Playing With Numbers With Your Complex Learner
Courtney D. Dubois
What does the number 14 mean?
You may know what it looks like. You may know how to say its name. But can you explain, in a variety of ways, what 14 actually means? Building this understanding of numbers provides the foundation for learning and making sense of mathematics.
Number sense is one’s ability to understand numbers, how they relate to one another, and how numbers can be used in different ways. A child with strong number sense can show 14 using manipulatives, they can state that 14 is one more than 13, two less than 12, and demonstrate that 14 can be made in different ways 10 + 4 or 7 + 7.
Number sense allows a student to develop conceptual understanding, engage in math discourse, and evaluate answers. Students are better able to ask themselves, “Does that (the answer) make sense?” when solving a problem because they have an understanding of how numbers relate to one another and what reasonable answers should look like.
At home, find fun, natural ways to talk about numbers! Use your child’s interests to engage in play with numbers to allow for connection and math discourse.
5 Ways to Build Number Sense at Home:
- Counting All Around You
Find items to count in your everyday life (e.g., steps, toys, snacks, cars). Ask questions such as “How many are there?, “How many would you have if you added one more?”, or “Is that number odd or even?”
- Item Estimation
Place a group of items (e.g., 5 cars, 10 cans, a jar of 20 Hershey Kisses) in front of your child and have them make a “smart guess” about how many items they think that they see. Ask your child, “Making a smart guess, how many ____ do you think are in front of you?” and “Why do you think that there is ____ (items)?” Have the child count the items and talk about whether or not their guess was reasonable and why. Keep in mind that the goal is not about an accurate guess,but rather thinking and talking about numbers and quantities!
- Place Value War
Choose a number of cards that each player will turn over (e.g., 2 for a 2-digit number, 3 for a 3-digit number). Each player reads their number and identifies the number that has a greater value. You can ask additional questions such as “How did you determine that the number was bigger?” “What number comes next?, or “What is the value of the tens place in your number?”
- Number Line Creation
Using rope and clothespins (or folded pieces of paper), create a number line that your child can place numbers on. Write 7-10 numbers on individual pieces of paper (e.g., favorite numbers, birthdates, fractions, jersey numbers while watching a sporting event). Identify verbally or with place cards the length of the number line (e.g., 0-10, 0-20, 0-100). Have your child place the numbers on the number line one at a time. Ask questions such as “What number would go in the middle of our number line?” “Why did you choose that spot for the number?”, or “What is the difference between that number and ___?”,
- Target Number
Write a number on a whiteboard or on the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk. With your child, write down all the ways that you can think of to make that number (e.g., tally marks, addition, subtraction, coins). You may choose to say “Let’s try and find 3 different ways today” or “Let’s see how many ways that we can think of in 3 minutes.” Once complete, have your child explain the different ways that they made the number.
Small everyday moments can make a big difference in building your child’s number sense. So the next time that you are playing in the playroom, out for a nature walk, driving in the car, or cooking dinner with your child, look for numbers and just talk about them! Ask a question. Make a prediction. Compare two quantities. Play a quick game. Have fun learning what the number actually means!
Back to our initial question, what does the number 14 mean?
14 could be 14 Pokémon Cards, 10 green Legos plus 4 blue Legos, doubles 7 + 7, one more than 15, or 14 fidgets.
What does 14 mean to you and your child?
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