Maths: Multisensory Activities for Teaching Big and Small

Big and Small Teaching Activities

Big and Small These concepts are generally taught together but we also use them to describe objects without a comparative object. “wow that’s a big smile” “What a big yawn!”. We throw around size-related mathematical language with scant regard to accuracy. “I’ve made a huge mistake.” “You are a massive help”. Sometimes we even use size when we mean volume “Use a little voice”. When we teach size in maths we need to focus on the application of that mathematical vocabulary in its correct contexts first. I teach autistic children and the key to teaching is to make the learning concrete and provide practice in lots of different contexts and environments.

Introduction to the Importance of Size Concepts in Early Childhood Education

Why Size Matters

Understanding the concepts of big and small is a fundamental mathematical skill for young children. These concepts help in the development of spatial awareness, enabling children to navigate and understand the world around them. By recognising and comparing the size of objects, children begin to categorise and organise their experiences, which is a crucial cognitive skill. This foundation not only aids in everyday problem-solving, such as fitting objects into containers or choosing the right tools for a task, but also lays the groundwork for more complex mathematical concepts like measurement, volume, and geometry. Introducing size-related vocabulary and activities early on ensures that children build a strong mathematical foundation, which will support their learning in other areas as well.

Application in Daily Life

Children encounter size-related decisions in various daily activities, often without realising the mathematical thinking involved. Whether they are choosing the right container for their snack, selecting clothes that fit, or deciding which toy to play with, they are constantly making judgements about size. Teaching these concepts in a variety of contexts ensures that children can apply their understanding across different situations. For example, when they sort large and small items during playtime or help with setting the table by selecting the appropriate cutlery, they reinforce their understanding of size. Emphasising these concepts early on, and in multiple contexts, helps children develop a natural and intuitive grasp of big and small, making these fundamental ideas a seamless part of their daily thinking.

Big and Small Activities for Different Age Groups

Toddlers (1-3 years)

• Simple Sorting: At this stage, toddlers can begin to grasp the concepts of big and small through hands-on activities. Simple sorting tasks, such as organising big and small blocks or using cups of different sizes for water play, can help them understand size differences. These activities not only reinforce the concepts but also develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
• Picture Books: Introducing picture books that focus on size, such as Big and Small by Elizabeth Bennett, is an excellent way for toddlers to explore these concepts. These books use engaging stories and illustrations to make abstract ideas like size more concrete and understandable for young minds.

Preschoolers (3-5 years)

• Interactive Play: Preschoolers can benefit from interactive games that incorporate size commands, such as “Simon Says” with instructions like “Take a big step” or “Find a small toy.” These activities help children understand and apply size concepts in a fun, engaging way, promoting both physical activity and cognitive development.
• Crafting: Craft activities where children cut out shapes of different sizes and sort them into big and small categories are also effective. This hands-on approach not only reinforces size concepts but also enhances creativity and fine motor skills.

Early Elementary (5-7 years)

• Story Extensions: For children in early elementary school, extending popular stories like Goldilocks and the Three Bears by creating size-related storyboards can deepen their understanding of size. They can compare the bears’ belongings by size, helping to solidify their grasp of big, medium, and small.
• Math Puzzles: Introducing simple puzzles where children match items by size can further challenge their understanding. These activities can include sorting objects, fitting pieces into the correct spots based on size, or creating sequences from smallest to largest.

Advanced Activities for Teaching Big and Small

Size Estimation Games
As children grow older and their understanding of size becomes more sophisticated, you can introduce size estimation games. These activities involve children guessing the size of various objects and then measuring to check their guesses. For example, they could estimate the length of a rope, the width of a ribbon, or the height of a shadow on a sunny day. This not only reinforces size concepts but also introduces them to measurement and comparison skills.

Comparative Size Charts
Creating comparative size charts is another advanced activity that encourages children to compare objects in terms of size and then represent their findings of big and small items visually. They can measure objects and create bar charts or other visual representations to compare lengths, widths, or heights. This activity combines mathematical skills with visual learning, helping children to better understand the relationships between different sizes and to apply these concepts in more complex mathematical tasks.

19 Activities for teaching big and small.

Sort Real Life objects – This is a really easy and important activity. A scavenger hunt can help find a range of objects that can be sorted by size. The more familiar these objects the more likely the learner will recall the activity and vocabulary when using those objects. At school, these may be pritt-sticks or pencils. At home, these could be milk bottles.

Support the generalisation of contexts – It is really important that we enable learners to use and recognise the vocabulary in as many contexts as possible. In the kitchen, we can look at the big and small cups. When laying the table you can use big and small forks.

Posting Box – these are so quick and simple to make however the problem I have is that the small object fits in the big box. Hmmm, this means that the task is not self-correcting (TEACCH style) but you can make a small hole in the box so any wrong objects fall or roll out. This works well with marbles or toy cars – anything that will roll.

Sort the toys – Very simple to do. We are lucky enough to have multiple-sized PJ Mask toys so the figure is identical except for the size. We can reinforce the concept during play. “The BIG CatBoy is in the mud” etc.

Sorting hoops – Just use a big hula-hoop and a smaller hula-hoop to put objects into that correspond to the size hoop used.

Expandable ball – These are fantastic, small until they are thrown they then expand into a big ball! As recommended by author Nikki Saunders.

Snack time is maths time – Snack time is a fantastic time for embedding and practicing learning.

Lego – As suggested by Mandy Clark Lego is a very versatile teaching tool. Lego bricks lend themselves perfectly to the teaching of maths. You can compare them to each other, 1,2,4,6 or more bumps or compare them to Duplo bricks.

Storytime – Mrs Baroch suggested that Goldilocks and the Three Bears provided plenty of opportunities to use mathematical vocabulary about size. Other possible books you could use include The Snail and the Whale.

Mirrors – This idea from Marie uses the concave and convex sides of a handheld mirror that makes your reflection appear big or small. Just spin the mirror to see you but a different size. This is a great activity for building a sense of self.

Voice – Your voice can be used to reinforce the idea of size in a multi-sensory maths activity. Use a bigger voice for big things and a smaller voice for small things.

Bubbles – A great idea by Rob Di Spirito. Use a range of bubble wands (This set is great value) the pupils can request big or small initially. You can then expand the activity to….

Next Step: Big and Bigger

Line up toys – An expansion of the idea from “big small” you need three toys of different size. I did do a lesson using toy dinosaurs but the variety of shapes made that tricky. This chap from PJ masks was in the drawer and allows you to move up the figures getting bigger then down using smaller.

Line up bottles – A classic but if we are being pedantic this is height not size. This activity can be adapted to include capacity. To make this activity more seasonal Glynda suggests using pumpkins. You can then extend the activity to looking at capacity once they have been hollowed out. Which pumpkin holds more!

Snack time is still maths time – A simple way to extend the communicative and pedagogical purpose of snack time. Use a range of plates, break biscuits or fruit into different-sized sections.

Balloon – A fantastic idea to teach bigger/smaller in a multi-sensory way whilst also boosting interaction and communication. You just vary the air in the balloon. Pupils can request bigger or smaller (a pump makes this covid secure).

Hand/footprints – Super simple for those pupils who can tolerate messy hands. You can use adult, child, dressing up gloves, toys (Buzz Lightyear etc) for this. Also great for linking to your story book. You could cut out bear prints of different sizes for “I’m going on a Bear Hunt” or “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”

Adjustable Hula Hoop – This is great for a practical and fun task. This cheap hula-hoop can be adjusted by adding or removing sections. Reinforcing the concept of bigger or smaller.

Balls – PlayBasedSEN suggest using a whole range of balls to sort, throw and play with to develop maths skills. You can even use PECS at attribute level to add “big ball” or colour as well depending on the stage the child is communicating at.