Counting Critters Task Cards
CARD 1
RED LADYBUGS
Target: 3
🔴 Help 3 red ladybugs crawl to their 3 red leaves. Put 1 counter in the ten-frame for each ladybug!
🐞
1
🐞
2
🐞
3
🍁 🍁 🍁
Ten-Frame Helper (Place Counters Here)
HOW MANY?
3 3
✂️ Teacher Cut Line
CARD 2
BLUE BIRDS
Target: 5
🔵 Help 5 blue birds fly to their 5 blue nests. Put 1 counter in the ten-frame for each bird!
🐦
1
🐦
2
🐦
3
🐦
4
🐦
5
🪺 🪺 🪺 🪺 🪺
Ten-Frame Helper (Place Counters Here)
HOW MANY?
5 5
CARD 3
YELLOW BEES
Target: 2
🟡 Help 2 yellow bees fly to their 2 yellow flowers. Put 1 counter in the ten-frame for each bee!
🐝
1
🐝
2
🌻 🌻
Ten-Frame Helper (Place Counters Here)
HOW MANY?
2 2
✂️ Teacher Cut Line
CARD 4
GREEN FROGS
Target: 4
🟢 Help 4 green frogs hop to their 4 green lilypads. Put 1 counter in the ten-frame for each frog!
🐸
1
🐸
2
🐸
3
🐸
4
🍃 🍃 🍃 🍃
Ten-Frame Helper (Place Counters Here)
HOW MANY?
4 4
CARD 5
PURPLE FISH
Target: 6
🟣 Help 6 purple fish swim to their 6 purple bowls. Put 1 counter in the ten-frame for each fish!
🐟
1
🐟
2
🐟
3
🐟
4
🐟
5
🐟
6
🥣 🥣 🥣 🥣 🥣 🥣
Ten-Frame Helper (Place Counters Here)
HOW MANY?
6 6
✂️ Teacher Cut Line
CARD 6
ORANGE SQUIRREL
Target: 1
🟠 Help 1 orange squirrel find its 1 orange acorn. Put 1 counter in the ten-frame!
🐿️
1
🌰
Ten-Frame Helper (Place Counters Here)
HOW MANY?
1 1
CARD 7
PINK BUTTERFLIES
Target: 7
🌸 Help 7 pink butterflies flutter to their 7 pink flowers. Put 1 counter in the ten-frame for each butterfly!
🦋
1
🦋
2
🦋
3
🦋
4
🦋
5
🦋
6
🦋
7
🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸
Ten-Frame Helper (Place Counters Here)
HOW MANY?
7 7
✂️ Teacher Cut Line
CARD 8
BROWN BEARS
Target: 8
🐻 Help 8 brown bears stomp to their 8 brown caves. Put 1 counter in the ten-frame for each bear!
🐻
1
🐻
2
🐻
3
🐻
4
🐻
5
🐻
6
🐻
7
🐻
8
⛺ ⛺ ⛺ ⛺ ⛺ ⛺ ⛺ ⛺
Ten-Frame Helper (Place Counters Here)
HOW MANY?
8 8
CARD 9
GREY MICE
Target: 9
🐭 Help 9 grey mice scurry to their 9 cheese blocks. Put 1 counter in the ten-frame for each mouse!
🐭
1
🐭
2
🐭
3
🐭
4
🐭
5
🐭
6
🐭
7
🐭
8
🐭
9
🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀
Ten-Frame Helper (Place Counters Here)
HOW MANY?
9 9
✂️ Teacher Cut Line
CARD 10
TINY ANTS
Target: 10
🐜 Help 10 tiny ants march to their 10 picnic spots. Put 1 counter in the ten-frame for each ant!
🐜
1
🐜
2
🐜
3
🐜
4
🐜
5
🐜
6
🐜
7
🐜
8
🐜
9
🐜
10
🍉 🍉 🍉 🍉 🍉 🍉 🍉 🍉 🍉 🍉
Ten-Frame Helper (Place Counters Here)
HOW MANY?
10 10
Counting Critters Teacher Guide
COUNTING CRITTERS
Teacher Facilitation Guide • SDC Kindergarten
Skill Focus One-to-One Correspondence
Sensory Bin & Center Setup
- 🌾 Sensory Bin Prep: Fill a bin with green split peas, black beans, or yellow shredded paper. Bury the physical counters inside for the kids to "dig" and find.
- 🏫 Math Center Rotation: Laminate the task cards. Place them alongside a bowl containing concrete manipulatives (see side column) and fine-motor tweezers/scoops.
- 🎯 Visual Anchors: Tape a copy of the cards to the back of the sensory bin as a reference poster. Encourage students to point to the yellow dots directly on the cards.
💡 Center Adaptation
For students with limited grasp, use oversized 1.5-inch counting chips, magnetic buttons, or large plastic animals rather than standard small math counters.
IEP Goal Alignment (K.CC.B.4)
Standard Kindergarten goals customized for special education documentation:
"When presented with a visual task card (numbers 1-10) and physical objects, [Student] will count with 1-to-1 correspondence on 4 out of 5 trials."
"Using touch-point dot cues, [Student] will sequentially count visual sets up to 10 with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive days."
Aligns with: Math Common Core Standards (K.CC.4a, K.CC.4b)
Tactile Pairings
Pair these physical items with the task cards for multi-sensory math:
🔴 Red buttons / Red playdough
🔵 Blue counting links / Pom-poms
🟡 Yellow wooden cubes / Beads
🟢 Green plastic frogs / Felt leaves
Prompting Hierarchy
Systematic prompting instruction guides:
Level 1: Visual/Verbal LEAST
"Touch the yellow dots on the screen. Let's count."
Level 2: Gestural MID
Point to the card and then tap the ten-frame box.
Level 3: Hand-Over-Hand MOST
Gently guide student finger to tap dot 1, then dot 2.
Student Progress Quick-Check Checklist
| Student Name | Card 1-3 (Low Numbers) | Card 4-6 (Mid Numbers) | Card 7-10 (High Numbers) | Prompt Level Needed |
|---|
| ______________________ | 🟩 Yes / 🟥 No | 🟩 Yes / 🟥 No | 🟩 Yes / 🟥 No | Verbal / Gestural / Physical |