Part, part, whole: a week of ready-to-teach maths

Five days of lessons for Foundation Number. Print this pack and the week is prepared: each day has a one-page plan and a student worksheet, plus cut-out mats and cards, a mini-check and every answer.

Start here: five minutes to Monday

1. Skim the week at a glance on the next page.
2. Print the five days. Each day is two A4 sheets: a plan and a worksheet.
3. Cut out the two card sheets once; they are reused all week.
4. Open the free interactive unit on your board. Every plan tells you which picture to show and when.
5. Teach straight from the plan. Timings, talk prompts, misconceptions and answers are all on the one page.

No maths background needed

This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. Each plan explains the idea in plain words, lists the misconceptions children bring, and gives model answers, so you can walk in and teach it.

One day, one lesson

The five lessons fill a week of maths, one lesson of about 40 minutes a day. Run them in order: each day stands on the one before. Every lesson can also split into a short warm-up and a main session if your timetable runs small blocks.

The week at a glance

One lesson a day for a week. Each day stands on the day before, so run them in order.

How the week builds

Day 1 splits a whole into two parts; Day 2 sees those parts on a ten-frame; Day 3 finds many ways to split the same whole; Day 4 hunts the missing part; and Day 5 uses the idea in a lunchbox story. It builds on subitising small groups from earlier in Foundation, and it opens the way to adding and taking away, which are only two views of the same picture.

Materials for the week (one trip)

• From the classroom: scissors, pencils, this pack printed.
• From home or the craft box: a small handful of counters, buttons or dry pasta, up to ten per child, in two colours if you can.
• Cut out once, use all week: the part-part-whole mats and the number and dot cards in this pack. No maths equipment to buy.

Dear families

This week in maths, Foundation explores parts and wholes. We take a small group of up to ten things, break it into two parts, and put the parts back together to make the whole again.

Try this at home

• Count out a small handful of blocks or grapes, up to ten. Push them into two piles and say the two parts: four and three make seven.
• Hide some in one hand. Show the rest and ask how many are hidden, then open your hand to check.
• Split the same group a new way. Ask what stays the same: the two parts changed, but the whole did not.
• At snack time, share a sandwich or some crackers: how many for you, how many to share, how many in all?

My parts this week

Fill one row a day. Tick when you have said the two parts and joined them back.

Printed from the free seegongsik Part, Part, Whole teaching pack · seegongsik.com/au/foundation/number/AC9MFN04/pack

Split into two parts

Children take a small group of up to ten things and break it into two parts, then join the parts back into the whole. Hands come first: a pile pushed into two piles convinces faster than any symbol.

We are learning to

• break a whole of up to ten into two parts,
• name the two parts, such as four and three,
• join the parts back to make the whole again.

Success criteria

• I can split a group into two parts.
• I can say the two parts and the whole they make.

You need

A small handful of counters, buttons or dry pasta, up to ten per child, in two colours if you can. The part-part-whole mats (cut-out sheet 1), one per pair. The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the first split. Start Session B by counting out seven again, then splitting it a new way.

Watch for these ideas

• Counting only one part and forgetting the other: both parts belong to the whole.
• Thinking the whole grows or shrinks when the parts move: nothing was added or taken away.
• Leaving a leftover counter uncounted, so the two parts do not rebuild the whole.

Answers

• Five splits into two parts many ways: 4 and 1, 3 and 2, 1 and 4, and so on. Any two parts that make five are correct.
• Eight splits many ways too: 5 and 3, 6 and 2, 4 and 4, and so on.
• Own whole varies: check the two parts join back to the whole the child chose.

Break it into two

Count out the whole with counters. Push it into two parts. Draw the two parts, then write how many are in each.

Split 7

Push seven counters into two groups. My two parts are ____ and ____.

Split 5

Push five counters into two groups. My two parts are ____ and ____.

Write the two parts

Your own whole

Choose a whole up to ten. Count it, split it, and write it here: whole ____ is ____ and ____.

Parts on a ten-frame

A ten-frame shows the two parts of ten in one look. Drop in six counters and the four empty spaces appear on their own, so children can see each part at a glance instead of counting it.

We are learning to

• fill a ten-frame and see the filled part and the empty part,
• say the two parts of ten, such as six and four,
• see how many at a glance, without counting one by one.

Success criteria

• I can say the two parts of ten on a ten-frame.
• I can see a small part in one look.

You need

Counters, up to ten per child. The worksheet, one per child (it carries the ten-frames). A big ten-frame on the board or floor helps.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after fill and glance; start Session B with the worksheet ten-frames.

Watch for these ideas

• Counting the empty spaces one by one instead of seeing them: the rows of five help you glance.
• Forgetting the empty part is a part too: filled and empty together make ten.
• Filling from the middle so the frame is hard to read: fill along the row, left to right.

Answers

• Six filled: 6 and 4 make 10. Three filled: 3 and 7 make 10.
• Nine filled: 9 and 1 make 10.
• Own ten-frame varies: check the filled part and the empty part add to ten.

The two parts of ten

Colour the counters to fill each ten-frame. Then write the filled part and the empty part.

Your own ten-frame

Draw counters in the empty frame. Then write: filled ____ and empty ____ make 10.

Same whole, different parts

One whole can be split many ways. Six can be five and one, or four and two, or three and three. The parts keep changing, yet the whole holds at six. This is the idea that turns a single fact into a web of them.

We are learning to

• find more than one way to split the same whole,
• see that the whole stays the same when the parts move,
• record several pairs of parts for one whole.

Success criteria

• I can find two or more ways to split a whole.
• I can say the whole does not change when the parts do.

You need

Counters in two colours, up to ten per child. The part-part-whole mats (cut-out sheet 1). The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after moving one across; start Session B with how many ways.

Watch for these ideas

• Thinking a new split makes a new whole: moving counters never adds or removes any.
• Stopping after one way: most wholes can be split several ways.
• Treating four and two as different from two and four: it is the same pair, turned around.

Answers

• Six splits as 5 and 1, 4 and 2, 3 and 3 (and the same pairs turned around, plus 6 and 0).
• Seven splits as 6 and 1, 5 and 2, 4 and 3 (and turned around, plus 7 and 0).
• Every split of the same whole still makes that whole.

One whole, many parts

Use counters. Find as many ways as you can to split the whole. Write each pair of parts.

Split 6 in different ways

The whole is 6 every time.

Split 7 in different ways

Write three different ways to make 7: ____ and ____, ____ and ____, ____ and ____.

Find the missing part

Now the whole and one part are shown, and the other part is hidden. Working backwards to the missing part is the hardest move and the most useful: it is exactly the thinking that makes taking away feel easy later on.

We are learning to

• find the missing part when the whole and one part are shown,
• work out how many are hidden,
• say the whole story once the missing part is found.

Success criteria

• I can find the missing part.
• I can check that my two parts make the whole.

You need

Counters, up to ten per child, and a cup or hand to hide some. The part-part-whole mats (cut-out sheet 1). The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after hide and find; start Session B with the pair game.

Watch for these ideas

• Guessing the missing part instead of reasoning from the whole: the two parts must make the whole.
• Counting the shown part again as if it were the answer: the answer is the hidden part.
• Forgetting the whole while hunting the part: keep the whole in mind the whole time.

Answers

• Whole 9, part 4: missing part 5. Whole 8, part 6: missing part 2.
• Whole 10, part 3: missing part 7.
• Own one varies: check the shown part and the missing part make the whole.

What is hiding?

The whole and one part are shown. Find the missing part. Use counters to help, then write it.

Draw the missing part

The whole is 10. One part is 6. Draw the missing part, then write it: ____

Real problems: the lunchbox

None of this needs to live on a worksheet. A sandwich cut into pieces, some kept and some shared, is a whole splitting into parts. Today the week’s idea walks into a lunchbox story, then the class meets the mini-check.

We are learning to

• tell a part-part-whole story from real things,
• join two parts to find the whole,
• split a whole to share it into two parts.

Success criteria

• I can find the whole from two parts in a story.
• I can split a whole into two parts to share it.

You need

Counters as pretend food, up to ten per child. The part-part-whole mats (cut-out sheet 1). The worksheet and the mini-check, one each per child.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the lunchbox stories; run the mini-check as Session B.

Watch for these ideas

• Counting one part twice, or missing a part of the group.
• Adding when the story asks you to split, or splitting when it asks you to join.
• Losing track of the whole while sharing: the two shares still make the whole.

Answers

• Two crackers and three carrot sticks make five snacks.
• A sandwich of six shares many ways: 2 kept and 4 shared, 3 and 3, 1 and 5, and so on.
• Story answers: five pieces of fruit in all; four left to share when two are eaten.

The lunchbox

Read each lunchbox story. Use counters as pretend food. Draw it, then write the answer.

Join the parts

You have 2 crackers and 3 carrot sticks. How many snacks in all? ____

Share the sandwich

A sandwich is cut into 6 pieces. You keep some and share the rest. Show one way: keep ____ and share ____.

Two more stories

1. There are 4 apples and 1 banana in the box. How many pieces of fruit? ____

2. You had 6 grapes and ate 2. How many are left to share? ____

Part-part-whole mats

Cut out the mats. Put the whole group of counters in the top box, then push them down into the two part boxes. Read the whole and the two parts. One mat per pair is plenty, and it is used every day this week.

Teacher note: the whole box sits above its two parts, so a child can see the whole break apart and join back. This is the same picture the splitting bar and the lunchbox use on screen.

Number and dot cards

Cut out the cards. Use the number cards to name a part or a whole. Use the dot cards to match a count at a glance, and to play the missing-part game: cover one card and name the part that is hidden.

Number cards (0 to 10)

Dot cards (0 to 10)

Teacher note: the dot cards share the ten-frame layout, so a child can subitise the count without counting one by one.

What we know: part, part, whole

Work on your own. Use counters or a drawing if it helps.

1. 4 is ____ and ____.
2. 3 and 2 make ____.
3. A ten-frame has 8 filled. How many are empty? ____
4. The whole is 7. One part is 2. The missing part is ____.
5. Write two ways to make 8: ____ and ____, and ____ and ____.
6. There are 5 pieces of fruit: some apples and some pears. Write one way: ____ apples and ____ pears.
7. Draw two parts that make 6 in the box below.
8. The whole is 10. One part is 6. The missing part is ____.

Answers and marking guide

Answers

1. Any two parts that make 4: 0 and 4, 1 and 3, or 2 and 2.
2. 5.
3. 2 (the two parts of ten are 8 and 2).
4. 5.
5. Any two different ways, such as 5 and 3, and 6 and 2.
6. Any split of 5, such as 3 apples and 2 pears.
7. Any drawing that shows two parts making 6, such as 4 and 2.
8. 4.

A quick three-level guide

Eight questions, four ideas. A child at standard answers most questions and can say the whole story: two parts make the whole.

Weekly class record

Jot a tick as you move around the room; the mini-check fills any gaps. A tick a day is plenty.

The five columns are the five days: split into parts, parts of ten, same whole in more ways, find the missing part, and solve a problem.