Teaching Early Number: Supporting Learning in Mathematics Areas

This essay explores the significance of teaching early number concepts to children and how it supports their mathematical development. It discusses strategies such as sorting, classification, patterning, and conservation, highlighting their effectiveness in building a strong number sense. The essay also emphasizes how early number sense enables students to learn other areas of mathematics, fostering confidence and flexible learning. By mastering basic mathematical concepts early on, children are better equipped to solve problems and understand more complex mathematical operations. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and study materials to enhance their understanding of various subjects.

Discuss Teaching Early
Number

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Critical analysis of strengths and weaknesses of implemented approach at Carnival.................3
Appropriate use of relevant frameworks to evaluate business analytical projects like: DELTA
model, BADM and CRISP ..........................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

PART A
Effectiveness of sorting and classification on developing children’s sense of number
Children need to develop emergent math skills at a very young age. As like other subjects,
math plays a vital role as it helps students to gain knowledge regarding numbers. There are
numbers of strategies that can increase sense of numbers among children. Sorting and
classification is one of the main strategy. In classification, children are being taught to group
items by characteristics of size and colour. While making pyramid, children are taught to make
use of numbers in descending orders as by adding 5 boxes and then 4 on the above of 5 added
boxes and so on. This is the best example of classification. Sorting items like blocks, leaves, post
cards and other on the basis of colour and number printed on number cards, they can gain
knowledge of numbers. For teaching and increasing sense of numbers to children at early stage,
teachers need to have both mathematical and pedagogical knowledge (Takacs and Kassai, 2019).
By having content knowledge, they can respond to students’ mathematical ideas and can know
the best way of increasing sense of numbers by size, increasing, decreasing numbers and others.
As like this, pedagogical knowledge also plays a vital role in increasing sense of numbers among
children. It is a type of knowledge that is based on the manner in which teachers relate their
existing knowledge to their subject matter. By making use of pedagogical knowledge they can
work on themselves and identify effective ways of increasing knowledge of children related to
their subject as how to make understand children about increasing, decreasing numbers, same
numbers and others.
Effectiveness of patterning on developing children’s sense of number
As like classification and sorting, pattern is another effective way of developing children’
sense of number. This strategy of patterning help children in understanding changes that happen.
Children can increase their prediction ability because they start understanding that what will
come next. It increases their mathematical capability. With patterning strategy, children are
taught about ways of making logical connections as well as using reasoning skills.

Figure 1: Patterning method for developing sense of numbers among children
An example of patterning method is asking children to arrange toys in different shape in
specific manner such as: to place triangle shape at first place then round shape of box and then
rectangle shape of box. arranging this pattern till it completes 30 boxes. It can help in predicting
that which shape or colour of box will come next and how many boxes are available (Smetana,
2017). After completing pattern, children should be asked to count as it can increase prediction
skill that can be used them in the future for solving complex mathematical questions.
There are other examples of patterning method that is the most used for developing
children’s sense of number such as: repeating alphabetical patterns (ABABABABA)
(ABCABCABCABA) (AABBAABBAABB), spatial structure pattern (geometrical shapes),
growing patterns like (2,4,6,8). In these all types, children try to predict as which shape will
come next, which number will come next that is beneficial for their mathematical knowledge.
Effectiveness of conservation on development of children’s sense of number
Development of conservation of number is also important in child’s numeric and sense of
numbers. It is found that young children utilize more complex mathematical strategies once
conservation of numbers has developed. This strategy is all about a logical thinking ability.
There are some things and resources by which they came to know that quantity does not affected
if it is being altered by being stretched, spread out and others (Barthel, Belton, Raymond and
Giusti, 2018). It is all about making children able to understand the number of object that

remains the same even when they are rearranged. One of the example of this type of strategy is
uses of tall cups and small cups with same quantity of water.
Figure 2: Wide VS Tall cups with the same amount of water
With this type, children can learn that by there is no changes in quantities if it is being altered
and difference in quantity can be measured and done if it is being used in same size. Overall, it
can be said that this method can help out children in increasing knowledge and identify the
relationship between size, pattern and elasticity of objects on quantity.
PART 2
How developing students early number sense can support learning other areas of mathematics.
Students who have early number sense can make themselves able to learn other areas of
mathematics. It boosts confidence, encourage flexible learning. It is stated that when children
learn the verbal count list and understand key values of numbers then they are more likely to
represent large numbers and find that each number has its unique successor. early number sense
also makes children able to solve some basic mathematical problems such as: number
knowledge, counting and other operations (Sowder, 2020). At early age and during pre-school,
most children learn to enumerate sets in a stable order such as: 1,2,3,4 and so on. By
understanding this number sense and order they came to know that the last number indicates the
number of items in a set. Principle of how to count, helps them out to enumerate any object as
well as entity.
They came to know that number later in the count list that has been taught at early stage, has
larger quantity than earlier ones. by adding one in specific number they find out the later number

in number set. This practice and sense of numbers help them out in solving addition as well as
subtraction questions to some extent. Early sense of numbers can be measured in an effective
manner by asking children to count from left to right in ascending order, and in descending order
(Bouck, Satsangi and Park, 2018). It helps in knowing if children have sense of early numbers or
not. On the basis of this, they are being taught about addition and other mathematical activities.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Sowder, J.T., 2020. Making sense of numbers in school mathematics. In Analysis of arithmetic
for mathematics teaching (pp. 1-51). Routledge.
Bouck, E.C., Satsangi, R. and Park, J., 2018. The concrete–representational–abstract approach
for students with learning disabilities: An evidence-based practice synthesis. Remedial
and Special Education. 39(4), pp.211-228.
Takacs, Z.K. and Kassai, R., 2019. The efficacy of different interventions to foster children’s
executive function skills: A series of meta-analyses. Psychological bulletin. 145(7).
p.653.
Smetana, J.G., 2017. Current research on parenting styles, dimensions, and beliefs. Current
opinion in psychology. 15. pp.19-25.
Barthel, S., Belton, S., Raymond, C.M. and Giusti, M., 2018. Fostering children’s connection to
nature through authentic situations: The case of saving salamanders at
school. Frontiers in psychology. 9. p.928.