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.
Number sense involves some Big Ideas that can be explored with children, such as:
Series: Book Ideas
3 Children’s Books Where Small Numbers Matter
August 11, 2020
As children start using number words, they don’t always have a sense of what those words really mean. Early on, we guide children to develop a meaningful number sense by focusing on small numbers.
- Topic: Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags Family Math, More Fewer Less, Pat Mora, Sergio Ruzzier, Subitizing, Tana Hoban, Two Mice, Uno Dos Tres/One Two Three
Series: Ideas at Work May 27, 2020
Math at Your Fingertips: Songs and Fingerplays for Preschoolers
En Español También. Do you remember enjoying fingerplay songs like 5 Little Monkeys or Un Elefante Se Balanceaba when you were young? You may not have realized that sharing these songs is a great way to bring math to life.
- Topic: Counting, Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags En Español, Family Math, Games, Gesture
Series: Ideas at Work May 26, 2020
Get on the Right Path: Make Your Own Number Sense Activities
En Español También. Path games are fantastic ways for families to spend time together and have fun while doing math. Path games develop number sense, counting skills and, depending on children’s ages and the tools you use, computational fluency.
- Topic: Counting, Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: 1st Grade, Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags En Español, Family Math, Games
Series: Ideas at Work April 26, 2020
We’re Going on a Math Walk, Going to Find Some Math Talk
En Español También. Going for walks is an excellent time to talk about math with your child. You’ll be surprised how much math talk you can have when you look for the math in your very own neighborhood.
- Topic: Counting, Number Sense, Shape, Spatial Relationships
- Age/Grade Level: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, Kindergarten, Pre-K
- Tags En Español, Family Math
Series: Focus on the Child October 29, 2019
Why One-to-One Correspondence Matters
Children love to count. Counting helps them make sense of the world and to find out how many of something. With time and practice, children develop an understanding of the “rules” or principles of counting.
- Topic: Counting, Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Kindergarten, Pre-K
Series: Ideas at Work October 16, 2019
Counting Collections Builds Strong Counting Knowledge
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
- Tags Cardinality
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 Cardinality, Dot cards, Equivalence, Family Math, Games, Play, 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
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