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Kindergarten · lesson 4 of 4

Check the Result Against a Goal

Find an extra drawing instruction and test its removal.

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Supplied materials

  • Paper and pencil; an adult may read aloud. No device, account or purchase is needed.

Learn the idea

Testing means trying the instructions and comparing the result with the goal. Our goal is exactly one square with exactly two dots inside it and no other marks. The word exactly tells us to check for extra marks as well as missing marks. Count only the dots inside the square.

The instructions are: draw one square; draw two dots inside it; draw one more dot inside it; stop. A paper test makes three dots, which is one too many. To repair the instructions, remove the one-more-dot step and try the new instructions on fresh paper.

  1. Say the goal and hold up two fingers for its dot count.
  2. Follow all four supplied instructions without fixing them yet.
  3. Count the dots and compare three with the goal of two.
  4. Remove the extra-dot instruction and draw again to test the repair.
Worked example

See the method in action

Before repair the square contains 2 + 1 = 3 dots. After removing draw one more dot, the square contains exactly 2 inside dots and no other marks, so the tested result matches the goal.

Your turn

Check your reasoning

Your answer is temporary and is not saved to an account. Download your current answer before leaving or reloading. Written work on paper or in another app stays in your own file.

A goal is exactly one circle with one dot inside and no other marks. The steps draw a circle, one dot inside, and one more dot inside. Which repair matches the goal?

Feedback appears here after you check. This is practice, not a graded school assessment.

See the answer and explanation

Remove the one-more-dot step

Removing the extra-dot step leaves the circle with exactly one dot and no extra drawing. Moving the extra dot outside still creates a mark the goal did not request.

Take it further

Change the goal to exactly one square with three dots inside and no other marks. Keep the original extra-dot step. Expected result: three inside dots, so no removal is needed for the changed goal.

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Check the subject sources

These LifeStarter passages, scenarios and exercises are authored for this Academy with AI assistance and review. External resources keep their publishers’ terms. A grade label suggests a starting level; it does not establish alignment with your school’s complete requirements.