Number Operations

As students develop their understanding of early number they begin to move into learning the four operations that are the focus of K-8 mathematics. As educators it is important that we help students connect different meanings, interpretations, and relationships to the four operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. By helping make the connections, students will learn to effectively use these operations in real-world settings (Van de Walle, 2008)

Big Ideas

• Addition and subtraction are connected. Addition names the whole in terms of the parts, and subtraction names the missing part.

• Multiplication involves counting groups of like size and determining how many are in all (multiplicative thinking)

• Multiplication and division are related. Division names a missing factor in terms of the known factor and the product,

• Models can be used to solve contextual problems for all operations and to figure out what operation is involved. Models can also help give meaning to number sentences.

(Van de Walle, 2008)