Quack and Count



Author: Keith Baker

Genre: Mathematics/E.L.A.

Grades: Kindergarten

Theme: Building math facts and repetition of math facts. This is also a social

Quick Summary:  This story is about the counting principle and counting ducks. This story uses fun rhyming schemes as well as the practice of addition. Quack and Count also builds factorial knowledge and shows the many ways two numbers can add together to form the same answer. For example, three ducks plus four ducks equals seven ducks; five ducks plus two ducks equals seven ducks as well. This story builds repetition with math facts using addition in a fun-filled way so the students can learn and build their math facts for addition.


Pre-Reading Strategies: Discuss with the students the importance of math facts and why they need to be learned. Discuss the characteristics that ducks have and why they have the characteristics they do. Before reading the story, practice some math facts with the students, as well as practice rhyming different words together. Before reading the story, I will quickly practice addition math facts to give the students a quick review.

Post-Reading Strategies: Using this book at a model, I want the students to illustrate their own addition story using their own animal being used. This will help the students understanding of animals, as well as their math facts. The students can then either share their math picture book to the class or hand it in to the teacher. This activity will help demonstrate the students’ knowledge with their math facts, as well as incorporate English literature into the lesson. This helps build creativiy into the lesson, as well as students writing their own short story on math facts. It ties in the common core, with the addition of English and Mathematics into the lesson.

Assessment: Students will share their short stories with the class.

Baker, Keith. (1999). Quack and Count. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company. Grades K-1.

Reflection: This is a quick story that will get the class involved. It is a "social story" that builds math facts, as well as help my students build fluency in reading and math.