Number sense is not memorising a sequence of names of numbers and reciting them, like a nursery rhyme and it’s not memorising facts such as one plus four equals five.
Number sense is a complex understanding of the meaning of a number. Let's think about the number five. Five has character qualities like a person has personality. What do we know about "five-ness"?
- Being five means being half of ten.
- Five is one more than four and one less than six.
- Five is the sum of two and three, four and one.
- Being five is like a four sided box with a dot in the middle like a domino or dice five or in a five frame.
- Five has one hand's worth of fingers and there are four fives if you include fingers and toes.
- Five has multiples, such as 15, 20, 25, 30.
- Five is odd.
- Five is a prime number.
- Five is a coin.
- Five is fifth in a sequence.
- Five travels through time: the minute, the hour, the day, the month (Five o’clock, five-years-old)
The way we learn about five is by spending time with five, like a friend. We must see five in a variety of situations before we realise all of the wonderful characteristics that five has.
Number sense develops over time through opportunities to explore and play with numbers. Making Maths-Whizz part of your pupils' weekly routine builds consistency and consolidates learning through the variety of lessons that allow pupils to visualise numbers in different contexts, spot relationships between numbers, understand the composition of numbers, and predict patterns.
All of this contributes towards developing good number sense.
To ensure the consolidation of foundational concepts in number sense, there are key strategies educators can focus on and Maths-Whizz aligns well with these:
- Hands-on learning: Provide hands-on activities and real-world examples to make abstract concepts more tangible. Maths-Whizz brings maths to life using powerful representations that convey the underlying patterns of numbers and allows the students to interactively manipulate numbers.
- Conceptual emphasis: Focus on developing a deep conceptual understanding of numbers rather than just memorising procedures. Maths-Whizz helps to make deliberate use of language that seeks to enlighten students about where mathematical ideas derive from (with animated visuals to suit all learners).
- Individualised instruction: Maths-Whizz differentiates instruction to meet the diverse needs of pupils, with their own personalised learning journey and by providing additional support as needed. Teachers also can specify the learning focus and track progress.
- Application in real-world contexts: Maths-Whizz connects mathematical concepts to real-world applications to demonstrate the practical value of number sense, to make the learning real and have fun.
- Positive learning environment: Maths-Whizz fosters a positive and supportive learning environment to promote a positive attitude towards mathematics with scaffolded support, opportunities to consolidate learning and rewards.
By implementing these using Maths-Whizz, teachers can ensure that pupils develop a strong and enduring foundation in number sense, setting the stage for success when pupils encounter more advanced mathematical concepts.
Knowing about numbers does not have to be a chore, it can be a treasure hunt – and the more numbers (treasures) pupils discover, the merrier their mathematical adventure becomes.
- For more information, visit https://whizz.com/teachers/educational-offerings/