Number Sense
What is number sense?
Number sense is a deep and flexible understanding of numbers and involves the ability to perceive numbers, how they relate to each other and how they can be manipulated. Number sense underpins most other mathematical learning, so it is vital that children develop a strong understanding of numbers in the early years of their education. Research has shown that characteristics for number sense correlates with later mathematical achievement, so all young children can benefit from acquiring a strong sense of number.
Number sense does not only involve the ability to count, compare and perform operations on numbers, but also requires understanding and flexible manipulation of numbers. Number sense can be improved by encouraging children to make links, reason, giving children opportunities to explore numbers in different ways and move between representations.
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Children need to subitise in order to perceive numbers.
Subitising is the ability to instantly identify the number in a set of objects without needing to count them all. It develops alongside counting and can be developed by providing opportunities to explore how numbers combine. Subitising for many children is intuitive and most children naturally pick it up without needing to be taught to do so. Due to its importance in developing number sense, the NCETM includes subitising in 'Cardinality and Counting', one of the key areas for mathematics learning in the Early Years (NCETM).
The perception of numbers aids children in appreciating magnitude and order as well as estimation of numbers. Exploring numbers in different representations allows children to appreciate the structure of numbers and how numbers relate to each other (for example seeing one more or one less than a number, an appreciation for doubles and links to other numbers, like 5 or 10). Subitising and visualising numbers helps develop and retain number facts. An appreciation for numbers as parts which combine to the whole aids in working flexibly with numbers. (Sue Gifford writes here about subitising).
Fingers are often the first place where children make sense of numbers. Fingers are also subitisable images that children always have with them to explore numbers. It follows that if we want to help children make sense of numbers, we need to encourage the link to their fingers
(Jo Boaler and Lang Chen write here about the importance of children using their fingers).