A child best demonstrates understanding of one-to-one correspondence by:

• A. Counting a group of ten objects by touching each object while saying number aloud.
• B. Reciting the counting sequence without touching objects.
• C. Grouping objects by color without counting.
• D. Reading number words from a chart.

Answer: (A)

One-to-one correspondence in counting means assigning exactly one count to each object, so every item has its own unique number and nothing is counted more than once. Demonstrating this, a child touches each object as they say the next number aloud. The act of matching a spoken number to each individual object creates a clear link between the item and its count, showing that there is a one-to-one mapping and that the final number spoken reflects how many objects there are. This helps prevent skipping items or counting the same item twice, which is essential for accurate counting and understanding quantity.

If the child merely recites the counting sequence without connecting it to objects, that doesn’t prove the one-to-one link. Grouping by color or other attributes doesn’t involve assigning a count to each object, and reading number words from a chart shows symbol recognition without tying numbers to items.