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Last week we talked about 4 number relationships that build number sense in your students. In other words, students with number sense are strong in these number relationships!
Building number relationships is one of those simple & effective strategies you can layer on top of the instruction you are already delivering in order to get BIG bang for your buck when it comes to your time with your students.
Because here is the thing. You are welcome to stop teaching [insert topic here] and do “number sense work”. But why?
I don’t have the time OR organizational capacity to juggle adding in new activities or units of study that are completely disconnected from the goals I am looking to meet with my students.
And once we open Pandora’s box of “number sense work” are we going to want to stop working towards our goals to do “story problem work” and “fact fluency work” too?
We can and should meld this work together! Let’s take a look at spatial relationships and how you can build this number relationship through the instruction you already delivering.
Subitizing to Support Fact Fluency (1st Grade Example)
In first grade, you spend a TON of time on developing your students’ understanding of addition and subtraction and beginning to work towards fact fluency. Imagine you are working on facts for 5 (5 + 1, 5 + 2, etc.). In math centers, you introduce a game where students start with a ten frame filled with 5 counters across the top row. Your students spin a spinner and add 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 to the ten frame. Your students record their work in a number bond and write an equation to match.
Spatial Relationships in Fractions (3rd Grade Example)
In third grade, your students are learning about unit fractions and are composing and decomposing unit fractions and are beginning to compare fractions as well. A roadblock we can anticipate in terms of fraction comparison is that the numbers aren’t intuitive to students relative to the learning they have done in kindergarten through 2nd grade.
Rounding Decimal Numbers on a Number Line (5th Grade Example)
I’ve written quite a bit about rounding in the past. I am passionate about the idea that most students do not have a rounding issue but rather have a number sense issue. Students who struggle to round have difficulty identifying benchmark numbers and have further difficulty recognizing which of those benchmark numbers is closer to the number they are rounding.
Looking for easy ways to incorporate number sense into your instruction?
Try these number sense boosters! You and your students will love them. Each activity is based on a skill or standard that is generally taught in 1st or 2nd grade – but with a number sense boosting twist!
