Lesson Plans

Introductory text.

100 Frame Bingo

A bingo board with numbers to the left.
Students will practice arranging place value to compose two-digit numbers in this variation of Bingo.

Alphabetical Statistics: Part 1

Letters linked to numbers and a title that reads, "Alphabetical Statistics".
Using excerpts from books, students predict, collect samples, and compare their findings to make statistical inferences about larger sets of data.

Alphabetical Statistics: Part 2

Letters linked to numbers and a title that reads, "Alphabetical Statistics".
Using excerpts from books, students predict, collect samples, and compare their findings to make statistical inferences about larger sets of data.

Animal Grid Game

Animal Grid Offline Coding
Students love this offline coding lesson! They get to be the zookeeper feeding animals.

Area and Perimeter

Graph papers overlapping with a title that reads, "Area and Perimeter".
Students use the sum of two dice to create the perimeter and area of shapes on a grid.

Astronomy

A kid seated at a table, drawing a sun
There are many ways to start an inquiry. One effective way is to use a story that focuses children’s attention on a specific topic.

Barrier Game

A binder dividing the space of two people and a title that reads, "Barrier Game".
One student builds a structure and gives instructions to his/her partner to build an identical structure.

Base Ten Block Quick Image

Lines and dots making a star like shape with a title that reads, "Base Ten Block Quick Image"
One student builds a structure and gives instructions to his/her partner to build an identical structure.

Bird Gliders

A kid throwing a paper plane into the air
Take a peek at what the students learned about flight and how that informed their creative designs!

Block Party

A grid with different Tetris pieces and dots within it, and a title that reads, "Block Party".
Using their spatial skills, students transform and relocate unique shapes on a coordinate grid, attempting to avoid their opponent's pegs.

Box or Not?

Three Tetris style pieces with a title that reads, "Box or Not?"
Students sort and classify 2D/3D figures by geometric properties and using spatial language.

Building a Graph

Building a Graph Together
Students and their teacher review different components of a graph and build a graph together.

Building Birds Nests

A bird's nest
Students construct their own bird nest made of items they think are good options for a bird's nest.

Building Towers

Two piles of green and red blocks with some stacked in the middle of the picture. A title reads, "Building Towers".
Students use a number card to build a Unifix tower and compare to determine whose tower is taller.

Can You Draw This?

A child drawing with a title that reads, "Can You Draw This?".
Students are briefly shown a series of designs inside a square and must recreate them from memory.

Can You Make a Square?

A bunch of different shapes with a title that reads, "Can you make a square?"
Students use spatial reasoning to create squares using different tangram combinations.

Card Collectors

Four playing cards stacked with a title that reads, "Card Collectors".
Students work in teams to determine the maximum, minimum, mean, median, mode and range of a group of playing cards.

Circle to Bar Graph

A circle graph beside a table graph. A title also reads, "Circle to Bar Graph"
What is easier to read - a circle graph or a bar graph? Children discover the answer in this lesson.

Coding Pictures

An image made within a square pattern, and a title that reads, "Coding Pictures".
Students practice coding skills in order to recreate an image.

Collect the Shapes

Random shapes on a grid with a title that reads, "Collect the Shapes".
Children collect 2D shapes on a grid by giving directional instructions and answering questions on shapes attributes.

Copy My Flag

Two flags made of paper with a title that reads, "Copy My Flag".
Students will practice their spatial language as they design and describe their geometric flags to their partner.

Cube Challenge

A bunch of cubes making shapes on a table with a title that reads, "The Cube Challenge".
In this lesson, students work together to build 21 unique structures out of 3, 4, and 5 unifix cubes. Can you build them all?

Cuisenaire Rods

A box filled with different coloured Cuisenaire Rods, and a title that reads, "Cuisenaire Rods".
Students investigate relationships between numbers by comparing the size of cuisenaire rods.

Daily Calendar

A classroom with a bunch of people seated and an instructor standing and pointing at a calendar. A title reads, "Daily Calendar".
This daily lesson with many small activities gives students the opportunity to practice all five strands of math every day.

Dice Toss

Two dice with a title that reads, "Dice Toss".
Students engage in a simple probability experiment that requires dice and mental math strategies.

Don't Break the Hex

Ten hexagons and a title that reads, "Don't Break the Hex".
Students cover hexagon blocks with pattern blocks in this don't-get-caught-with-blocks-in-your-hand game!

Doubling Up

A woman with a room full of items. A title reads, "Doubling Up".
Help children understand exponential growth and doubling with this fun hands-on activity.

Exploring Bird Nests

A bird's nest
Students observe bird nests and discuss which materials are best used in their construction.

Exploring Tangrams

Students working with tangrams and a title that reads, "Exploring Tangrams".
The history behind tangrams is a great way to explore composition, decomposition and spatial reasoning.

Exploring Water: A Grade 1 Science Inquiry

Zoe Donauhue standing with cups of water with her class of students
Grade One Teacher Zoe Donoahue is leading her students on an inquiry into water and she is sharing the journey with The Robertson Program. Water provides many paths to learning, including earth sciences, chemistry, geology and biology.

Garden Patio

A baking pan with purple coloured squares on it. A title also reads, "Garden Patio".
Children explore measurement and geometry and spatial sense through a narrative about a garden patio.

Graphs on Paper

Four line graph with lady bugs in each of the bottom rows. A title reads, "Graphs on Paper"
Students practice precise graphing skills by using a graphing package to sort and classify objects.

Gravity

Gravity
In an attempt to explore this question and other aspects of Gravity further, students designed and implemented a number of creative experiments.

Growing Patterns

Three snakes with different patterns on their backs. The title "Growing Patterns" at the top.
Through a story about magical snakes, children think about numerical patterns.

Hexagon Card Game

Four white hexagons and various other shapes. A title reads, "Hexagon Card Game".
Students race to completely fill in the outline of a hexagon using different combinations of pattern blocks.

Introduction to Graphing

A bar graph with a title that reads, "Introduction to Graphing".
Children use previous sorting lessons to make a graph, realizing there is a clear way to display data.

Introduction to Patterning

Coloured blocks making a pattern. The title "Introduction to Patterning" at the top.
Students learn to recognize and extend patterns in different contexts, as well as identify features that define a pattern.

Ladybug Houses

An illustration of ladybugs in and outside a frame with a title that reads, "Ladybug Houses".
Students develop an understanding of numbers by comparing ladybugs inside vs. outside of a house.

Ladybug Patterns

A pattern of illustrated ladybugs with a title at the top that reads, "Ladybug Patterns".
By using only one kind of material, students are challenged to think about making patterns in a different way.

Letters for Environmental Change

Letters for Environmental Change
Analyze the immediate and long-term effects of energy and resource use on society and the environment and evaluate options for conserving energy and resources.

Making Clocks

Students sitting on the carpet with an instructor and a paper clock. A title reads, "Making Clocks".
Students explore ways of measuring the passage of time by making their own clock!

Mini Beasts

A teacher speaking to children.
Carol Stephenson, Kindergarten teacher at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute for Child Study Laboratory School, brings us inside her classroom to share how she fosters inquiry-based learning with her students.

Moon Inquiry: Part 1 - Introduction to the Moon and Our Solar System

Observing the Moon: An inquiry into our solar system
The inquiry begins by giving students the opportunity to share their questions about the Moon and challenging the misconceptions they might hold about the moon. Students are tasked with making daily observations of the Moon, noting how its appearance changes over time. Ideally, this inquiry will begin at or shortly after the new moon phase of the lunar cycle, but such precise timing is not a requirement.

Moon Inquiry: Part 2 - Tracking the Moon and Sun

Observing the Moon: An inquiry into our solar system
This lesson details the steps for filling in the observation chart that students will use to observe the changes in the Moon and Sun’s movements over the course of a 30-day lunar cycle. New information will be added to this chart every day, providing students with a rich data set from which to start asking new questions and drawing conclusions.

Moon Inquiry: Part 3 - Analyzing Our Moon Data

Observing the Moon: An inquiry into our solar system
When students have approximately seven or eight days’ worth of data (long enough for the moon to have visibly changed in appearance). they share their theories about what causes the Moon to change location and appearance over time. They also review the theories and questions they posed in Part 1 and 2 to determine whether any information they have gathered confirms any of their initial ideas.

Moon Inquiry: Part 4 - The Movement of Objects in the Solar System

Observing the Moon: An inquiry into our solar system
Students explore why the Moon appears to move through the sky and change appearance by using a digital simulator of the solar system. They observe how the planets (including Earth) move around the Sun, and how the Moon moves around Earth. They create their own 2-D models of the Sun, Earth, and Moon.

Moon Inquiry: Part 5 – Earth/Moon Orbits and Moon Phases

Observing the Moon: An inquiry into our solar system
Students continue to gain knowledge about the scale and vastness of the solar system, They use their 2-D Sun-Earth-Moon models from Part 4 to explore the orbits of the Earth and Moon impact what humans see when they look up at the sky.

Moon Inquiry: Part 6 - Research Project

Observing the Moon: An inquiry into our solar system
Students consider the significance of the Moon in different cultures and throughout history. They embark on a final research project, working together to determine the expectations for how they will present and read each other’s work.

Name Pattern

Letters of the name, Nathaniel put into different grid squares. A title at the top reads, "Name Pattern".
Children identify patterns in their name by using a grid and recognizing the repetition that occurs.

Number Hunt

A bunch of numbers and dots in circles with a title that reads, "Number Hunt".
Students practice one-to-one correspondence in this fun dice-rolling, bingo-dabbing game!

Pattern Hunt

A pattern with the title, "Pattern Hunt"
Students go on a pattern hunt to look for naturally occurring patterns in their environment.

Patterns with Beads

Different shapes appearing in a pattern within a grid. A title at the top reads "Patterns with Beads".
Children are challenged to make multiple patterns with beads of different sizes, shapes, and colours.

Patterns with Unifix Cubes

Two piles of blue and green squares, and a line in a pattern. A title at the top reads, "Unifix Cube Patterns".
Unifix cubes are a great tool to use to explore patterns. In this lesson, children make their own patterns.

Potato Power

Potato Power
Investigate energy transformation and conservation. Demonstrate an understanding of the various forms and sources of energy and the ways in which energy can be transformed and conserved.

Proportions

An instructor seated with some children in a circle on the floor and pointing at coloured squares. A title reads, "Proportions".
Students measure length and area through focused exploration in this guided activity.

Roll and Build Bingo

A bingo sheet covered with red and blue blocks that are stacked and a title that reads, "Roll & Build Bingo".
Students practice reading and representing numbers through a fun bingo game.

Secret Shape Code

Six different shapes with a title that reads, "Secret Shape Code".
Students develop spatial skills by practicing how to describe the location and orientation of different cut-out shapes

Shape Shifter

A grid with blocks and circles, and a title that reads, "Shape Shifter".
Enhance students spatial sense using grid coordinates, geometric transformations and problem solving.

Shape Slicer

Shapes on a page with a title that reads, "Shape Slicer".
Students are challenged to deconstruct geometric shapes into smaller shapes!

Smarties Graph

A graph with a bowl of Smarties in front of it.
Every box of Smarties contains a different amount of each colour. Children graph what their box contains.

Sorting Apples

A graph of with illustrated apples in vertical lines, and a title that reads, "Sorting Apples".
Students learn to graph using apple slices. They describe their findings using mathematical language.

Sorting Children

Four children standing in a row with a title that reads, "Sorting Children".
Students organize, compare, contrast, and communicate how to sort and classify their classmates.

Sorting Materials

A bunch of different coloured animal toys grouped into piles with a title that reads, "Sorting Materials".
Students sort and describe different types of materials, such as little animals, beads, and shapes.

Space Mission

Space Mission
Assesses the impact of space exploration on society and the environment.

Spatializing Area

Two pieces of paper with blue and grey squares over top. A title reads, "Spatializing Area".
Students use cutout shapes to understand the relationship between size, area and relevant measurements.

Square Moves

A student and instructor with a title that reads, "Square Moves".
Students transform tiles from one configuration to another, using spatial language to communicate their thinking.

States of Water

States of Water
In this multi-part lesson, students investigate the properties of water in its various states.

Story Problems

Two yellow blocks with some smaller blocks inside, and a title that reads, "Story Problems".
Story problems can be used throughout the year to reinforce number sense in a fun and engaging way!

Symmetry Game

A bunch of students in a classroom with two instructors, and a title that reads, "Symmetry Game".
Allow children to be creative and practice the basics of symmetry through play with classmates.

Talking Tetris

Different shapes on grid paper with a title that reads, "Talking Tetris".
Students use directional vocabulary to compose and decompose structures on a grid using various 2D shapes.

Tangram Clan Animals

A bingo board with numbers to the left.
Use tangram manipulative pieces to complete a puzzle that creates an image of a clan animal.

Terrific Transformations

Two shapes drawn on two different sheets of graphing paper. A title reads, "Terrific Transformations".
Students get practice visualizing and manipulating features of quadrilaterals as they compete to modify a shape using as few moves as possible.

The Plants Around Us

young boy with a backpack sits on the roadside, trying to match a roadside plant with a plants on a piece of paper.
Students learn about the types and parts of a plant by exploring their natural environment.

Unifix Counting Towers

A student counting unifix blocks with a title that reads, "Unifix Counting Towers".
Students get their minds and hands engaged with numeracy while making Unifix Towers.

Upside Down World

A student playing with blocks and a title that reads, "Upside Down World".
Students work with unifix cubes to rebuild "buildings" that have been turned upside down!

War

Cards playing the game war, with a title that reads, "War".
Students practice with number magnitude in a simple card game.

We Are the Same

A bunch of math problems with a title that reads, "We are the same".
Students are given a card with an equation, numbers or dots. They must determine who has an equivalent card.

What Colour is Your Iris?

An instructor and student standing in a classroom, with the instructor pointing at an illustrated eye. A title also reads, "What colour is your iris?".
Students are introduced to graphing by observing the colour of their eye and comparing it to their classmates.