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Erikson Institute Early Math Collaborative
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Math Strands

Types

for

Audience

Special Topics

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.

Copyright: 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:

  • The quantity of a small collection can be intuitively perceived without counting.
  • Quantity is an attribute of a set of objects and we use numbers to name specific quantities.
  • Numbers are used in many ways, some more mathematical than others.
One to One Correspondence math early math
Series: Focus on the Child

Why One-to-One Correspondence Matters

October 29, 2019

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: Number Sense, Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
Counting Collections_PreK_Collectionof5
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…

  • Topic: Number Sense, Counting
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade
  • Tags Cardinality
mathematical thinking early math collaborative
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: Adult Learners, Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • 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: Adult Learners, Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags video analysis
playing card games early math
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, composing and comparing numbers, and allowing them to subitize.

  • Topic: Number Sense
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Subitizing, Play, Games, Equivalence, Dot cards, Family Math, Cardinality, En Español, download
annos counting book activity
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…

  • Topic: Number Sense
  • Age/Grade Level: Adult Learners, Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Mitsumasa Anno, Anno’s Counting Book
how many
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: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Estimation, Unifix Cubes, Subitizing, Gesture, Dot cards
bingo game match em all game
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: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Unifix Cubes, Subitizing, Games, Dice
simple tossing game with math
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…

  • Topic: Number Sense
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Subitizing, Games, download
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: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Subitizing, Dot cards
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