Cara Carroll

Odd Todd & Even Steven

So, lately my kids have been making some really great observations about numbers.  They’ve been noticing patterns in our hundreds chart and they’re pros at skip counting {by 5’s & 10’s, anyway ;)}  I really want to start adding the concept of odd & even numbers to our calendar routine, but before I started with that, I really wanted my babies to understand WHY numbers are odd &/or even.  I came across this little book in my math book stash the other day… I got to thinking that it would be pretty awesome for the kids to practice making even and odd numbers with…my personal favorite….FOOD!  Shocker, I know ;)  Introducing Mrs. Carroll’s version of Odd Todd & Even Steven… oddeven10 I made up a little story to go with both little guys.  Even Steven LOVES things to be *fair* & *equal*.  When he brings snacks for his friends, he MUST make sure that all of his friends have the same amount.  He ALWAYS likes his right hand to hold the same amount as his left hand.  We agreed that we ALL like for things to be fair and equal…just like Even Steven.  BUT…our little friend, Odd Todd, doesn’t like things to be like that at all.  He LOVES to be different and he could CAREless if his left hand holds the same amount as his right hand.  Infact, he LOVES it when he & his friends get snack and NO one gets the same amount.  He doesn’t care about fair ;)  To bring this concept to life, I randomly selected a couple of kids to give me a number LESS than 20.  We counted the matching amount with *turkey toes* {had to relate this to the season, of course!}  onto a plate.  Then we had to decide who the plate belonged to…Even Steven or Odd Todd.  SO….we counted the amount…again…only this time when we counted, we put the *turkey toes* in their hands. oddeven1 The first number that was thrown out was 15.  We counted that amount of *turkey toes* onto the plate and then another little friend said he wanted to give the plate to Even Steven.  So we gave each of Even Steven’s hands a set of *turkey toes* and then we counted them out to see how many were in each hand.  When we realized that one hand was holding 8 and one was holding 7, that same little friend was almost SHOUTING…. “MRS. CARROLL!!!!!!!  Even Steven DOESN’T GET THE TURKEY TOES!!!!!  GIVE THEM TO ODD TODD!!!!!!!”  When I asked him to explain it to me, he said it was “Because Even Steven has to have an EQUAL amount in both hands, but Odd Todd doesn’t care about all that, so give it to him!” HA!!!!  LOVE! oddeven2 After we did this a couple of times, I told the kids it was time to count out their own *turkey toes*.  So I paired them up…peanut butter & jelly style ;)…and gave each pair one plate and two napkins.  Then I went around to each pair and gave them a handful of *turkey toes* {I didn’t count them!}  I had each pair count their *turkey toes* then I went around and wrote that number on their plates.  oddeven3  oddeven4 After that, I told the kids that they would get to eat their math..ONLY if they both had an EVEN amount of *turkey toes* on their napkins.  I mean, we all like fair, right?!  So they got busy pretty quickly because they couldn’t wait to taste those toes!  I’m tellin’ y’all…these little cuties blew me away!  When my friends who were given an odd number of *turkey toes* tried to split them up evenly, they quickly realized they couldn’t!  SO…they put the *extra* toe back on the plate!  I went around to each group and watched them count out their EVEN amounts and then I had them explain to me HOW they got an even amount.  Then it was time to gobble it all up :)  My FAVORITE part! oddeven5 After it was all said and done, I told the kids that Odd Todd & Even Steven wanted their plates back, so each pair had to give their plates to the right guy. oddeven6 If they got a little confused, we read the bottom of their shirts to see which numbers are even and odd 🙂 oddeven8  oddeven9 Dessert’s on the table and it’s apple pie tonight…my MOST favorite!!!  I can promise you that Mr. Spouse and I won’t be getting an EVEN amount…I’ll DEFINITELY be getting MORE!!!  HA!!!

Simplify Your Teaching

Join our community for tips, tricks, and resources to help you simplify your teaching!

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by Kit

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • alarta spax says

      Family First starting point is that families come first. No form of human association can match the profound benefits of being raised in a loving, functional and secure Family First. As the fundamental building block of society, we diminish their capacity to function effectively at our peril.

      Reply

  7. cassandra says

    I love this! I seriously just talked about these two in class today! I really ham it up because my last name is todd…so we have a lot of fun! Love your ideas though! Great way to teach the concept! Hmmm…can i fit it in before break! I think so!!!!!

    Reply

  9. Amy says

    You are amazing! I'd love to know…what font is on all of your pictures? It's the perfect kid friendly print!
    Thanks for always sharing! 🙂

    Reply

  10. Foxwell Forest says

    ADORABLE! I love using this story with my kiddos and am in LOVE with your version of Even Steven and Odd Todd!! I'm so tucking that idea away!! And I've never heard candy corn called turkey toes: the kids would eat that up!!

    I made up a a fun gesture for even and odd that we use during our calendar time-for even we hold out each of our index fingers and put them together saying "even" in a nice even tone of voice with a smile on our face (our voice doesn't go up or down). Then for odd we hold out one index finger on our left hand and the index finger and middle finger on the right hand and bring them together saying "odd" in a silly voice with a silly face. When we have a new number at calendar time the kids love showing me with their gesture whether the number is even or odd. We connect it to partnering up in class for partner talk: everyone likes having a partner and no one likes being left out.

    Thanks for sharing your fabulous ideas with us!

    First Grade in Foxwell Forest

    Reply

  15. Heather's Heart says

    Cara, you are just amazing! You are beyond being a wonderful artist…I seriously have to pray at times to not feel jealous because I have ZERO artistic ability. What a blessing you are to all of us. Thank you for all of your inspiration!

    Blessings and hugs,

    Heather
    Heather's Heart

    Reply

  28. First Grade Fancy Pants says

    You are so awesome! Those turkeys are adorable! I'm pretty sure that's what I would look like if I ran a race! Lol 😉
    If you have time I just started a blog and wrote my first post! I would love to invite you to come visit and grab the freebie!

    1stgradefancypants.blogspot.com

    Reply

  32. Michele Eddy says

    I am a first year teacher and would love to use this in the upcoming school year. However, I am not artistic and wondering if you have a template for Steve and Todd.

    Reply

  33. Poetess says

    Thank you so much for sharing. I homeschool and I am introducing even and odd. going to use this idea. I will post on my blog how we did it. Thank you again.
    homeschoolingmamacita.blogspot.com

    Reply

  34. Maggie's mom 31 says

    absolutely love this concept to introduce odd and even numbers! My daughter's school as implemented the common core concept. With my daughter having sensory processing disorder and being a tactile learner this really helps with the damage control i have to do at home. Thanks

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe for updates and freebies to your inbox!