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Early Learning about number words and numbers
Early Learning about number words and numbers
Learning about the names of numbers (number words) and the symbols for numbers (numerals) is very important part of early number learning:
- Numbers are ideas or concepts. The number six for example is the idea of "six-ness"
- Number words are the names for numbers. We can distinguish between names that are spoken or heard and names that are written or read
- Digits are the ten basic symbols in the numeration system. (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9)
- Numerals are the written symbols for numbers like 23, 314, 7.
Learning about Number Words
Learning about Number Words
Children encounter numbers words very frequently. For many infants as soon as they make sense of a spoken language in the form of their age or that of a sibling or friend, their house number or number of toys or scoops of ice cream.
Number Word Sequences - Children will also encounter number words in a context of sequence of words, for example, one, two, three, ....ten. This is forward number word sequence (FNWS). They might also encounter these words spoken in the reverse older, that is the backward number word sequence (BNSW) from ten to one.
Facilities with FNWSs and BNWSs - Children need to be facile with forward counting from any given number. Typically children will have less facility with backward number word sequencing. Resulting in the need for more practice.
Number Words After and Number Word Before- A second important facility is being able to say one or two words after or before a given word. For example when asked to 'say the number after eight.' This is a prominent aspect of early number knowledge and one of the earliest aspects to emerge. Instructional to develop children's facility with number words is regarded as very important. This is because facility with number words provides an important basis for the development of what are called early arithmetical strategies.
Learning about Numerals
Learning about Numerals
This includes learning to identify numerals, write numerals and recognize numerals and to learn about numeral sequences. Identifying numerals is also referred to as naming numerals to reading numerals, for example, where a teacher displays 10 and the child's task is to say 'ten.' An example of recognizing numerals is that a teacher puts a collection of numerals cards from 11 to 20 on a desk, not in numerical order and asks the child, "Which number is twelve?' Numeral sequences refers to presenting the numerals in a sequence, for example, the numeral sequence from 11 to 20.
The Numerals from 1 to 10 - Children will typically learn the names of the numerals from 1 to 10 through frequent association of the numeral and its name. This can occur through activities or with numeral sequence from 1 to 10. Occurring much the same way as children learn the names of letters.
The Numerals from 11-20 - Children can and should learn to names of the numerals from 11 to 20 in much the same way as they learn the names of the numerals to 10, that is by frequent association of the numeral and its name, again through activities with the numerals individually, and with numeral sequences. For several reasons learning the numerals in the teens can be difficult for children. These number require a more established knowledge of number words and numerals from 1 to 10 interacts with their emerging knowledge of teen number words and numerals. Also the names of the teen numbers cause difficulties. In the same way that children develop sight vocabulary they can develop a sight vocabulary of numerals.
The Numerals from 20-99 - Upon encountering numerals from 20 onward, children begin to learn a naming system which is very close to a regular or transparent system. Children can and should learn the names of numerals from 20 to 100 long before they necessarily know that the left hand digit in a numeral such as 46 indicates four 10's. Learning the place value features of the digits in multi-digit numerals is complex. This can and should be learned much later than when children first learn to name these numerals.
Three-digit Numerals - An important point about the name system for 3 digit numerals is that there is a very regular system to the way one deals with the left-hand digit in a 3-digit numeral. Learning this implicit rule or principle is relatively easy for children. Children who have a sound knowledge of numerals and number words in a range 1 to 100 can be taught the names of 3 digit numerals with ease.
Difficulties with Names of 2 digit Numbers - These problems arise in the English language. The main concern is the number names: eleven, twelve,.... nineteen, but also names such as twenty, thirty and fifty. The important point is that, in English and other languages with the difficulty just described, when children come to learn the numeral system, the non-transparent number naming system can result in significant and persistent difficulties for many children. This arises when children are learning to read numerals that is, learning to make links from the numeral system to the number word system, which they already know to some extent at least. Children often read 12 as 21.
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