Developing Number Sense

Even before children starts school, most of them would have already been exposed to basic concepts of numbers and counting by their parents through counting the number of sweets, fingers, or even educational television programs and charts.

Numbers can be found everywhere, from the telephone to the clock, and even the lift. Young children who started counting may be able to count numbers verbally in the correct order. However, they may not be able to connect the numbers in a one-to-one manner where each item only gets one count.

Thus, it is important to support the children in gaining full understanding of the concepts by using a variety of activities and experiences.

Next, I will talk about what is suggested about teaching of number sense in the textbook and what is being practised in pre-school teaching.

 = already in practice

= not a common practice

On Page 128 of the text, it is suggested that any games or activity that involves counts and comparison can be used to develop children's understanding of counting, such as rolling a die and collecting the indicated number of counters. When children are able to count forward in number sequence, they also learn to count on and count back, and this will lead to the concept of number sense.

In my preschool, children play similar games such as 'snakes and ladders' and 'aeroplane chess'. Instead of buying, the teachers will get the children to be involved in making the games, exposing the little ones to numbers. 'Snakes and ladders' involves the children in count and comparison when the die is rolled, as well as counting on and counting back

               when the counter lands on a ladder or a snake.

In the section on 'one and two more, one and two less', the book suggests using materials to play the 'more or less' game to learn about the relationships between numbers and reflecting on them.

In my preschool, the teachers do use materials to introduce the concept too. By exploring

               with concrete materials, children are able to better visualize, understand, and reflect on the
               relationship of 'more and less'.

Calculators can also be used for the same concept of introducing 'more and less' in the section on 'one and two more, one and two less'. In my preschool, it is not a common practice to use such technology as the teachers are not exposed to and are unaware of the benefits of using it as a teaching tool.

The next section on 'anchoring numbers to 5 and 10' seems quite unfamiliar to me. After reading, I am able to understand why it is useful to develop relationships for the numbers 1 to 10 due to the important anchors of 5 and 10. However, it is not a common practice for the teachers to introduce the relationships among numbers using this approach, or to
               use the five-frames or ten-frames tool as an activity.