Maths for Labels and Counting

7/30/2019 Maths for Labels and Counting

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Mathematical Development

Numbers as labels and for counting

Labels

Children will:

See numbers as labels around them all the time, both indoors and

outdoors. Some examples of what they might see are:

House numbers, bus numbers, car number plates, numbers on TVs and

videos, numbers on coins, calculators, mobile phones ...

Begin to learn that numbers indicate and mean something at an early

age.Begin to recognise their shape, learn their names and start to count.

Counting

Children will:

Say numbers in order.

Match numbers to objects when they have been counted

Point to each object in turn as they say the number

Realise that, for example, five objects are still five, however they are

arranged

What you can do to help

Use lots of mathematical language during activities and routines Use stories and rhymes to develop understanding of number Encourage children to use number language and concepts Provide numbers in different forms e.g. puzzles, number games,

magnetic numbers, wooden numbers, foam numbers ...

Display numbers around the room and regularly refer to them. Use a pegged number line for missing number and jumbled up number

games

Use dice for counting games and activities Use number labels with the children e.g. on bikes, on targets during

physical play, on badges, during snack-time, on signs e.g. for how many

children can be in the role play area or how many aprons hang on the

hook ...


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Calculating

Children will:

Use numbers in practical, meaningful situations/contexts

Talk about numbers in their everyday life

Begin to make deductions about these numbers

Start comparing (leads to subtraction)

Start combining (leads to addition)

Start sharing and grouping (leads to division)

Start adding groups of the same number of objects (leads to

multiplication)

What you can do to help:

Model language for them e.g. more, less, the same as, fewer,altogether, each, number before, number after ...

Ask questions such as: How many more? Are there enough? How manymore do we need? Have we all got the same? Who has most?

Encourage children to solve problems during activities e.g. How manymore will there be if I add two more biscuits? Oh dear, there aren't

enough beakers for everyone. What shall we do?

Use stories such as 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff' or 'The Three LittlePigs' to encourage understanding of number concepts e.g. two Billy goats

have gone over the bridge so how many are left?

Act out stories and rhymes so children can physically experience numberconcepts

Use a variety of natural and manmade materials for children to sort andgroup

Play games where children are required to see how many there arealtogether or how many are left e.g. skittles Encourage children to start making simple recordings by drawing and

making their own marks e.g. a tally of how many cars pass by on the

road or how many children want juice or milk this morning.


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Shape, Space and Measures

Shape

Children will:

Develop an awareness of similarities and differences in the form and

shape of objects

Explore the different properties of shapes e.g. those which will roll,

those which sit flat on the table, those which have corners, how many

sides a shape has, solid and flat shapes

Start to name some familiar shapes in the environment e.g. plates are

round, cans are cylinders, windows might be squares or rectangles etc.

Space

Children will:

Handle shapes and fit them together

Use shapes to build models

Arrange shapes to create pictures and patternsStart to understand and use shape and positional language e.g. teddy is

sitting next to dolly, the ball is behind the chair ...

Measures

Children will:

Pack, fill, empty and make things fit

Compare sizes and quantitiesBegin to use objects for measuring e.g. blocks, footprints

Begin to understand amounts e.g. using water and sand

Learn about orders in routines and events

Begin to understand and use time measures e.g. o'clock, today, last

week, this afternoon, tomorrow ...

Begin to understand about how long it takes to do something


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Shape, Space and Measures (continued)

What you can do to help:

Encourage children to play with, explore and use a variety of different3D and flat shaped objects

Help them to notice and describe the different properties of shapes Make shapes with playdough, clay, in cooking Draw their attention to different shapes in the environment Model shape, size and positional language and encourage them to use it Provide games and activities involving shape, position and patterns Encourage children to make their own arrangements and patterns of

shapes

Let children cut out their own shapes and make pictures from them Play feely games e.g. put a shape or object in a bag so children can'tsee it, pass round the circle, who can feel the shape and guess what it

is? Use different shaped objects in construction and junk modelling Use 'time' language during everyday routines, if possible using a time

line. Use sand timers and battery timers to measure short periods of time Display different clocks and watches Use sand and water to encourage children to measure amounts Use strips of paper, string, footprints etc to find tallest, shortestobjects and to measure distance Pose problems e.g. Which shape could we use for a wheel? Which shell is

small enough to fit in the box? How many chairs can we fit in here? How

can we find out which is the longest? Play guessing games e.g. stick different lengthed straws in a sand tray

so that they all look the same height. Get children to guess which is

the longest/shortest before taking the straws out. Pass same sized

boxes containing different sized objects round the circle and ask

children to guess which box has the largest object in it

Documents

Maths for Labels and Counting