Fill Three Towers

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling

• Begin by reviewing how to write the numerals from 1-30. Call out, "Hands in the air! Straight line down!" to write the number 1. Tell them, "Hands in the air! Curved line to the right and down, straight line across!" to write the 2. Continue to provide descriptions of each number as you ask students to write the numbers in the air up to 30.
• Create a chart titled, "Numbers." As you review the steps to write each numeral, add both the numeral and the number word to the chart.
• Next, model counting 30 crayons. Count each crayon chorally as a class, and intentionally move the crayons one by one to create a second pile as you count. Point to the corresponding number word on the chart so that students make a connection between the word and number of crayons.
• Ask students how many crayons you have total (30).
• Tell students that today they will practice counting to 30. Counting means to name items one by one until you find the total.

Guided Practice

• Display the Fill Three Towers game board, and define a tower as a tall, narrow building. Show students circular counters, and explain that today they will work to fill the squares in the towers with the counters.
• Students will play in partners. Each player will have a copy of the game board. Player A will roll the die, and add that many counters to the first tower. Display the sentence frame, "I rolled ____, so I added ____ counters. I have ____ counters total."
• Choose a student to play the game with you. Model rolling the die and adding the corresponding number of counters to fill squares on the tower. touching each one as you count it.
• Player B will roll the die, and fill the correct number of squares. Tell the student to use the sentence frame to describe the steps.
• Now, model rolling again and adding more counters to the first tower. As the first tower fills, add additional counters to the second tower.
• Ask students questions such as, "How many more counters do I need to fill the second tower?" and "How many counters total do I have?" Model counting on from the last number, rather than recounting each counter beginning at one.
• The first player to fill all three towers wins. As a variation, tell students that they must roll the exact number to fill a tower. For example, if there are three empty spaces in a tower the student cannot roll a four and add the fourth counter to the subsequent tower. An exact roll is needed to move on to the next tower.

Group work time

• Distribute the Fill Three Towers game board to each student.
• Partner students and give each partnership one die.
• Tell students that as they play they must name the number of counters that they are adding, as well as the total number of counters, using the sentence frame and list of number words in English as needed.