The purpose of this activity is for students to learn Stage 2 of the Sort and Display center. Students work together with a partner to sort collections of 10–20 objects in any way that they choose. Then they each represent how they sorted on their own recording sheet. Partners switch papers and ask questions that can be answered by using their representation.

To connect this center to English language arts, students may sort and represent books. Students look at the cover of a book and choose three words or three images they think will show up most often in the story and explain why to their partner. Partners record these choices as initial categories. They read or look through the book together, explore their prediction, and decide together if they want to revise their categories based on what they read. On the second read, they collect and record data for their revised categories. Lastly, students create a representation based on their data and write two “how many?” questions that can be answered about the data.

• Display previously identified representation.
• “What questions can we ask about this collection of objects that can be answered by using this representation?”

The purpose of this activity is for students to choose from activities that focus on adding and subtracting within 10. Students choose from any of the previously introduced stages of the listed centers. They are encouraged to choose the center that will be most helpful for them at this time. 

• What’s Behind My Back?
• Number Race
• Check It Off
• Five in a Row: Addition and Subtraction
• Find the Pair

• “What is one thing you learned or got better at by working on the activity you chose?”