1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 __ 12 What happened to 11? Is it in the magician’s hat? Maybe it’s in the mailbox or hiding in the jack-o’-lantern? Don’t forget to look in the barnyard where the hen awaits the arrival of her new little chicks. Could that be where eleven went?
Eve Merriam and Bernie Karlin take young readers on a counting adventure as they demonstrate twelve witty and imaginative ways to get to eleven.
What a neat way to illustrate the concept of basic addition! Our kindergarten teacher read this book to the class and it provided an example to the children that adding numbers together can be done in a variety of ways: from simple to higher level thinking.
I find 12 Ways to Get to 11 to be a very useful tool for the classroom. Every two pages focuses on a different way to get to the number eleven. The pictures correspond directly to what is being said. This is a good springboard for more discussion and work for different combinations of numbers. Teachers can take advantage of the format in which each combination is presented and have their students come up with their own “number stories.” This book provides a good alternative way of thinking about addition.
This book really made my students listen. As they were listening to it, you could almost see their minds doing the math in their heads. Good for them to see that there are so many ways to get to 11.