Number concepts rosemary Presented by Rosemary Reuille Irons

1. Welcome to C&K V1.015 © This document is the property of C&KPage 1
Number Concepts Through
Mathematics Stories
Rosemary Reuille Irons
Early Childhood Mathematics Consultant
ORIGO Education
Brisbane, Australia
mathmates@iinet.net.au
Pre-K to 1

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3. Relevance of Language in Mathematics
• Model of specific mathematical terms
• Use of language by children to describe ideas
• Support for mathematical concepts and
involvement in investigations, thinking and
reasoning
• Books present a pictorial representation
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Adapted from EYF, Canberra, 2009

4. After watching cooking
shows on television,
child’s play centered
around using utensils
and resources to cook.
Modeling and describing
are powerful teaching
tools.
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5. Child negotiated with teacher to
allow the constructed building to
stay up overnight rather than
dismantle it. Child wrote a sign to
place on the building.
Mathematics in Action
0 tochs
plez
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6. Strands of Early Childhood Mathematics
• Number
• Measurement
• Geometry
• Data(Statistics)
• Patterns(Algebra)
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7. Story concepts of this session
will focus on
Number
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Data(Statistics)

8. Challenge of learning number
Four aspects or ideas for meaningful
understanding of number:
Quantity
Relative Position
Ordinal
Label
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9. Number- Quantity
• Count
• Make groups of a certain quantity
• Recognise quantity by sight
• Match quantity to number symbol
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10. How Many Animals?
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Number- Quantity

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“Make a group to show four animals.”

12. Counting Experiences
• Count children and objects
• Activities for subitising- one to six
• Make groups to represent quantity
• Match quantity to number symbol
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13. Subitising
(subitus meaning ‘sudden’)
... the ability to instantly recognize
the total quantity of objects in a group
without counting.
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14. Subitising
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15. Perceptual vs. Conceptual
Subitising
3 + 2 + 1
3 rows of 3
3 x 3
Perceptual
Conceptual
Clements, 1999
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16. A Book about
Representing Groups to
Subitise
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17. Subitising
Students need to be able to subitise a variety of
arrangements.
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22. TEACHER: “Toss the cube. Say the number.”
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26. Subitising – Use Benchmarks
Make use of benchmark numbers that the students
know.
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27. Conservation principle – the arrangement of a
collection of objects does not change the count
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29. Origo’s Teaching Model
Plan for representation of quantity, verbal name and
selecting the number symbol.
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30. Handout Page 1
Number Concepts Through Mathematics Stories
An example is presented for
number idea as quantity.
Think of a learning experience
for you current children.
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31. “Make a group to match the number.”
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32. “Make a group to match the number and
show your friend.”
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33. Teaching Five
Place five toys on a plate in front of the child.
Ask, “How many animals do you see?”
Place a collection of animals and an empty plate in front
of the child. Show the child a card with ‘5’ written on it.
Say, “Put this number of animals on the plate.”
Place five toy animals on a plate and a calculator
in front of the child. Say, “Press the number that
matches the number of animals you see.”
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34. Show the child a photo of five animals.
Ask, “How many animals do you see in the photo?”
Place five toy animals on a plate with separate cards
showing the numerals 3, 4, 5, and 6 in front of the child.
Ask, “Which card matches the number of animals?”
Show the child a card with ‘5’ written on it.
Ask, “What number is this?”
Teaching Five
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35. Teaching Five
Place the numeral cards 3, 4, 5, and 6 in front of the child.
Ask, “Which card shows the number five?”
Show the child a photo of five animals. Provide cards with
numerals 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Say, “Find the card with the number that
matches how many animals you see in the photo.”
Place a collection of animals and an empty plate in front
of the child. Say, “Put five animals on the plate.”
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36. Number- Relative Position
• Know a number in relationship to
neighbour numbers (five comes just after six)
• Place the number symbols in order
• Abstract notion of number since only
dealing with symbols
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Hip Hop Hippos?
Number- Relative Position

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Placing the number symbols in order

39. Students need experiences with number tracks to
fully understand the abstract idea of a number line.
Length Model
Number tracks serve to bridge discrete set models
and the continuous number line model.
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40. Note that zero (0) would not have a space on a
number track.
Length Model
Build a number track
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41. • Put your finger on 5, put a finger and 7.
What number comes between 5 and 7?
• Break apart all the cubes and put the
numbers in order. Tell us about the order.
• What number comes just after five?
Relative Position Activities
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42. • Take a cube away and ask a friend to
name the missing number.
• What number do you land on if you start
at 5 and jump on 2 more?
Relative Position Activities
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Turn over every second cube. Read
the numbers you see.

44. Length Model
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45. Length Model
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46. Length Model
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47. Handout Page 2
Number Concepts Through Mathematics Stories
Advanced idea for relative position
presented at the top of the page.
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48. Which Floor Please?
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Number- Relative Position

49. Handout Page 2
Number Concepts Through Mathematics Stories
Learning experience suggested has
children placing numbers in order
vertically. Appropriate for five year
old children. Idea is shown on the
bottom part of the page.
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50. Caty the
Caterpillar
Number- Ordinal
Racing Horses
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Ordinal Number- use words

52. third
fourth
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53. Handout Page 3
Number Concepts Through Mathematics Stories
Learning experiences emphasize order of
events. An example- Life cycles of Nature.
Using the ordinal language words are also
presented as an activity.
What could you plan in your childhood
learning environment?
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54. Ordinal number activity using common resources.
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55. 603
Room
4B
Number- Label
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56. Number- Important considerations
• Language of number should emphasize ‘quantity of
something’- four dolls, four toys, later- four pounds,
four dollars, four miles
• There is too much early focus on the number symbol.
Number symbols are abstract and children need to
have the quantity picture for meaningful idea of
number.
• Selecting the number symbol is the best learning
experience for young children.
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58. Handout Page 4
Number Concepts Through Mathematics Stories
Here is a list of language for number
words that need to be modeled by you
as you interact with the children.
Accept whatever words the children
use but model the correct
mathematical language.
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59. Use of technology
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60. • Writing numbers is a fine motor skill
• Teach how to make the strokes for each numeral
• Number rhymes are helpful
• Practice with water and paint brushes in an
outdoor area
Writing Numerals
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61. Movement down from top to write numbers.
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62. Handout Pages 5, 6 and 7
Number Concepts Through Mathematics Stories
Number Rhymes for each of the number
symbols are presented on these three pages.
Writing number symbols are shown in the
order of ease of use of small motor control
skills. Children enjoy saying the rhymes as
they learn how to write number symbols.
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63. Movement left to right.
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64. Movement right to left.
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65. Children select a number.
Say the number name.
Make a group of objects.
Write the number symbol.
(Laminated card for the activity.)
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66. The Same Game
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67. Data-Statistics
• Yes and No charts
• Sort objects
• Collect data
• Represent data
• Compare two categories of the data
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68. Comparison
experiences that
integrate with the
Statistics and
Probability strand.
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70. Data-Important Considerations
• Work with discussing same and different
attributes
• Sorting experiences encourage the children to
decide the sort, do the sort and describe the
sort. The three D’s of sorting.
• Keep the sort open for their decision rather
than guide the sorting.
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71. Statistics and
Probability
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72. Reflection
• How does language of mathematics support
childrens’ thinking and learning about number?
• Do you know the mathematical words to model?
• How does play initiative, table activities and
teacher guided activities boost mathematical
ideas?
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Enjoy reading books that emphasize mathematical concepts as
well as commercial children’s literature that is of interest to the
children.
Remember to model the correct mathematical language as you
interact with the children during their learning experiences.
Mathematics is ever evolving and is what makes things in the
world work. Help children to keep their motivation for learning
about mathematics in the early childhood years.
All the best to you in your early childhood teaching career, Rosemary

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We had the experience,
but missed the meaning.
We don’t want our early childhood
environments and learning experiences to be
uninteresting for the children or incorrect
mathematically. This could happen and for
many children has in the past:
Four Quartets, T.S. Eliot