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BRIJBOX · A WHOLE AND ITS PARTS · CHILD SHEET

All of it, and one group of it.

Put your five blocks anywhere inside the big line — that is the whole. Then put some in each inner area. The heavy line is the whole; the dashed areas are its two parts. No printer? Draw the same three shapes, or trace a boundary with a finger on a plain sheet: that route is exactly equivalent.

Everything inside the heavy line is the whole.

Keep a picture of your way

When your child has made their own split, draw the two groups here and write how many are in each. Do it before anything moves.

BRIJBOX · A WHOLE AND ITS PARTS · SETS TO CUT AND SPLIT

Split it. Ring the whole.

Cut out the three cards. For each one: put some things in each part, show one part, then ring right around everything to show the whole. Ask “how many in the whole?” — the answer never changes when the parts move.

set a
set b
set c
spare — draw your own set and split it

Splitting these is rehearsal of the gesture taught at the table. It does not by itself show that your child separates a part from a whole on a fresh set.

BRIJBOX · A WHOLE AND ITS PARTS · GROWN-UP GUIDE

Show me the whole.

Exactly five blocks, one boundary sheet with two inner areas, and — for the transfer — six spoons and two cups. App 2–3 min → table 11–14 min → app practice 2–3 min. The table is the longest part, and these are estimates, not deadlines. This sheet and the cards work as the complete no-device fallback.

  1. Establish the five-block whole inside one boundary, no inner areas yet: “All these blocks together are the whole.” Then “Show me the whole.” A sweep, a gather or an enclosing gesture all count.
  2. Demonstrate the 2-and-3 split into the two areas, naming each part — “This group is one part.” “This group is the other part.” — then re-sweeping both: “The two parts together are our whole.”
  3. The child makes their own split of the same five: “Put some blocks in each part. Choose your own way.” Then “Show me one part.” … “Show me the other part.” … “Now show me the whole.” … “How many in the whole?” Recounting across both areas is welcome.
  4. Transfer: six spoons and two cups. Establish six first — “How many spoons are here?” — then “Put some spoons in each cup.” “Show me one part.” “Show me the whole.” “How many in the whole?” Six, not five, is what tells reasoning apart from replay.
  5. Sitting boundary: a coherent stop is after step 3; step 4 then takes a flexible sitting, re-entering with “Show me the whole” on a fresh split.

Never count the whole for the child. Keep every spare block out of reach — the whole is exactly what is on the table. If a group is left empty, say “That is all five in one group. For this activity, put some in each group”: zero is good mathematics, it is just a later lesson.

Answer checks — for you, not for your child

Worked whole 5 (demonstrate 2 and 3; your child’s own split may be any two non-empty groups). Transfer whole 6 — and “how many in the whole?” must be answered six, not a repeated five. Cut-out sets: 4, 6 and 7.

Keep exactly five objects in play during the worked task and exactly six in the transfer — one stray block from a reserve pile breaks a fixed whole. Both parts stay non-empty today; the empty part is a later lesson, not a wrong answer.

What did you notice?

Practice on screen is rehearsal of the whole/part gesture. It supports, but cannot itself supply, the table-observed rows below. Your paper card remains the evidence record.

Mark each row independent / supported / revisit / uncertain. If you had to trace the boundary yourself, that is supported. Leave anything you did not observe uncertain. Nothing is scored or stored.

Trial notes — leave blank until observed

Date: ______________ App time: __________ Table time: __________
Prompt or control that caused a pause: ______________________________
What the child did: _______________________________________________
What the adult explained or helped with: ____________________________
Change to try next time: ___________________________________________