Developing Number Sense and Early Number Concepts

EDN 322

Number Sense
A good intuition about numbers and their relationships. It develops gradually as a result of exploring numbers, visualizing them in a variety of contexts, and relating them in ways that are not limited by traditional algorithms (Howden, 1989).

Number and Operations Standard Grades Pre-K-12

Understand 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
Principles and Standards for School Mathematics National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2000

Understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, and number systems

Count with understanding and recognize how many in sets of objects Develop understanding of the relative position and magnitude of whole numbers and of ordinal and cardinal numbers and their connections. Connect number words and numerals to the quantities they represent, using various physical models and representations

The meanings for the number five suggested by young children

Prenumber Concepts
Patterning Sorting Classifying

Counting Principles
One-to-one correspondence Stable order rule Order irrelevance rule Cardinality rule

Counting Stages
Rote Counting

Counting Stages
Rational Counting

Counting Strategies
Counting On Counting Back Skip Counting

Relationships Among Numbers

Spatial Relationships One and Two More, One and Two Less Number Benchmarks Part-part-whole Relationships

Writing Numerals
Start with very clear, very strong models. Focus on one number at a time. Provide maximum guidance at first.

Be accepting of initial efforts.

Gently reduce the amount of guidance. Reward correct performance. Review previously-learned material at regular intervals.