Andrea Colvin

EDMA 614

Classroom Connection 1

February 16, 2017

Place Value and Models for Arithmetic

I have been thinking about this topic often lately. I have one 2nd grade student who

seems to have very low number sense. When she is asked to add numbers, she often just throws

out numbers as answers without thinking about it. She sometimes knows how to use a number

line, but other times seems way off.

Lately, I have been pulling her to just work on the concept of more, less, and same. She

seems to understand it when using the manipulatives, but when I put it in addition or subtraction

form, she has no idea. When talking about counting, Chapter 1 state, A number is an abstract

idea. We can speak of 3 apples or 3 people, but when we say simply 3 or 3+3=6 we mean

something more abstract (p. 2). This little girl that I have seems to understand numbers when

there are objects in front of her, but cannot put them into the abstract form.

She knows how to count, but gets confused past 29. The book suggests using place value

models to help students understand how numbers work. By using these with this student at her

own pace, she may become more fluent in understanding numbers. In my classroom, the students

earn money that they keep in their bank and trade out on Fridays. One way I can make the

place value idea real to her is to only have her trade out in pennies, dimes, and dollars, just as the

book suggests.

Much of where this 2nd grade girl is at according to the Common Core State Standards is

at a kindergarten level. In kindergarten, children are expected to compose and decompose

numbers and solve addition and subtraction problems within 10. The book talks about how

difficult place value is for students to learn, it is even more difficult for students who already

have a hard time learning. In the area of addition for this little girl, the book suggests that I use

set, measurement, and number line models to build understanding. Because of the stage she is at,

it is important for me to use a variety of models and contexts to build her understanding.