there at the beginning?
- What happened in the story?
- Did the collection become larger or smaller?
- How many objects were added?
- How many objects were taken away?
- How many are there altogether?
- How many are left?
- How can you show the story using counters?
- Can you draw what happened?
- Do we have enough for everyone?
- How many one-dollar coins are needed?
- Can you explain how you found your answer?
Common Misconceptions
Counting the starting collection again without completing the action
Ask the student to physically join or remove the objects before counting the result.
Confusing addition and subtraction
Focus on the action in the story. Addition usually involves joining or adding more, while subtraction usually involves taking away or separating.
Removing the wrong number of objects
Ask students to count each removed object aloud and place it in a separate area.
Believing that objects must look the same to be counted together
Use mixed collections and explain that different objects can still be counted as one total collection.
Counting coins instead of recognising their value
Begin only with one-dollar coins so that one coin represents one dollar. Match each coin to one dollar of the price.
Foundation Addition and Subtraction Activities
Activity 1: Act Out an Addition Story
Place five toy animals near a pretend pond. Add two more animals and ask students to act out the story.
Students count how many animals are there altogether and record the result using a numeral.
Curriculum connection: AC9MFN05_E1
Activity 2: Kangaroos Hopping Away
Begin with eight toy kangaroos or counters. Move three away from the group.
Students draw the starting collection, cross out the three that hopped away and count how many remain.
Curriculum connection: AC9MFN05_E1
Activity 3: Build the Story
Read a simple number story aloud. Students use counters or blocks to represent each part of the story.
Ask students to explain whether they joined collections or took objects away.
Curriculum connection: AC9MFN05_E1
Activity 4: Draw What Happened
Give students a practical addition or subtraction story. Students draw the starting collection, show the action and record the result.
Encourage children to use circles, dots or simple pictures rather than detailed drawings.
Curriculum connection: AC9MFN05_E1
Activity 5: Do We Have Enough?
Create a small group of students or toy figures. Provide a collection of pencils, scissors or cups.
Students decide whether there are enough objects for each person to receive one.
Curriculum connection: AC9MFN05_E2
Activity 6: Classroom Shop
Set up a pretend shop with items priced from one to five dollars. Give students play one-dollar coins.
Students count the correct number of coins needed to buy each item.
Curriculum connection: AC9MFN05_E2
Activity 7: Compare Two Collections
Place two collections side by side. Ask students which collection has more, fewer or the same number.
Students can count or match the objects one-to-one to justify their answer.
Curriculum connection: AC9MFN05_E2
Activity 8: Storytelling with Country and Place
Use an age-appropriate First Nations Australian story that includes joining, separating or changing quantities.
Students represent the mathematical situation using counters, pictures or natural materials.
First Nations Australian stories and knowledge should be presented respectfully, accurately and in consultation with suitable local or authoritative sources where possible.
Curriculum connection: AC9MFN05_E3
Activity 9: Tiddalick Number Story
After reading an appropriate retelling of the Tiddalick story, create simple addition or subtraction situations connected to the characters and events.
Students use objects or drawings to represent the changing quantities.
Ensure that the story is taught respectfully and is sourced from a suitable published or community-approved resource.
Curriculum connection: AC9MFN05_E3
Activity 10: Leaf Story Games
Use leaves or paper leaf cut-outs as characters or objects in a simple number story.
Students add leaves to a group, remove leaves or divide them into smaller collections while explaining what happened.
When referring to Warlpiri leaf games, use culturally appropriate and authoritative teaching sources.
Curriculum connection: AC9MFN05_E4
Differentiation
Support
- begin with collections up to five;
- use real objects that students can move;
- read one short sentence at a time;
- use picture cards to show the action;
- use ten frames to organise collections;
- allow students to act out the story before drawing;
- provide sentence starters and adult scribing.
Extension
- use collections up to 10 or beyond;
- ask students to create their own number stories;
- include missing-start or missing-change situations;
- ask students to show the same story in two different ways;
- compare two possible solutions;
- record the situation using numerals and mathematical symbols;
- ask students to explain why their representation matches the story.
Mathematical Sentence Starters
There were _____ objects at the beginning.
_____ more objects joined the group.
_____ objects were taken away.
There are _____ objects altogether.
There are _____ objects left.
The collection became larger because _____.
The collection became smaller because _____.
We have enough because _____.
We do not have enough because _____.
I used _____ one-dollar coins.
I know my answer is correct because _____.
Assessment Ideas
Observe whether the student can:
- identify the starting quantity in a story;
- represent an addition action by joining objects;
- represent a subtraction action by removing objects;
- count or subitise the resulting quantity;
- draw a picture that matches the practical situation;
- record the result using a numeral;
- determine whether there are enough objects for a group;
- use one-dollar coins to pay an exact whole-dollar amount;
- explain what happened in the story.
Quick Exit Ticket
- Show four counters.
- Add two more counters.
- Count how many there are altogether.
- Draw the situation and record the answer.
Printable Teacher and Student Resources
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Home Learning Ideas
Families can practise addition and subtraction using familiar objects such as toys, socks, spoons, pegs, fruit, blocks or buttons.
Begin with a small collection. Add more objects or take some away, then ask the child to explain what happened and count the result.
Ask questions such as:
- How many were there at the beginning?
- How many did we add?
- How many did we take away?
- How many are there altogether?
- How many are left?
- Can you draw what happened?
- How do you know your answer is correct?