Lesson plan Kindergarten Math
Ten Drops Saved: A Kindergarten Ten-Frame Lesson on a Leaky Faucet
A 25-minute kindergarten lesson where students use a ten-frame and counters to solve addition and subtraction stories about drops saved when a classroom faucet is fixed.
Objectives
- Students will use a ten-frame to show a number of water drops, up to 10.
- Students will solve addition and subtraction word problems within 10 about a leaking faucet.
- Students will explain why fixing a dripping faucet saves water.
Vocabulary
Key words: drip, ten-frame, fix, save
Teacher overview
Mr. Kim, the school custodian, finds a faucet in the classroom sink that drips every time someone forgets to push the handle all the way. This lesson turns his fix into a counting story: before the repair, the faucet drips many times while the class counts; after the repair, it drips only a few times. A ten-frame gives students a clear picture of "how many," and lining up the before-repair and after-repair amounts on two ten-frames lets them see the difference the repair made, which is the number of drips saved.
Every number in this lesson stays at or below 10, and every direction should be read aloud, since kindergartners are not yet reading independently.
Procedure
Hook (4 min): Show the picture of the dripping faucet. Ask, "What sound does a leaky faucet make? What happens to all that dripped water?" Take a few answers, then explain that Mr. Kim found this exact faucet dripping in a classroom sink.
Direct instruction (7 min): Model with a ten-frame: "Before Mr. Kim fixes the faucet, it drips 8 times while we count slowly to ten." Fill 8 boxes on the ten-frame with counters, leaving 2 empty. "After Mr. Kim tightens the handle, it drips only 3 times in the same amount of counting." Fill a second ten-frame with 3 counters. Match the two ten-frames box by box to show 5 fewer drips after the fix: "8 take away 3 is 5. Mr. Kim's fix saved 5 drips."
Guided practice (9 min): In pairs, give students two ten-frame mats and counters. Story one: "Before the fix, the faucet dripped 6 times. After the fix, it dripped 4 times. How many fewer drips were there after the fix?" Circulate and check that pairs fill both ten-frames before subtracting. Story two: "On Monday, the fixed faucet dripped 2 times. On Tuesday, it dripped 2 more times. How many times did it drip on both days together?" Have pairs add the two amounts and report their total.
Closure and exit ticket (5 min): Gather the class. Ask a pair to explain how they solved story one. Then give the exit ticket: "Before the fix, the faucet dripped 5 times. After the fix, it dripped only 1 time. How many fewer drips were there after the fix?" Students may answer with counters, a ten-frame, or fingers.
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Answer Key
- Answer: 2 fewer drips. Guided practice story one: 6 drips before the fix minus 4 drips after the fix is 6 − 4 = 2 fewer drips.
- Answer: 4 drips total. Guided practice story two: 2 drips on Monday plus 2 drips on Tuesday is 2 + 2 = 4 drips in all.
- Answer: 4 fewer drips. Exit ticket: 5 drips before the fix minus 1 drip after the fix is 5 − 1 = 4 fewer drips.
Differentiation
Support
Give students a ten-frame with the "before" amount already filled in with counters, so they only need to remove counters one at a time while counting down to find the "after" amount and the difference.
Extension
Ask confident students to figure out how many drips two different faucets would make together before either was fixed, using two numbers within 10 that they choose themselves, and to write the addition sentence that matches.
ELL supports
Pre-teach drip, fix, and save with a simple gesture for each (finger tapping down for a drip, a turning motion for fix, hands cupped together for save). Allow students to respond by filling and pointing to the ten-frame instead of speaking a full sentence.
Extensions
Invite the school custodian to visit the classroom and show students a real dripping faucet or a washer that stops a leak, connecting the ten-frame story to the person who actually fixes leaks at school. Start a simple class chart where students add a drop sticker each day a classroom faucet is left dripping, then count the week's total on Friday.