The Relationship Between Early Numbering System and Children Literature

This article discusses the influence of children's literature, particularly poetry, in understanding mathematics concepts. It also highlights the importance of patterns in learning mathematics and the difference between cardinal, ordinal, and nominal numbers. The article provides various tasks that promote the understanding of these concepts.

The relationship between early numbering system and children literature.
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Children's literature and their usefulness.
Children literature refers to anything children read mainly fiction, non-fiction, poetry drama,
comic books that are not intended to be read from front to front and are
mainly used for children.
Poetry is one of the best children literature that has got a great influence towards
understanding and learning of mathematics concepts for young children. Poetry has a great
influence when it comes to numbering. When a child begins to master rhyming words in poetry,
he or she begins to understand making words through a pattern, connecting words in all sort of
ways thus will enable children to make numbers run in an in sequence (Shonkoff, Garner,
Siegel, Dobbins, Earls, McGinnis, 2012 ). For instance, a teacher can use a short poem with end
line rhyming to enable children to master rhyming technique which also helps to master pre-
numbering skills. This technique is useful to children mostly below the age of ten years old.
Poetry is written in a more complex and precise language that require understanding to drive
out logic. It cannot be understood unless you get to know the context in which it is written
from.
Just like many mathematical concepts, that are written in a precise language that requires
Careful study before analyzing the concepts (Oberhuemer, Schreyer, & Neumann,(2010).When
children continually get used to reading and reciting poems, he or she begins to master the art
of understanding poetry and thus enhances his mathematical skills of precisely understanding

concepts and solving various problems(Flores, 2015). For example, a teacher may use a short
poetry that requires memorization. This enables children to learn and get to recite the
numbers.
Another type of children literature that help in understanding mathematics is the use of comic
books and magazines, for example in a country like Canada mathematics plays a big role in the
Society because they value intelligence, many students have no confidence in mathematics as a
Subject. But this has not discouraged teachers and learners to put more efforts on improving
Mathematics, the following ways are used; teachers have included humor in their math lesson,
this enables them to overcome math anxiety, they have also games such as cards, this is used
to introduce math concept with the emphasis on having fun while learning.
It has also shown that students who are more language oriented are more likely to learn
Mathematics when it is linked to language arts because of their verbal-linguistic style of
learning (Harms, Clifford, Crye,2014). )Here we find that a child can be able to number, and
Count numerical values since the language involved is best understood by him or her.
The importance of making a pattern in the learning of mathematics.
Teachers teaching children at the kindergarten level mainly make use of pattern in the daily

learning. Children are taught how to make, identify and name patterns during their math’s
classes. The knowledge about patterns enables children to build a strong foundation about the
late number works(Munroe,2011). The following reasons best explain the importance of
patternin a mathematical approach.
The ability to make and identify patterns enable children to think and make a critical
observation. When a child gets accustomed to making different patterns and identifying them,
he or she develops the ability to learn different mathematical concepts and operate
them(StatiKiefer & Tyson,2013).
Short and repetitive patterns enable children to master addition and multiplication concepts.
This is mostly done by repeating a pattern twice or more while adding one or two elements
each at a time in such a way that it can be predictive when carefully studied( Harms, Clifford &
Cryer,2014 ). A child is then left to make the other subsequent patterns. This is useful in
enabling a child to and multiplication concept.
Patterns are also used in the investigation of graphs without the use of numbers, the horizontal
and vertical axis are used for example to calculate the distance covered(Vasquez, 2003). They
also use patterns to analyze or explain how a change in one quantity results in a change in
another. Here, for example, we can see that patterns are being used to investigate effects of

changing the radius and diameter of a circle upon its circumference, the symbolic expression is
used here to describe that relationship.
Difference between ordinal, cardinal and normal numbers.
There exist three forms of numbers; cardinal, ordinal and nominal numbers. They are
different according to their various use and application. To begin with, cardinal numbers make
use of natural numbers such as 0, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Ordinal numbers make use of numbers that
indicate rank like 1st, 2nd, 3rd.On the other hand, nominal numbers make use of numerical
code that is irrelevant and doesn't indicate any form of numbering or ranking (Welshman,
1992).The phone number is a good example of nominal numbers.
Cardinal numbers indicate the value and the quantity of something, for instance, one can say a
Class has got 40 students. Ordinal numbers indicate the order or sequence of something. For
example, it can be used to indicate the date(1st, 2nd,3rd) while nominal numbers make use of
code for labeling and identifying the values of the numerals which can be compared and
used to give some logic( Whitin,2004).For instance security codes.
However, the cardinal numbers only describe whether there is step by step similarity between
members of two sets. The ordinal numbers show if there are one-to-one relationships

between the members of two well-ordered sets that maintain the order. Two well-ordered sets
with the same ordinal number also have the same cardinal number, thus cardinal number can
be used to form ordinal numbers. However, nominal numbers are used mostly to explain
relationships. They use a certain pattern that doesn't give any logic but can be compared with
other patterns to give logic.
We have also some tasks used to promote the understands of cardinal, ordinal and nominal
number, they are highlighted as follows :
Counting technique; here we have four principles of counting techniques, they include counting
on, counting back, skip counting and finally rational counting. In counting on, the child gives the
correct number names as counting proceeds, he or she can start from anywhere and end
anywhere. This is the essential ways of developing additional skills, and it leads children to the
discovery of many valuable patterns. The second one is counting back, here the child counts
back giving the correct names of numbers he or she has been asked to count by the instructor,
this provides an activity that integrates such practice with pattern recognition, we also have
rational counting where the child gives correct name number as objects are counted in
succession, it also exhibits all four counting principles, here children notice their own progress
in

developing this skills and become proud of their accomplishment ,instructions should provide
regular practice and encourage each child to count as far as he or she can. Last but not least,
we also have skip counting, here the child gives correct names, instead of counting by ones,
count by twice, fives, tens or other values. In addition skip, counting provides readiness for
multiplication and division. Creation, construction, and description of a pattern require
problem-solving skills. Under this task, the child can be able to find the next number. The other
method underuse of pattern is extending of patterns, here we find that the child is shown a
pattern and asked to continue it (Shatzer, 2008). For example, an initial pattern can be asked to
continue the pattern.
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