Subitizing

Videos for Educators

Important Information:

Subitizing is considered a fundamental skill in developing students' understanding of numbers. The ability to subitize gives students a strong foundation and will help build their mathematical understanding as they move along in their journey of understanding number concepts.

Most people will only be able to subitize a small set (usually under 5) without having to create some sort of pattern to organize the set. This is also known as perceptual subitizing. Students are able to determine the amount in a small group without counting the objects.

Once the number of items in a group reaches over 5, we begin to use what is called conceptual subitizing. Conceptual subitizing happens when we have to break down or "decompose" the number of items into smaller groups to determine the total number of items.

The ability to subitize will help students develop early calculation strategies and lower the "cognitive load"(the amount of information students hold mentally) which will lead to more efficient ways of determining "how many". (Lawson, 2016)

Strategies that Support Student Learning:

• Ask children to count how many objects are in a set that is out of reach or difficult to physically tag using one-to-one correspondence (i.e.: cars in the driveway, chairs at the table, etc.).

• Create dot cards using pieces of paper with small quantities of dots on each, arranged in different configurations and play matching games, war and other fun card games with them.