ABSTRACT
The good news is that the people can reimagine the traditional Attendance routine in a way that allows children to develop critical counting and computation strategies, key communication skills, and the self-confidence that comes with true problem solving. Children who are not yet aware that counting is about quantifying may not understand other children’s attempts to solve the problem at first. Keeping track of people to be counted presents a real challenge to students. It is important for the routine materials to be physically accessible to the students. Rich contexts such as attendance offer the opportunity for young children to engage and grapple with things they do not know. One of the challenges in using the Attendance routines is deciding which variation is just right for students right now. Knowing when to vary the Attendance routine is directly connected to a teacher’s understanding of the mathematical big ideas and strategies that each routine is designed to develop.
