Featured Photo Credit: Atlas Green
Have you ever noticed that when someone holds up a few fingers and asks you how many you see, you don’t have to count them? You just intuitively know that three fingers is three fingers and that five fingers is five fingers. Same kind of deal when you a playing a game with dice. Chances are that even when you roll two dice, you don’t have to count to know the total.
How do you know the number of fingers or dots?
This is a combination of your experience with number (quantity) and a fancy skill called subitizing. The website, http://teachmath.openschoolnetwork.ca/grade-1/number-sense/subitizing/, defines subitizing as “the ability to ‘see’ a small amount of objects and know how many there are without counting.” Subitizing is a skill that can be learned and developed through repetition and pattern recognition.
With the youngest learners, it’s easy to create some simple cards with dot patterns on them. Using the numbers one through five, create cards that show dots in the “standard” arrangement. You can use colored circle stickers or simply draw some dots on a piece of paper.
Play a little game with your child, showing a card briefly (two seconds) and ask them to show the number using their own fingers and by saying the number aloud. If your child doesn’t immediately know how many dots are on a card, spend some time counting them. When your child can recognize the dots without counting, create more cards with dots in different arrangements and mix them into the standard set. You can find other examples here (suggested patterns from Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally, as found on Teach Math).
Has your child mastered one through five? Add cards for six through ten. You can find different arrangements with a quick internet search. You can also find some printables and some ideas for games here.
Other variations are ten frames
and double-six dominoes
.
Not only can these be used for a variety of games that practice subitizing and pattern recognition, but they can also be used to solidify the concepts of addition and subtraction within 10. You can even use the dominoes to practice greater than/less than (inequalities) concepts. More on these ideas in a future post.
Subitizing is a big word that has a big impact on several evolving concepts and skills. I would love to hear from you! Tell me your thoughts, ask me your questions, give me your game ideas in the comments!
This is a really cool subject! I have always been interested in my own ability to count objects without needing to actually count them, but I never knew the word for it.
I learned a new word today! Thank you.
Such a cool post! As a preschool teacher, this is really a good hands on skill to help with learning quantities.
That was very interesting! I never really thought about the fact that I don’t count the dots or fingers, my brain just knows how many!! It is amazing what your brain can do to create little ‘shortcuts’ to help you process information!