10/1/2026

Morning Announcements

Morning Meeting Agenda

Mon · Social Studies Tue · Literacy Wed · Science Thu · Math Fri · ROAR + Houses

Math of the Day

Counting like the Maya!

Over a thousand years ago in Mexico and Central America, the Maya built a brilliant number system using only dots and bars — and they invented something almost no one else had: the number zero.

PreK–2 Lions Grades 3–5 Lions

The Maya people lived long ago in Mexico and Central America. They wrote numbers a special way: a dot means 1, and a bar means 5!

A chart of Maya number symbols using dots and bars

Let’s talk

Look at the chart. How would you write the number 4 using only dots?
How would you write 7? (Hint: you’ll need a bar AND some dots!)

Reveal the answersHide the answers

4 is four dots. 7 is one bar (5) with two dots on top (2) — 5 + 2 = 7!

Try it

Be a Maya mathematician! Use your fingers as dots and your arm as a bar. Show me 3! Now show me 5! Now show me 7 (one bar and two dots)!

The Maya built a number system with just three symbols: a dot (1), a bar (5), and a shell shape for zero. Inventing zero was a massive breakthrough — it’s what makes place value possible.

Maya numerals built from dots, bars, and a shell for zero

Let’s talk

Our system is base-10 (we group by tens). The Maya used base-20. Why might people have counted by twenties?
Why is having a symbol for zero so important? What would happen to the number 205 without it?
Challenge: how would you write 13 in Maya numerals?

Reveal the answersHide the answers

Base-20 likely came from counting fingers AND toes — 20 total! Without zero, 205 becomes “25” — zero is the placeholder that shows an empty spot. And 13 is two bars (10) with three dots on top (3):

Try it

Write your age in Maya numerals! Use bars for each 5 and dots for the leftovers. Then challenge a partner: write a secret number in Maya and see if they can decode it.

Additional Notes/Activities

If additional activities are needed for the Morning Meeting, they will be added here.