Lesson 2 and 3

Developing Early Number Concepts and Number Sense

Going back to the basics

Subitize? I heard this word for the first time on Tuesday. What is that? I found out that it is the ability to explore quantity before children can count. Once children can match counting words with objects, they will begin to understand that “the last count word indicates the amount of that set.” I never saw this as a problem that children might have and assumed that they always had it in them but little did I know. I mean how difficult can this be, right? It seems so simple and natural to look at the dots on a dice and just see the number but the book reveals otherwise. It points out that “Subitizing is a complex skill that needs to be developed and practiced through experiences with patterned sets” (p. 129). Why didn’t anybody tell me about this before? Well now I know better. I also found the idea of using dot plates interesting and easy to make. I intend to try this out with my class next week.

I just wanted to say that I am learning something new in class every day. Wednesday’s lesson was no different. I found out that equal parts of a fraction can be both the same shapes, or different ones and that it is wrong to say “three over four”, “three upon four” or “three out of four”. Instead, we should use three fourths or two fifths. All these little bits of information are a revelation to me! I am really glad this degree includes mathematics modules. Indeed, these past few days have been a learning journey for me.