Ten Black Dots: Done by Hanan Awwad

Title: Ten Black Dots
Author: Donald Crews
Illustrator: Scholastic INC
Recommended Grade Level: Pre- K

Common Core Mathematics Standards:

Counting and Cardinality PK.CC
*Know number names and the count sequence.
          2. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-5 (with 0 representing a count of no objects).

*Count to tell the number of objects.
          3. Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities to 10; connect counting to cardinality.

                 A. When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object.

                 B. Understand that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted. The number of objects is the same regardless of their arrangement or the order in which they were counted.

           4. Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 10 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 5 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1–10, count out that many objects.  

Operations and Algebraic Thinking PK. OA
*Understand simple patterns.

            2. Duplicate and extend (eg., What comes next?) simple patterns using concrete objects.

Measurement & Data PK. MD
* Sort objects and count the number of objects in each category.               
             2. Sort objects into categories; count the numbers of objects in each category.1 (limit category counts to be less than or equal to 10) .

Summary:

This book is all about counting. The first page starts with the number one and counts up to the number ten. Each page uses black dots to represent the number being presented. Each page consists of a certain amount of dots and what the dots can be used for. For example, "2 dots can make the eyes of a fox. 7 dots can make the spots on a snake."Each number begins with the written number which then leads to the dot representations. This book allows the children to continuously count the dots on each page and children are provided with a counting chart at the end.

Rating: *****

This book is a great counting book that allows the children to see both the  written number and how many items can be used to represent that number. It is a simple book that will not confuse the children and I feel that they will enjoy this book as well. The pictures are very colorful and are a good size which will catch the attention of the children. The book uses things such as animals and  snow to represent what is being made, which is exciting for the children because they enjoy these things. I also like this book because at any given moment, they can use the dots along with their imagination, and come up with a picture of their own.

Classroom Ideas:

This book can be used for topics such as counting and using black dots to create their own. They can use their imagination and use as many dots to create their own representation of the number. A discussion is always encouraged, in which the students socialize their thoughts and ideas. We can practice writing the written number and create a chart to represent the numbers using materials. With this book I can as, "How many do we have/ how many do we have now?"