Level 1: Forming equal groups 

At this stage, which is similar to perceptual counting, the student can directly model or share by dealing in equal groups but without any obvious reference to the equal groups. The student does not see the groups as composite units and thus counts each item by ones. The student is unable to coordinate the number of equal groups and the number of items in each group to calculate the product. Consequently, a student might form two groups of three by one-to-one dealing, but does so without any reference to the group structure. 

Forming equal groups of four 

Many sharing activities in children’s play provide opportunities to form equal groups. In particular, the adjustments needed to form equal groups from unequal groups encourage students to develop a robust sense of quantity.

Forming equal groups of animals