Foundational Math Topics
Age/Grade Levels
Content Formats
Series
Foundational Math Topic: Number Sense
Number sense is the ability to understand the quantity of a set and the name associated with that quantity. Strong number sense developed in the early years is a key building block of learning arithmetic in the primary grades, as it connects counting to quantities, solidifies and refines the understanding of more and less, and helps children estimate quantities and measurements. © Erikson Institute’s Early Math Collaborative. Reprinted from Big Ideas of Early Mathematics: What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know (2014), Pearson Education.
Series: Ideas at Work
Counting Collections Builds Strong Counting Knowledge
October 16, 2019
There are all kinds of things to count in pre-k to second grade classrooms. Counting Collections is an activity that develops the Big Ideas of number sense and counting, such as cardinality, one-to-one correspondence, and unitizing.
- Topic: Counting, Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, Kindergarten, Pre-K
Series: Adult Learning May 30, 2019
Video Analysis of Children’s Mathematical Thinking
Looking at a video from our Focus on the Child series, Collaborative member Donna Johnson leads a discussion about the mathematical thinking of a child during a comparison task. This is an example of how…
- Topic: Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags video analysis
Series: Adult Learning May 29, 2019
Video Analysis of Preschool Number Sense Activity
Collaborative member Donna Johnson leads teachers in a discussion about an activity designed to build number sense in a video from our Focus on the Lesson series. This is an example of how we use…
- Topic: Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags video analysis
Series: Focus on Play April 29, 2019
A New Focus for Familiar Card Games
Here you can download cards and simple-to-learn game ideas to help young children build their understanding of early math concepts such as cardinality and composing and comparing numbers.
- Topic: Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags Dot cards, Equivalence, Games, Subitizing
Series: Adult Learning February 25, 2019
Different Uses of Numbers with Anno’s Counting Book
Books are a powerful way to launch math investigations with children, but also with adult learners. Our Learning Labs often use picture books as a doorway into mathematics. Here, teachers explore multiple representations of the number five in Anno's Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno.
- Topic: Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
Series: Focus on the Child January 29, 2019
Many Ways to See How Many
Regardless of how high a preschooler can rote count, a child’s sense of what those numbers actually mean develops gradually. We call this understanding number sense, and it requires relating numbers to real quantities.
- Topic: Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags Dot cards, Estimation, Subitizing, Unifix Cubes
Series: Focus on Play September 26, 2018
The Match ‘Em All Game
This bingo-like game allows children to think about numbers in different ways. It focuses children on the attribute of quantity of small sets and helps them build a more robust number sense.
- Topic: Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags Dice, Games, Subitizing
Series: Focus on Play September 25, 2018
The Hoop Game
This game played with a hula hoop and bean bags demonstrates all the math that can be explored with a simple tossing game. Each round gives children practice seeing and naming smaller parts of a total number in a variety of ways.
- Topic: Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags Games, Subitizing
Series: Ideas at Work September 11, 2018
Preschool Number Sense Routine Perfect for Transitions
Moving from one activity to another just got a lot more mathematical with this simple routine that builds early number sense with preschoolers.
- Topic: Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags Dot cards, Subitizing
Series: Focus on the Lesson August 17, 2018
Dot Card Transition Activity
Transition time is a great time for mathematizing a daily routine. This dot card transition is a relatively simple routine that builds number sense in a concrete way.
- Topic: Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags Dot cards, Subitizing
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