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Worksheet Kindergarten Math

Counting the Storm Drains on Tinsley Row: A Kindergarten Worksheet

A kindergarten counting worksheet built on a street map of storm drains, with items counted in a row, in an array, and scattered, plus two group comparisons.

Objectives

  1. Students will count sets of up to twelve drains arranged in a line and in an array.
  2. Students will count a scattered set of up to ten leaves on a drain grate.
  3. Students will compare two groups and say which group has more.

Vocabulary

Storm drain
A storm drain is the grate at the edge of a street that swallows rainwater and sends it through pipes to the nearest creek or river. That water is usually not treated, so only rain belongs down the drain.

Also: grate, row, count

Teacher overview

Tinsley Row is a made-up street with storm drains set into the curb, and the picture strip at the top of this page shows its eight drains, with the corner store at one end and the school at the other. Storm drains take rain off the pavement and send it to a creek, which is why a crew walks the street each fall to check that leaves have not blocked the grates. The worksheet uses that walk as a reason to count the same set of drains twice, in different arrangements, and then to compare two small groups. Print the page with three pictures: the street strip of eight drains at the top, a second map beside item 4 showing the twelve drains of the next block in two even rows of six, and a single grate beside item 5 with six leaves lying loose across it, and leave an empty drawing box beside item 8. Teachers should read each item aloud, since kindergartners are not yet reading independently, and students may answer by drawing, pointing, or saying the number.

Counting the Storm Drains on Tinsley Row: A Kindergarten Worksheet — Kindergarten Math
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

  1. Tinsley Row has a row of drains. Count them. How many drains?
  2. Now count the same 8 drains from the other end of the street. How many drains now?
  3. Tell why the count did not change.
  4. The map shows drains in 2 rows. Count them. How many drains?
  5. Some leaves sit on one grate. Count the leaves. How many leaves?
  6. One grate has 9 leaves. One grate has 5 leaves. Which grate has more leaves?
  7. Grate A has 4 bars. Grate B has 4 bars. Do they have the same number of bars?
  8. Draw 6 drains in the box.
  9. Count out 10 rain drops. Draw the 10 drops on the street.

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Answer Key
  1. Answer: 8 drains. Touch each drain once while counting up to eight, and the last number said tells how many.
  2. Answer: 8 drains. The same set counted from the other end still gives eight, because the order of counting does not change how many there are.
  3. Answer: The drains are the same drains. Nothing was added and nothing was taken away, so the count stays at eight no matter where the counting starts.
  4. Answer: 12 drains. Count six across the top row, then keep counting into the second row: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
  5. Answer: 6 leaves. Touch each leaf once and mark it, since a scattered set is easy to count twice.
  6. Answer: The grate with 9 leaves. Nine is more than five, so that grate has more leaves on it.
  7. Answer: Yes, the same. Four bars matched to four bars leaves no bar without a partner.
  8. Answer: 6 drains drawn. Count the drawn drains with the student and check that the last number said is six.
  9. Answer: 10 drops drawn. Accept any ten marks that the student counts out one at a time up to ten.

Differentiation

Support

Provide the same street strip with the drains already numbered from one to eight, so students touch and say the printed numbers rather than tracking the count on their own. For the scattered leaves in item 5, offer a version in which each leaf sits in its own printed square.

Extension

Ask confident students to count the twelve drains in item 4 a second time by starting in the bottom row, and to explain to a partner why both routes land on the same number. Then have them add three more drains to the drawing and give the new total.

ELL supports

Pre-teach drain, grate, row, and leaf with a photograph of a curb drain and a real leaf. Offer the sentence frame "There are ___ drains," and allow a student to hold up the matching number of fingers instead of speaking the sentence.

Extensions

Take the class on a short walk around the school building and count the drains, downspouts, and grates that appear along the way, recording each count on a clipboard chart. Back in the classroom, compare the school's count with the eight drains on the worksheet street and ask students which is more.