The purpose of this activity is to introduce the students to a new routine called How Many Do You See?, which will be used throughout the year. In this activity, students experience the first part of this routine. They continue to engage in this routine throughout the section and participate in the full routine by the end of the section. In the Activity Synthesis, students explain how they saw the dots. This is an opportunity to hear the language students use to explain their thinking. The number “3” is displayed during the Activity Synthesis to give students opportunities to recognize numbers and connect numbers and quantities.

• Display or write “3.” 
• “There are 3 dots.”

The purpose of this activity is for students to learn Stage 1 of the Picture Books center. Students recognize and name quantities in picture books. Read the book aloud to students as a part of the Launch. Students may notice and wonder many things about the page in the book, especially after hearing the story. This should be encouraged and recorded as students are making sense of the context.

If students do not mention the groups of objects displayed on the page, ask them “What things on the page remind you of things we have been doing in math class?” to encourage them to mathematize the situation (MP4). This prepares students to see and analyze quantities so that they can use mathematics to describe their world.

Some examples of picture books include: 

• Grandma’s Purse by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
• My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith
• Pablo’s Tree by Pat Mora
• Saturday by Oge Mora
• There Is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems
• Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
• Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
• Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan
• Count on Me by Miguel Tanco
• The Girl with the Parrot on Her Head by Daisy Hirst 

Throughout the year, books that are read to students or used by students in centers are referred to as picture books in these materials. The term "picture book" refers to books with only pictures or books with both pictures and words.

• “What groups of things did you find in your book? How many things are in the group?”
• Invite previously identified students to share.
• As students share, display or write the number they identify and say, “There are _____ in the group.”

The purpose of this activity is for students to choose from activities that focus on using math tools. Students choose from any of the previously introduced stages of these centers:

• Connecting Cubes
• Pattern Blocks 
• Geoblocks
• Picture Books

Students will choose from the same centers throughout the section. Keep materials from these centers organized to use each day.

• Invite previously selected students to share their work.
• “How can we describe what _____ made?”