How Many Out of Eight? – Elementary Math

Purpose

To find various combinations of 8.

Materials

an 8-dot strip to be created ahead of time by the teacher

Overview

Show children an 8-dot strip and ask them to count the dots. Then, fold the strip at different places and ask the class how many dots they can see and how many dots are hidden. Show the class the back of the strip after each answer so they can verify their answers.

strip with dots

About the sequence

Part 1 asks children how many dots they can see and the number of dots that are hidden. Part 2 moves to moves to saying combinations of 8 using numbers only.

Part 1

How many dots do you see? How many are hidden?

Show the 8-dot strip with some dots visible and some hidden.

While children are enjoying their building of mastery, feel free to repeat. When children are eager for more, try Part 2.

Part 2

I’m going to say a number. You tell me that number pair that equals 8.

Examples:

1 (7)
7 (1)
3 (5)
2 (6)
0 (8)
1 (7)
4 (4)
5 (3)
6 (2)