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number-sense-what-is-number-sense why is number sense important

Big Ideas of Number Sense

Big Ideas of Number Sense

  1. Big Ideas
  2. Number Sense

what is number sense why is number sense important

Number Sense

Number sense is the ability to understand the quantity of a set and the name associated with that quantity. Number is an abstract concept, and young children tend to think in concrete terms. Thanks to recent research, we now know that infants are sensitive to quantity and can make good quantity comparisons (more than, less than). The transition from this innate, informal number knowledge to a conventional understanding of number sense is a major cognitive development that takes place gradually. It gets to the heart of a complex question: What is number sense? And why is number sense important?

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.

Big Ideas

● 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.

Interested in Book Suggestions?

Browse our favorite children’s books that explore Number Sense.

Learn more

playing card games early math

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.

dot card transition activity

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.

Explore Estimation While Enjoying a Whopper of a Tale!

This book is a delightful way to start a discussion about estimation in the early grades. Is it reasonable that Hugh Thomas caught a million fish?

Attendance Routine to Build Number Sense

This Spanish-language example of a rekenrek attendance routine demonstrates how one teacher can mathematize an everyday activity.

Matching Quantity with Child 3

A child produces a small set of counters to match a shown quantity. Notice how she produces an equivalent set without copying the arrangement she was shown.

Browse all that match this in our Idea Library.

Big Ideas of Early Mathematics:

What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know

The Big Ideas that convey the core concepts of mathematics are at the heart of this book that gives early childhood educators the skills they need to organize for mathematics teaching and learning during the early years.
Order a copy

Online MS in Early Childhood Ed – STEM Focus

Get your degree online!

Elevate your practice and strengthen your knowledge of teaching and learning in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), with an emphasis on children in preschool through third grade.
Find out more

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