Activity: Ask students how many feet each of them has. Ask if all creatures have two feet. Ask for examples. Tell students that crabs have ten feet, and they (the students) will be making their own crabs and learning how to count by tens. Allow students to paint and glue their paper plates (see “Instructions for Making a Crab” below).
While the glue is drying, read aloud One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab, allowing for questions and discussion. After finishing the book, go back to the page that begins “10 is a Crab” and instruct students to read along as you flip the page to “20 is two crabs” then “30 is three crabs,” etc. until you get to “100 is ten crabs.” Repeat this process to give students practice counting in tens. Then have students count in tens without the crabs.
Allow students to finish making their crabs. When all students are finished, divide them into groups of two. Using the index cards like playing cards, have a pair of students “draw” a card. Instruct them not to let the rest of the class see their card. Instruct the pair to collect the correct number of crabs from their classmates so that the number of legs equals the number on the card. Have the pair set the crabs in a pre-designated place (a table in the center of the room, the lip of the blackboard, etc.) so the class can see. Ask students to raise their hands if they can tell the class the number on the card. Choose a student to answer. Have the class count by tens as you point to each crab to verify the answer. Return the crabs to the students. Repeat this process with other pairs of students until all of the index cards are gone.
Instructions for Making a Crab: Paint the outside of the paper plate blue. When the paint is dry, cover the white side of plate with glue, and fold it in half. Allow the glue to dry. On both ends of the folded edge—about ½ inch from the fold—punch two holes about an inch apart. Punch six holes along the rounded edge—three on either side, leaving a space in the middle. Cut four pipe cleaners in half. Insert the pipe cleaner halves through the eight holes (leave the two at the top of the rounded edge for pinchers); double and twist to make eight legs. Make sure the ends are twisted smoothly. Using the full length pipe cleaners, do the same for the two last two holes but leave the two ends open in a ‘v’ shape to represent the pinchers. Glue two black beans on the “shell” for the eyes.
Evaluation: Students should be able to count by tens to 100 at the conclusion of this lesson. Observe students for participation in counting. Observe and evaluate listening skills.
