More Less Same Who Has More
Part of the Math for Young Minds curriculum — designed for neurodivergent students, grounded in real-world examples.
📋 Session plan (for teachers)
Session 3 — More, less, same: who has more?
Kindergarten · Math for Young Minds Total time: ~17 minutes Common Core: K.CC.C.6 Today's idea: To know who has more, match them up one-to-one.
What students will be able to do
By the end of this session, the student can:
- Compare two groups by matching one to one.
- Say which group has more, which has less, or if they are the same.
- Notice that a pile that looks bigger isn't always more.
Materials
- About 20 small counters per pair — crayons, beans, or blocks
- Worksheet (one per student)
- Pencil
Substitution: Anything safe and small works — paper clips, pasta, buttons, cubes. You just need enough to make two piles.
New words
| Word | Meaning we use in class |
|---|---|
| more | A bigger number of things. |
| less | A smaller number of things. |
| same | The same number of things. |
That's the entire vocabulary for today. No other terms.
Heads-up — common confusions
- Pile looks bigger. A pile spread out across the table can look like more. It might not be. "Let's match them up and see."
- Forgetting to match. Kids may just glance and guess. Slow them down. Pair one crayon with one crayon.
- Big thing vs. more things. One big block is not "more" than two small blocks. More means how many, not how big.
Plan
1 · Hello & today's idea — 2 min
Put two small piles of crayons on the table. Make pile A have 5, pile B have 3. Spread pile B out so it looks big.
"Look at these two piles. Which one has more?"
Let them guess. Don't say who's right yet.
"Today we learn a trick. We match them up, one to one. Then we know for sure."
Slide each crayon from pile B next to one from pile A. Show the leftovers in pile A.
"Pile A has more. Pile B has less."
2 · Hands-on explore — 5 min
Give each pair a small handful of counters. Ask them to make two piles — any sizes.
"Make two piles. Then match them up, one to one. Which has more? Which has less? Or are they the same?"
Walk around. Watch for:
- Pairing one counter with one counter.
- Saying more, less, or same about their piles.
- Noticing when a spread-out pile isn't actually more.
If a child just stares at the piles, kneel down. Move the counters with them, one pair at a time.
After a couple of tries, ask a pair to make two piles that are the same.
3 · Connect to the math — 3 min
Bring everyone back. Show the first practice problem on the board.
Problem 1 (together): "Group A has 5 crayons. Group B has 3 crayons. Which has more?"
Draw 5 dots in a row. Draw 3 dots under them, lined up.
"Match them up. One. Two. Three. Group B runs out. Group A keeps going."
Point to the leftovers.
"Group A has more. Group B has less."
Say the secret out loud:
"To know who has more, match them up. Don't just look."
4 · Practice with support — 5 min
Pass out the worksheet. Pencils ready.
"Touch each thing. Match them up. Then write or circle your answer."
- Problem 2 (solo): "Pile 1 has 6 blocks. Pile 2 has 8 blocks. Which has more?" → Pile 2
- Problem 3 (solo): "Make two piles that are the same. Draw 4 stars in each box." → 4 in each
- Problem 4 (stretch): "Three piles: 3 dots, 7 dots, 5 dots. Which has the most? Which has the least?" → 7 is most, 3 is least
If a child is stuck, draw the matching lines with them. One to one.
5 · What we did + Try at home — 2 min
"Today you learned more, less, and same. The trick is matching, one to one."
Hold up 2 fingers on one hand, 2 on the other. "Same!" Now hold up 3 and 1. "This hand has more."
Wave the family guide.
"At home tonight, find two piles of something. Shoes by the door. Spoons and forks. Your toys and a sibling's toys. Match them up. Tell someone which has more."
Observation rubric — what to notice in this session
Use this during the session, not as a test. One observation per student is plenty.
| Where the student is | What you'd see |
|---|---|
| Developing | Guesses by looking at the pile. Forgets to match. Needs your hand to pair them up. |
| Using | Matches one to one. Says more, less, or same correctly for two piles. |
| Extending | Compares three piles. Finds most and least without prompting. Notices when a spread-out pile isn't really more. |
No fail state. "Developing" today is "using" next week.
What's next (Session 4)
In Session 4 — Building 10, we look at all the ways to make 10 — like 4 fingers plus 6 fingers, or 3 cubes plus 7 cubes.
✏️ Worksheet (for students)
Math for Young Minds · Kindergarten
3 · More, less, same — who has more?
[ Hello ] → [ Explore ] → [ Connect ] → [ Practice ← we are here ] → [ Try at home ]
My name: _____________________________
Today
Match one to one. Which side has more?
We did this together
✏️ ✏️ ✏️
✏️ ✏️
vs
✏️ ✏️ ✏️
Top has more. Bottom has less.
Problem 1 — together
Group A:
✏️ ✏️ ✏️ ✏️ ✏️
Group B:
✏️ ✏️ ✏️
Match each ✏️ in A with one in B.
➤ Which has more? Circle it:
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ Group A │ │ Group B │
└──────────┘ └──────────┘
Problem 2 — on your own
Pile 1:
🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦
Pile 2:
🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦
➤ Which has more? Circle it:
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ Pile 1 │ │ Pile 2 │
└──────────┘ └──────────┘
Problem 3 — on your own
Make the two boxes the same.
Draw 4 ⭐ in each box.
┌─────────────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
└─────────────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────────┘
How many in each? Circle:
┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐
│ 2 │ │ 3 │ │ 4 │ │ 5 │ │ 6 │
└──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘
Problem 4 — stretch
Pile A:
⚫ ⚫ ⚫
Pile B:
⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫
Pile C:
⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫
➤ Which has the most? Circle:
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ Pile A │ │ Pile B │ │ Pile C │
└──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘
➤ Which has the least? Circle:
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ Pile A │ │ Pile B │ │ Pile C │
└──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘
Today's words
| word | what it means |
|---|---|
| more | a bigger number of things |
| less | a smaller number of things |
| same | the same number of things |
🏠 Try at home tonight
Find two piles of something. Match one to one. Say more, less, or same.
- 👟 Shoes by one door vs another door
- 🥄 Spoons vs forks in the drawer
- 🧸 Your toys vs a sibling's toys
- 🪟 Windows on the front vs the back of the house
- 📚 Books on one shelf vs another
Match. Look. Say which has more.
🏠 Family guide (for parents)
Math for Young Minds · Kindergarten · Session 3
Tonight: find two piles and compare them
What your child did today
In class today, we practiced comparing two groups — figuring out which one has more, which has less, or whether they have the same.
We used piles of crayons. The trick we learned: match them one-to-one. Pair each crayon in one pile with one in the other pile. Whichever pile has leftovers is the one with more.
We also noticed something tricky: a pile that looks bigger isn't always more. Spread-out things can fool your eyes.
Why this matters
Before kids can add or subtract, they need to know what "more" and "less" really mean — not just guess by looking.
Matching one-to-one is the honest way to compare. It works with 3 things, 30 things, or 300. It's the same idea behind subtraction later on ("how many more does this pile have?").
We're not in a rush. The goal is for your child to trust the matching, not race to an answer.
🏠 Try this tonight (1 minute)
Find two small piles of something at home. Line them up and match one-to-one.
| Easy pairs to compare |
|---|
| Shoes by the front door vs. the back door |
| Spoons vs. forks in the drawer |
| Your child's toys vs. a sibling's toys |
| Windows on the front of the house vs. the back |
The script:
"Let's line these up. One from this pile, one from that pile. Keep going until one pile runs out."
When one side has leftovers, ask:
"Which has more? Which has less? Or are they the same?"
If your child guesses by looking at the bigger-looking pile, gently say: "Let's match them and check." That's the whole lesson.
Words your child is learning
- More — a bigger number of things
- Less — a smaller number of things
- Same — the same number of things
That's the whole list for today.
If your child says…
"This is easy — I can just look."
Sometimes looking works. Try a sneaky one: spread 5 things out wide, and bunch 6 things close together. Ask which has more. Then match them one-to-one to check. They'll see why matching beats guessing.
"I don't know which is more."
Perfect time to slow down. Line them up in two rows, side by side. Point to each pair as you go. The pile with leftovers at the end is the one with more. No counting needed.
"I don't want to."
That's okay. Try again tomorrow with something they like — favorite snacks, small toys, socks coming out of the laundry. Comparing is something we do all day; it doesn't have to look like a math lesson.
What's next
In Session 4, Building 10, we'll look at all the ways to make 10 — like 4 fingers plus 6 fingers, or 3 cubes plus 7 cubes. Same hands-on style, new big idea.
Thanks for taking a minute tonight. These small kitchen-table moments are where math lives.
— Math for Young Minds
🔑 Cheat sheet (visual)
🟰 More, Less, Same
The big idea — match them up!
Pile A: 🖍️ 🖍️ 🖍️ 🖍️ 🖍️
| | | | |
Pile B: 🖍️ 🖍️ 🖍️ ❌ ❌
Pile A has more. Pile B has less.
1️⃣ Together — 5 vs 3 crayons
A: 🖍️ 🖍️ 🖍️ 🖍️ 🖍️
| | | · ·
B: 🖍️ 🖍️ 🖍️
➡️ Group A has more. Group B has less.
2️⃣ Try it — 6 vs 8 blocks
Pile 1: 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦
| | | | | | · ·
Pile 2: 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦
➡️ Pile 2 has more.
3️⃣ Same! Draw 4 ⭐ in each
┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐
│ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ │ │ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ │
└─────────────┘ └─────────────┘
| | | | | | | |
└──┴──┴──┴────┘ ✅ same!
4️⃣ Stretch — three piles
🔴 🔴 🔴 ← 3 (least)
🔴 🔴 🔴 🔴 🔴 🔴 🔴 ← 7 (most ⭐)
🔴 🔴 🔴 🔴 🔴 ← 5
➡️ 7 is most. 3 is least.
👀 Watch out!
spread out: 🟦 🟦 🟦 ← only 3
squished: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 ← 5 ✅ more!
A big-looking pile is not always more. Match to check.
one BIG block: 🟦
two small: 🔹 🔹 ← this is more (2 > 1)
Big object ≠ more.
✅ Big Rules
✅ Line them up, one to one. ✅ The leftovers tell you who has more. ✅ No leftovers? Same!
❌ Don't guess by pile size. ❌ Don't skip matching. ❌ Big thing is not "more."
🏠 Try at home
👟 👟 vs 👟 👟 👟 → more?
🥄 🥄 🥄 🥄 vs 🍴 🍴 🍴 🍴 → same?
🧸 🧸 🧸 vs 🧸 → less?
Match. Look. Say more, less, or same.
🌟 Quick check
🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎
🍎 🍎
Who has more? … top row! 🎉