• “What does each of your counters represent?” (a person, a student)
• “I used people to show what happened to the students at recess, but we can also use math tools like counters to represent the students.”

The purpose of this activity is for students to create stories and relate the action in the stories to the action of adding or taking away counters. The story was provided in the first activity. In this activity, students create the action in the story, which is an opportunity to hear what language students associate with addition and subtraction (MP6). Mats with pictures of each setting are provided to help students make connections between what they do with their cubes and what is happening in the story. The goal of the Activity Synthesis is to relate the action in the story to the action with counters and show students expressions that represent these actions (MP2).

• For each question, choose a student to share their story and demonstrate what happens with their counters. Record the action with words and numbers and an expression. For example: “7 take away 3” and “.” 
• As each student shares, ask: “What do the counters represent?”

The purpose of this activity is for students to learn Stage 2 of the Math Stories center. Students take turns using two-color counters to act out and tell stories involving addition or subtraction with the story mats (MP2). Students are not expected to develop story problems with questions or record using drawings or numbers at this point. In a future variation of this center, students will tell, represent, and solve story problems. 

After they participate in the center, students choose any previously introduced stage from these centers:

• Subtraction Towers
• 5-Frames
• Build Shapes
• Counting Collections

• Invite a student to share a story involving addition.
• Invite a student to share a story involving subtraction.
• As each student shares, record the action with words and numbers and an expression. For example: “5 take away 2” and “.”