As children continue to develop their mathematical understanding, there are many skills and understandings that are essential for our learners. When students enter school, they bring a wide range of mathematical knowledge, both from home and from their previous learning experiences (Lawson, 2016, pg. 11).  Educators must support students to develop key ideas early on. In relation to Alex Lawson's continuum of numeracy development, learners must first develop pre-addition skills in order to begin working with mathematical operations. 

Children need multiple opportunities to use concrete materials beyond typical math manipulatives, such as play fruites, toy cars, dolls, etc. in order to practice these important counting skills.

The 'Pre-Addition' portion of the continuum focuses on the development of determining "How Many". It is here that students begin working on counting principles and connecting the counts to a quantity. 

Within the Pre-Addition phase children develop the following:

Subitizing

Number sequence

Tagging/pointing

Coordinating

You will notice number sequence, tagging/pointing and coordinating are connected within the pre-addition phase. These three skills work together and are reliant on one another for accurate counting. Through interactions with students, educators will be able to determine the specific skills that need to be worked on in order to build efficiency as a whole.

Using the Website

In the pre-addition sections you will find an overview of the strategy, a short video demonstrating the strategy, where it lies on the continuum, and how to support students developing the specific skills. Keep in mind, the games and where to next are only suggestions to help guide individual feedback. This is by no means exhaustive nor the only way to support students. The key is to know your students and use observations, conversation and products to provide intentional feedback, supporting ‘where to next’.

Click the buttons below to learn more about each topic.

Gathering Student Data - Early Learners

Knowing our students' and using data to guide our instructional practices is one of the most important pieces for educators. The same holds true with our early learners who are just beginning their journey. In order to understand early learners and provide each individual with feedback and support, educators need to use observations, conversations and products to guide them. Within FDK classrooms, these observations and conversations should be taking place throughout the day, as students are playing, exploring, engaging with their peers and also during whole/small group learnings. Anecdotal notes and documentation will help provide a clear direction and pathway to support learners in their numeracy development. 

Looking to Learn More? Check out these resources.

The Lambton Kent District School Board Program Department hosted online learning sessions for ECEs, Early Years Educators, and Kindergarten Educators.

Early Learning Continuum

• Session 1: Subitizing for Early Learners 

  • Video archive of the session: https://youtu.be/mDsYlG06CGM

• Session 2: Counting for Early Learners: 3 Strategies That Makes Counting Work

  • Video archive of the session: https://youtu.be/SCiXbuq-_xc
    
    

• Session 3: Intentionally Infusing Math Thinking into Play

  • Video archive of the session: https://youtu.be/q6RopxI2Y1c
    
    

These sessions reference the Lawson Continuum with the 'pre addition' strategies.