Pre-K YOUR Way: Train Car Ordinal Numbers

Materials:

• One (1) Package of Crayons or Markers
• Two (2) Pieces of Plain White Paper cut in half
• One (1) Blank Piece of Lined Paper

Instructions:

Step 1: Ask your child to name each room in their home. Write down what they say on a blank piece of lined paper. For Example: Kitchen, Bathroom, Living Room, Bedroom… etc.

Step 2: Tell your child that sometimes people ride trains to get from one place to another. On each train, there are different sections called “train cars”. Each of these cars has a different purpose.

Step 3: The first car is called the engine. This is where the driver (“engineer”) sits and steers the train.

Step 4: Ask your child to draw a picture of the engine/engineer on one of the half- sheets of blank paper.

Step 5: There are on the train and are used for different purposes. There is a dining car where people eat. There is a sleeper car where people sleep and there is a sitting car where people relax when they’re awake.

Step 6: Direct the child to draw a picture of people sleeping on beds on one of the blank pieces of paper. These people are in the sleeping car of the train.

Step 7: Direct the child to draw a picture of a people sitting on chairs on one of the blank pieces of paper. These people are in the Sitting car of the train.

Step 8: Direct the child to draw a picture of a people eating on one of the blank pieces of paper. These people are in the eating car of the train.

Step 9: Let’s arrange the pictures in a horizontal line in the following order:

Step 10: Once the child has arranged the cars, ask them to count how many cars there are (Answer: Four Train Cars.)

Step 11: Ask your child to identify which space the sleeping car is in. Is it in the First, Second, Third or Fourth spot?  Answer: The sleeper car is the second car in that row. 

Step 12: Explain to your child that the word “second” is called an “ordinal number”. Ordinal numbers are words that explain a position of something. In this instance, the Sleeper Car is second in the line of train cars.

Step 13: Ask the child to identify which spot the sitting car is in, using an ordinal number. Can they count each car and tell you the sleeper car is number four?

Answer: The Sitting Car is the FOURTH car!

Step 14: Ask your child to rearrange all of the cars and place them in any order they would like.

Step 15: Ask your child to use the ordinal number when describing which spot the sleeper car is in. Do they know?

Step 16: Continue to ask them which spot the rest of the cars are in. Do they know the ordinal number (Ordinal numbers include: “first”, “second”, “third” etc.)?

Step 17: Repeat steps 13 and 14 two more times. Can the child identify spaces that each car is in after each rearrangement?

Learning Objectives:

Math/Science
One to one correspondence.
Recognizes the names of Numerals.

Language/Literacy
Follow new directions.
Use sentences in conversation to describe, explain or predict outcomes of real or imaginary events.
Build new Vocabulary

Problem Solving
Demonstrate Curiosity and ask Questions
Engage in problem solving techniques.
Use words to discuss predictions.
Use language to reiterate process and conclusions.
Use language to describe objects by a variety of attributes.

Motor Skills
Fine Motor: Use a pencil to other writing tool to draw.