Teaching
Staff Development
Number Concepts
Int r o d uc t i o n
Do you ever think about how you use numbers
each day? Do you promote student awareness of
the many ways numbers impact their lives?
Number is a c omplex c onc ept and is the
founda tion of all mathem atic s from pre-
kindergarten through grade 12.
An understanding and use of number sense is
needed more in the world today than ever before.
In the everyday world, people encounter a greater
range of numbers in a greater variety of contexts
than in the past. There are also more tools that
can be used. Numbers and number sense is a part
of everyone’s world and should be an important
part of every curriculum. The development of
number sense is gradual and begins to develop
long before students enter school.
What is Number Sense?
Number Sense can be described as making sense
of the mathematics we learn by building an
intuitive understanding of number concepts and
operations. Number Sense is not just knowing
algorithm and facts; it is being able to recognize
when an answer is appropriat e, knowing
intuitively that a nu mber is c orrec t. All
mathema tic s taught from pre-kindergarten
through grade 12 is heavily grounded in number,
and so the mathematics we teach needs to focus
on fundamental understanding of, and proficiency
with, numbers and number concepts. Students
need to be proficient in counting, identifying
numbers and performing basic arithmetic. They
also need to develop an understanding of number
systems and their structures. Developing an
understanding of the properties of numbers and
the relationships between numbers help students
become more proficient in their calculations.
TEAMS Mathematics—Teaching Number Concepts
© 2000-2001 by the Los Angeles County Office of Education
Number Sense is more than knowing about
numbers. It is a way of thinking, a way of making
sense of numerical situations. Number Sense is not
an isolated topic, but rather needs to be a part of
all mathematics. To develop number sense,
students must be involved in experiences that
encourage exploring, investigating, questioning,
and verif ying. St udent s need to be ac tive
partic ipants and have opportunities to
communicate their reasonsing. They need to be
given learning experiences where they can make
sense of the mathematics they are doing.
For students to develop a strong sense of number,
we need to provide them with a rich assortment
of activities that develop a strong understanding
of number relationships and build a variety of
computational skills. Research has shown that
learning about number and operations is a
complex process for children (e.g., Fuson, 1992).
Number, in its broad sense, inc ludes an
understanding of counting, composing and
decomposing numbers; number systems and their
struc tures; algorithms; and properties and
characteristics of numbers and number operations,
the beginning of number theory.
TEAMS Number Programming
In order for st udent s to be su c c essful in
mathematics they need to have meaningful
experiences in the early grades. They need to have
experiences that will develop number sense and
help with understanding the mathematics they are
learning. Classroom teachers need to look at what
and how they are already teaching and make
connections to a deeper understanding of number.
Introduction: 1
 Teaching
Staff Development
Number Concepts
Two important components to success are:
• making sure what is taught is
mathematically sound
• providing experiences that challenge
students to think
TEAMS programming can immediately help
teachers with this task. Solid mathematical content
is presented, questioning techniques are modeled,
and activities are selected that challenge students
to think and reason, to solve complex problems,
and to communicate their ideas.
Teachers can also receive support from the TEAMS
teachers via email, regular mail, telephone, FAX,
or via the TEAMS home page. No question or
problem will be too small. TEAMS support does
not end when the program is turned off; the
opportunity to work with the classroom teacher
to ensure a successful experience is welcomed.
TEAMS programs are designed to help teachers
and students experience rich activities that help
develop a strong understanding of numbers.
Student programs illustrate a variety of conceptual
unders tand ings that are developmentally
appropriate for the different grade levels. The
programs are built upon a balanced approach for
learning mathematics, incorporating conceptual
understanding and proficient computation. They
model effective teaching strategies, encourage
problem solving, and help students develop ideas
about the various asp ec ts of nu mber. T he
development of understandings at each grade
level builds upon previously attained concepts.
Professional development programming, Teaching
Number Concepts, is designed to facilitate effective
teaching of number development of a concept
across the grades, assessment strategies, content
understanding, and teaching strategies.
Modules in the Number series: Number Concepts
for Primary Grades (1-2), and Number Concepts for
Middle School (6-8) focus on making sense of
TEAMS Mathematics—Teaching Number Concepts
© 2000-2001 by the Los Angeles County Office of Education
number c onc epts. Th e goal of T EAMS
programming is to provide mathematical activities
that enable students to broaden their base of
experiences and promote critical thinking that
help develop conceptual understanding. Care is
taken so that activities selected at the different
grade levels are developmentally appropriate.
The staff development guide and program,
Teaching Number Concepts, are designed to
facilitate effective teaching of number concepts.
Remember, TEAMS modules are not intended to
be a complete curriculum; rather, they are model
lessons and starting points to a rich and
challenging mathematics program. The series
foc uses on stu dents looking at patterns,
relationships, inductive and deductive reasoning,
and the language of mathematics. Activities
selected for the programs illustrate these topics
throughout the grade levels.
Standards and TEAMS Mathematics
In the National Council of teachers of Mathematics
Priciples and Standa rds for School Mathematics
document it states that : “Instructional programs
from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 should
enable all students to -
• unders tand numbers, ways of
representing numbers, relationships
among numbers and number systems;
• understand meanings of operations and
how they relate to one another;
• compute fluently and make reasonable
estimates.”
“In these Standards, understanding number and
operations, developing number sense, and gaining
fluency in arithmetic computation form the core
of mathematics for the elementary grades. As they
progress from pre-kindergarten through grade 12,
students should attain a rich understanding of
numbers -- what t hey are; how they are
represented with objects, numerals, or on number
Introduction: 2
 Teaching
Staff Development
Number Concepts
lines; how they are related to one another; how
numbers are embedded in systems that have
structures and properties; and how to use numbers
and operations to solve problems.”
Teaching Number Concepts
Teacher Guide
Information on a variety of topics related to
teaching mathematics are included in this
guide. These topics are organized into sections
for easy access. At the end of sections, articles
are listed that correspond to the topics covered.
These articles appear in educational
publications and were selected to enhance and
clarify.
It is suggested that this guide be three-hole
punched and placed in a binder so that materials
related to the topics can be easily added.
ETA, 800-445-5985 or
http://www.etauniverse.com
Key Curriculum Press, 800-995-MATH or
http://www.keypress.com
Teacher to Teacher Press, 916-547-4687 or
P.O. Box 233, Millville, CA 96062
Bibliography
Elliott, Portia C. 1996 Yearbook. Communication
in Mathematics, K-12 and Beyond. The
National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics, Inc., 1996.
House, Peggy A. 1995 Yearbook, Connecting
Mathematics across the Curriculum. The
National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics, Inc., 1995.

Number Modules
Teacher guides for each module are sent out about
one month prior to the first televised program.
Teachers should take the time to go through the
guide, start gathering manipulatives and materials
needed, and run copies of the suggested blackline
masters. By taking the time to read through each
program in the module, teachers will have a better
idea of how to facilitate the activities presented
and where th ose ac tivities fit into their
mathematics curriculum.

Resources for Manipulatives and

Teaching Materials
Creative Publication, 800-624-0822 or
http://www.creativepublications.com
Cuisenaire, 800-872-1100
Dale Seymour, 800-872-1100 or
http://www.aw.com/dsp/
Didax, 800-458-0024 or
http://www.Didaxinc.com

TEAMS Mathematics—Teaching Number Concepts Introduction: 3

© 2000-2001 by the Los Angeles County Office of Education
 Teaching
Staff Development
Number Concepts
How to Communicate with TEAMS

To connect to in Amy Erickson’s or Linda Catanzaro’s Electronic Classroom, go to the

TEAMS DISTANCE LEARNING Homepage: http://teams.lacoe.edu

Contact Amy Erickson at: Contact Linda Catanzaro at:

Phone: (562) 922-6594 Phone: (562) 922-6912
FAX: (562) 922-6486 FAX: (562) 922-6486
Email: erickson_amy@lacoe.edu Email: familycat@juno.com

Send materials via Blue Bag if your school is located in Los Angeles County (No postage necessary)
LACOE
EC-Room 250
TEAMS Math

Send materials via US mail if your school is located outside of Los Angeles County:
Amy Erickson or Linda Catanzaro
TEAMS Math Studio Teacher
Los Angeles County Office of Education
9300 Imperial Highway, Room 250
Downey, CA 90242-2890

FAX the studio:

Studio FAX: 1 800 TEAMS FX (send in student work 24 hours a day)

TEAMS Mathematics—Teaching Number Concepts Introduction: 4

© 2000-2001 by the Los Angeles County Office of Education