Counting Activities with "1, 2, 3 to the Zoo"
Teaching math with literature pages: 1 2 3 4 5
A great way to introduce counting activities to the class is to read, "1, 2, 3 to the Zoo" by Eric Carle. His beautiful picture books have the qualities required for preschool and kindergarten children.
In this story, brightly colored animals are riding on a train to their new homes at the zoo—one elephant, two hippos, three giraffes, all the way up to ten birds.
There are no words in this book, but on each page there is a numeral to go with the picture. Along the bottom of the page is a smaller picture of the train, which grows longer as each new car full of animals is added.
"1, 2, 3 to the Zoo" Counting Activities
Teach
- rectangles
- counting
- number sets
- addition
- ordinal numbers
Materials
- Background Paper - Cut 12" x 18" white paper in half lengthwise and then tape or glue the two pieces together
- Train pieces - Cut 9" x 12" colored construction paper into six 6" x 3" pieces to create
Train Picture 1
- When you demonstrate this counting activity, show the children how to leave a space for wheels and a space between each rectangle when they glue their train pieces on to the paper.
- The children draw animals in each train piece and print the corresponding numeral on their train to create their own number picture.
Sequenced Train Picture 2
- If you prefer to have the children sequence the animals in the trains, demonstrate the following.
- Show the children how to make one train piece at a time as they follow along.
- Start with one animal in the first train until you get to five animals in the last train.
- You may want to use the step-by-step drawing method depending on the drawing confidence of your students. Eric Carle's illustrations are a great inspiration for animal drawings.
Train Picture sets
Children benefit from counting activities that have them create many of the same number set. - Have them glue stickers on each train and then print the corresponding number above the train.
- This is an open ended activity. One child may practice with sets of 4, while another student can build sets of 3.
Teach ordinal numbers
- Use the terms first, second, third, fourth and fifth when asking children to share about their pictures. "Tell me about the animals in your second train."
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