25 minutes · AC9MFN04 (partition and combine six/seven using small parts), AC9MFN02 (subitise parts up to five); partial practice · educator review pending
Success: The child makes six and seven as two parts, recognises or counts each part, and recombines to verify the whole.
Prepare per pair: seven large counters, two part spaces, whole space and numeral cards 1–7. Use the part-whole mat.
- Retrieve, 3 min. Show five and zero, then four and one; ask whether each whole is still five. Count if needed.
- Model, 6 min. Put six objects in the whole space. Move five to A and one to B. Say, “Five here and one here are all six.” Briefly reveal the five as a familiar pattern and the single object; count six to check. Recombine the six in the whole space, add one more, then split the new whole of seven as four and three; count all seven.
- Guided game, 9 min. Partners split six paper flower cards between two vases and seven equipment cards between two safe pretend bins. Ask for another six, such as four and two, and another seven, such as five and two. The child checks by reuniting the objects. Swap roles.
- Fresh try, 4 min. Give seven uncounted counters. “Make seven, split it into two parts and show me how you know the whole is seven.” If successful, invite a different split without requiring a number sentence.
- Check, 3 min. Show four in A and three in B. Ask for the whole, then move one object from A to B. Key: 4 and 3 make 7; after moving, 3 and 4 still make 7. Six can be 5 and 1 or 4 and 2.
If the child only names the first visible part as the total: Sweep around both part spaces and combine them to count the whole. If a six- or seven-object total is not yet secure, keep the same game at four or five and revisit tomorrow.
Access and record: Make part spaces distinct by position and raised boundary; allow spoken/tactile descriptions, sign, AAC or directed placement. Record whole, named parts, recombination and whether small parts were recognised at a glance or counted.