Books

The Button Box Margarette Reid	Grandma's Button Box Linda W. Aber
Blue's Buttons Traci Paige Johnson	10 Button Box William Arcosi
Button Soup Doris Oigel	Corduroy Don Freeman
A Button Muddle Franchessa Chessa	Frog and Toad Are Friends "The Lost Button" Arnold Lobel
Bunches of Buttons Michael Dahl	Buttons, Buttons Rozanne L. Williams

Read "The Lost Button" chapter from Frog and Toad are Friends. Have a small box of buttons with all the described buttons in the story. Pick them up as you read. After reading the story, make a list of attributes of the button that Toad was looking for. Then have students try and find the particular button Toad had lost. This activity is most effective when done with a small group. I use this activity in my math station time after introducing sorting.
Use the assessment sheet The Lost Button at the end of your lesson. (I found the button graphic on the assessment sheet a long time ago and I don't know who to credit).

Show a variety of buttons to the class. Have them describe each button by shape, size, color and number of buttons. Model for the students if they have difficulty with describing words. After students are familiar with the activity give each student a button and pair them up. Have them describe their buttons to each other and then compare the likenesses and differences. Younger students can orally present their findings and older students can draw and write about their findings.

Read Buttons, Buttons. Place sorting cards at the math center along with a box of buttons and have students sort by different attributes. (Download the cards, print and laminate)

Read The Button Box by Margarette Reid.
Have a small box of buttons and discuss buttons it contains, model attributes, ask if any of the buttons in the box match buttons described in the book.
Have students look at their clothes and discuss any buttons they have on their clothes.
Place a small amount of buttons in a plastic bag, have students estimate how many buttons are
in the bag. Then count the buttons.

Read Grandma's Button Box to class. Have students play a secret sort game by secretly selecting the attributes for a set of  buttons and then asking children in the group  to "guess the rule" by identifying the attributes.

Read A Button Muddle and Blue's Buttons. Have students sort and count groups of buttons.

Read Corduroy.  Have  students brainstorm ideas about Corduroy's missing button.
Depending on the level of your class, students will choose an idea about Corduroy's button and write about it in their journals or the class can write a story together and illustrate.

Have students sort and graph small groups of buttons.

Ask students to bring in buttons to make button collages.

Staple 4 or 5 envelopes together. Give students buttons that have at least 4 or 5 different attributes. Instruct them to sort the buttons and draw or write an attribute of the button on each envelope and then place the buttons in the envelope that match that attribute. Its a great way to assess sorting skils.

This great homework activity was sent to me by my friend, Janna Smith, a kindergarten teacher from Texas.  Ask your students to select a button and write down 2 or 3 attributes of the button on an index card (parents can help with this task).  All students bring the button and the index card to school in a baggie.  Teacher gathers all buttons and reads each index card with the attributes listed.  Students use the attributes to identify the correct button. Janna says her students love this activity.  Thanks Janna!!
 
 
 

A Pocket Chart from Hubbard's Cupboard

Buttons black line master book

Buttons Buttons Unit from Kinderpond

Begin with Buttons Unit from NCTM

Sorting Unit featuring Buttons

Sorting Cards

Lost Button Assessment Sheet