A look at why building number sense is so important in preschool along with some teaching ideas and activities to try to help develop strong number sense skills.
How to do to build number sense in my classroom? Let me help.
Number sense is the ability to interact with numbers flexibly but knowing where to start and how to make this happen can be confusing so I've collected all the tips and teaching strategies you need for building number sense to 20. Everything you need in a series of posts to easily implement and bring engaging number sense activities, games and centres into your classroom or home.
Most children start school with an understanding of simple mathematical concepts.
They might be able to look at two plates of food and tell you which one has more.
They know there are only three cookies left by just looking.
They know the word 'four' is the same as holding up four fingers.
This is number sense. Although Prof Jo Boaler does a much better job of explaining what number sense is in this video.
WHY IS BUILDING NUMBER SENSE IMPORTANT?
Research tells us that poor number sense can be the reason why someone will struggle with maths vs someone who is 'good' at maths.
A person with good number sense will be able to use numbers flexibly rather than rely concepts rote taught and memorised. They will have confidence when approaching mathematical problems rather than feel anxious as they understand how numbers work.
Children with strong number sense go on to be more successful with maths because they understand the concepts and how to use them. Developing strong number sense in preschool is important to understanding more complex maths topics in the future.
There are many fun, engaging ways to incorporate daily number sense activities.
Use and display number charts in your classroom for children to refer to. Learning to recognise numbers and write them correctly is important. Those posters with different representations of number are particularly useful in preschool and kindergarten.
Have many different items available for activities, such as dice, dominoes, counters, animals, cubes, glass gems, small stones, counting chips and number cards available in class.
Invite children to match different types of objects together - dominos and number cards. Don't be frightened to take it outside. You can create opportunities to count anywhere!
Encourage them to use their fingers to help them count. Allow them opportunities to order the numbers themselves.
Collect loose parts to create your invitations. Invite children to make numbers from different materials.
Playdough is always engaging so I use it frequently in invitation to count. Prompts like these playdough mats are perfect for pre-writers as they learn the different numbers.
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NUMBER SENSE - WHAT IS IT?
They might be able to look at two plates of food and tell you which one has more.
They know there are only three cookies left by just looking.
They know the word 'four' is the same as holding up four fingers.
This is number sense. Although Prof Jo Boaler does a much better job of explaining what number sense is in this video.
WHY IS BUILDING NUMBER SENSE IMPORTANT?
Research tells us that poor number sense can be the reason why someone will struggle with maths vs someone who is 'good' at maths.
A person with good number sense will be able to use numbers flexibly rather than rely concepts rote taught and memorised. They will have confidence when approaching mathematical problems rather than feel anxious as they understand how numbers work.
Children with strong number sense go on to be more successful with maths because they understand the concepts and how to use them. Developing strong number sense in preschool is important to understanding more complex maths topics in the future.
BUILDING NUMBER SENSE WITH HANDS-ON PLAY
To develop strong number sense, children need meaningful opportunities to learning and play with numbers.
Recognising numbers, learning to subitise and count and understanding quantity are all key blocks to building number sense in the Early Years. These are all learnt best through playful exploration with concrete objects. These experiences will help children expand their understanding and learn new concepts.
This is not a 'must-do' list. Be flexible and look for those opportunities as they present themselves to talk about number in authentic real life way with your child whether that be in the classroom or at home. Make it fun and engaging and watch their fluency with numbers grow.
EVERYDAY MATHS
For children to develop strong number sense skills they need to see maths as making meaning - that numbers can help to make sense of the world.
Whether it's counting out cookies to make sure there's enough for everyone or checking the price of a toy in different shops to save up the right amount.
As the teacher, give voice to what is happening to help children make the connection between what they are seeing/experiencing and maths.
'Lucy, Ben, Ivy and Scarlett all have green apples today.
Ava has a red apple for recess. Are there more green apples or red ones?'
Going for a walk to the shops. Look at the different numbers on letterboxes. What is happening to the numbers as you continue down the street? Are they getting smaller or larger?
The most important thing you can do at this age is to help children see math as fun.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
Children need plenty of hands-on activities that give them opportunities to see connections between number and how they can be taken apart or partitioned, and put together in many different ways.
They need practice at counting and to learn different strategies for counting and be able to reason why one method is more reasonable than another.
Using number talks or having a number of the day as part of your regular classroom routine can help model different concepts and the multitude of ways you might be able to reach the right answer.
BUILD NUMBER SENSE THROUGH COUNTING
Counting orally helps children learn the pattern of numbers so find different ways to count in class so they have plenty of opportunities to hear and see that the spoken word carries meaning.
In the first few years at school, we will count together as a class. Having a number chart displayed on your IWB helps makes this task more concrete and helps children learn the order of numbers and their names. I use this interactive number chart from ABCya in class.
One-to-one counting is an important skill.
Grab a handful of objects. Guess how many there are then count them. Was your guess close to the actual number?
You need to intentionally teach children how to count by organising their objects so there is a clear start and stopping point. Line them up if there's only a handful or teach them to group to 10 to make counting larger amounts more accurate.
An estimation station is perfect for teaching counting strategies and a tool I use every year in my classroom. You can read how to use one in this blog post.
The most important thing you can do at this age is to help children see math as fun.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
Children need plenty of hands-on activities that give them opportunities to see connections between number and how they can be taken apart or partitioned, and put together in many different ways.
They need to recognise the different ways numbers can be represented whether it be in symbols form, quantity or word.
Using number talks or having a number of the day as part of your regular classroom routine can help model different concepts and the multitude of ways you might be able to reach the right answer.
BUILD NUMBER SENSE THROUGH COUNTING
Counting orally helps children learn the pattern of numbers so find different ways to count in class so they have plenty of opportunities to hear and see that the spoken word carries meaning.
In the first few years at school, we will count together as a class. Having a number chart displayed on your IWB helps makes this task more concrete and helps children learn the order of numbers and their names. I use this interactive number chart from ABCya in class.
One-to-one counting is an important skill.
Grab a handful of objects. Guess how many there are then count them. Was your guess close to the actual number?
You need to intentionally teach children how to count by organising their objects so there is a clear start and stopping point. Line them up if there's only a handful or teach them to group to 10 to make counting larger amounts more accurate.
An estimation station is perfect for teaching counting strategies and a tool I use every year in my classroom. You can read how to use one in this blog post.
Use and display number charts in your classroom for children to refer to. Learning to recognise numbers and write them correctly is important. Those posters with different representations of number are particularly useful in preschool and kindergarten.
Provide number cards for your children to use. Teach them to use them to make simple games like memory or snap.
Have many different items available for activities, such as dice, dominoes, counters, animals, cubes, glass gems, small stones, counting chips and number cards available in class.
Invite children to match different types of objects together - dominos and number cards. Don't be frightened to take it outside. You can create opportunities to count anywhere!
Encourage them to use their fingers to help them count. Allow them opportunities to order the numbers themselves.
Collect loose parts to create your invitations. Invite children to make numbers from different materials.
Playdough is always engaging so I use it frequently in invitation to count. Prompts like these playdough mats are perfect for pre-writers as they learn the different numbers.
You can find plenty of hands-on maths resources in our blog shop to help build early number sense.
Take a look!
Grab our FREE Number cards too!
You can also find the rest of
our BUILDING NUMBER SENSE series here.