🧮Mathematics·15 min·Sample Lesson

More or Less? Learning Your First Math Words

Every day you already do math without knowing it! When you line up for recess and count how many friends are ahead of you, or when you split 6 crayons between two hands, you are using math words. This lesson gives you the real words mathematicians use so you can talk about numbers like a pro: more, fewer, equal, add, and take away.

What You'll Learn

- What "more" and "fewer" mean when you compare two groups - How to use the words "add" and "take away" with real objects - The names of four shapes you see every day: circle, square, triangle, and rectangle - How to use the word "equal" to show two groups match

More, Fewer, and Equal

Imagine you have a bowl with 5 red grapes and your friend has a bowl with 3 green grapes. You have MORE grapes than your friend. Your friend has FEWER grapes than you. Now imagine you both have 4 grapes each -- your bowls are EQUAL, which means the same amount. Try it with your own snack: line up your crackers next to a friend's and say out loud whether you have more, fewer, or equal.

Add and Take Away

ADD means to put groups together to make a bigger number. If you have 2 stickers and get 3 more, you ADD 2 + 3 to get 5. TAKE AWAY (also called subtract) means some go away, so the number gets smaller. If you have 5 stickers and give 2 to a friend, you TAKE AWAY 5 - 2 to get 3. Grown-up mathematicians write these with the symbols + and -.

Shape Words

A CIRCLE is round like a clock or a wheel -- it has no corners. A SQUARE has 4 sides that are all the same length, like a napkin folded in half. A TRIANGLE has 3 sides, like a slice of pizza. A RECTANGLE has 4 sides too, but two sides are longer than the other two, like a door or a book cover. Look around your room right now -- can you find one of each shape?

Math Talk at Home

Pick any two snacks tonight at dinner and ask a grown-up: which pile has more, which has fewer, or are they equal? Saying the words out loud helps your brain remember them.

Match each math word to what it means.

Terms

Fewer

Equal

Add

Take away

Definitions

Both groups have the same amount

Remove some to get a smaller number

A bigger amount than the other group

Put groups together to get a bigger number

A smaller amount than the other group

Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.

❓

You have 6 pretzels and your friend has 4 pretzels. Who has more?

❓

If you have 3 blocks and add 4 more blocks, how many blocks do you have?

🎯

Shape Hunt and Snack Sort

Grab 10 small snacks (crackers, grapes, or cereal pieces). Step 1: Split them into two piles any way you like and tell a grown-up which pile has more and which has fewer. Step 2: Walk around your house and find one circle, one square, one triangle, and one rectangle -- draw a picture of each one you found and label it with its shape word.

Want to keep learning?

Start Learning Free