Choral Counting

Routine: Choral Counting is a routine in which the teacher leads students in counting aloud together by a given number. The teacher decides on a number to skip count by, whether to count forwards or backwards, and what number to start and end on. Some examples include:

• Count by ones from 84

• Count back by tens from 438

• Count by fours from 0

• Count by tenths from 2

• Count by thirds from 1

• Count by twenty-five cents from $0.75

The goal of the activity is not just to practice rote counting, but to engage children in reasoning, predicting, and justifying. The teacher could record the count so that students can see the patterns in the numbers. The teacher should also pause and ask questions.

Additional examples of this routine can be found on the Teacher Education by Design website.