# data[].attributes.body
Building off of my "Aha Moment" how to teachers in districts that are using math programs that don't work with number sense, engrain activities into their lessons without deviating too much from their curriculum?

# data[].attributes.body
On page 136, the author explains that "many textbooks...leave students with a very limited collection of ideas about number and number relationships. The result is that children often continue to count by ones to solve simple story problems and have difficulty mastering basic facts." This idea with number sense, I think needs to be held at a higher importance than it is. Growing up, I was taught math through one of these kinds of textbooks. It was one thing to another and no real opportunity to interact with numbers and see the relationships through numbers. I can see that my number sense is not as developed as some of the students I am observing in my observations that deal with number sense daily.

# data[].attributes.body
in chapter 11 it states that at the kindergarten and first grade levels, students can count and recognize two-digit numbers with the hundreds chart. I currently have a kindergarten who is difficult to motivate and easily forgets what hes learned from day to day, so I must always complete a review before moving on, I have tried to get mom involved but mom seems to have no time. how can I get him to remember or work on his math work at home without any encouragement from mom?

# data[].attributes.body
the word less proves to be more difficult for children have many opportunities to use the word more but have limited exposure to the word less. I reflected back to when my niece was a baby and my sister would complete her feeding she would say "more more"., always asking if she wanted more and that continued as my niece continued to get older.

# data[].attributes.body
On page 204, they point out the importance of the hundreds chart and that the patterns are not obvious or trivial to students. My question was in regard to an observation I made in the second grade classroom I am in. The students were working on adding three/four addends. For the students who need more visuals to understand how to do this, the teacher had the students use the "long" and small "cube" three dimensional manipulatives. The students first set up each number using the manipulatives. Then they combined the "tens" and then the "ones". If they got to ten "ones", they had to mark another "ten" on their paper. When counting the "tens", the teacher had the students count by tens. Once they did all of that, the teacher recommended the students use their hundreds chart to go from 60 to 70 for example. This is where my question comes in. Why would the students count by tens to add all of their "tens" manipulatives, but they would use the chart only for the last jump between 60 and 70? My guess is that this allows them to then count on from 70 to add the ones that were left over, but I am not exactly sure. (Ex. 21+15+38 --> Total of 6 tens and 10+4 ones--> 60+70 (Using the hundreds chart) and then count on from 70 to get to 74.) I can see the importance is seeing that, but is this just to learn how to do it? Or should students be doing this all the time?

# data[].attributes.body
My ah-a moment came when I was reading chapter 8, and was in the section "Quantity and the Ability to Subitize" on page 129. This was an "ah-a" moment for me because I never knew that the ability to "just see" the number of dots on a die was called "subitizing", nor did I know that it was a complex skill. I guess I have taken this ability for granted. When playing a game, I have observed the child I work with struggle to quickly figure out his roll. He usually has to count the dots on the die/dice. I can definitely see the importance of pattern recognition for students and love the idea of the "dot plates".

# data[].attributes.body
Chapter 11 had a lot of strategies for teaching place values with manipulatives. For example, blocks, bundles, coins, and online versions for those with disabilities. While the physical manipulatives could work through sound and touch for a blind student, what strategies would be used when they begin to learn concepts that are non-proportional, like money? Different sized coins work, but how is it explained when the 10 bill is not physically 10x larger than the dollar bill?

# data[].attributes.body
My Aha came pretty early on in Chapter 8, on page 129. A study conducted in 2009 found that young children who are behind their peers, such as those growing up in disadvantaged circumstances, do not catch up. What a kindergartener or first grader knows about math is a predictor of not only their mathematics achievement, but also their reading. I was shocked by this at first, but reflected on how correlated early speech and communication is to the development of reading. This reminded me of how important it is to keep in mind the diverse early childhood backgrounds the students I teach will be coming from, and that some of the math obstacles they are going to face are from lack of opportunities to learn in EC.

# data[].attributes.body
As I was reading the passage about helping children understand the concept of "more" and "less", I was wondering if there were any other particular strategies to help students recognize the meaning of the word "less" instead of just comparing it to "more"?

# data[].attributes.body
My "Aha Moment" was on page 132 when I read that young children may have difficulty attaching meaning to counting orally. Although a young children may be able to count to 10, they may not be able to recognize that it is actually ten dots. I think that is an incredibly important thing to keep in mind when teaching young children. It will be important to help them to make the connection between oral counting and the meaning of numbers!

# data[].attributes.body
I loved reading about this activity too.  It is so important to emphasize number sense and brain power!  I think that some students (and even some adults as well) rely way too much on calculators. Of course calculators are a great tool but it is so empowering to figure out math equations using your brain instead of your fingers.  This activity will definitely promote self- confidence in children, which can help to create positive math experiences for them.

# data[].attributes.body
I agree Marjorie! I feel that teachers did not emphasize the importance of number sense when I was a young learner. I do not remember consistently practicing counting numbers when I was younger. It is an incredibly important skill that needs to be emphasized and I am glad that current teachers do this!

# data[].attributes.body
On page 132 the book makes mention to the fact that helping children read and write single digit numbers is similar to teaching them to read and write letters of the alphabet yet neither has anything to do with number concepts. I am a bit puzzled with this statement because when I think of teaching children how to write and read numbers I think that through this strategy I'm helping them develop concepts of numbers. Can someone better explain why this is not the case?

# data[].attributes.body
I remember that in school counting on by 2's and 3's was something that I sometimes practiced. It wasn't often but from time to time my teachers made us do it. Learning now about the aspects that help develop number sense and the idea of counting on or backwards I wonder why my teachers never really encouraged this skill or emphasized on such more.

# data[].attributes.body
I think that number sense relates to the idea of thinking about numbers beyond just what they are. Page 137 gave me a clear understanding of such. For example, it made mention of the fact that instead of thinking of the number 10 as just 10 thinking about it as 2 less than 8 and 6 more than 4 is a strategy for developing computational skills which in turn helps develop number sense.

# data[].attributes.body
This is both an aha moment and a question for clarity- I realize now that a landmark number is usually a multiple of 10, 100 or another special number like 25.  But in the book on page 206 the example of using a landmark number to find the difference between 74 and 112 is confusing.

# data[].attributes.body
# Question
I've heard the term "number sense" several times recently and I don't have a good understanding of what that term means. Page 135 explains number sense as "good intuition about numbers and their relationships, developing gradually as a result of exploring numbers, visualizing them and relating them." I still don't have a clear understanding of what the term means?

# data[].attributes.body
I have read through a lot of the activities demonstrated in our text, which will definitely be used in my future classrooms, but does anyone have other activities that were not mentioned in these chapters that could work on fluency and automaticity?

# data[].attributes.body
On page 208 and 209 there is an activity called the Calculator Challenge Counting. This activity is an aha moment for because it is an activity that practices fluency and automaticity with all numbers. For example, you can have a student type in any random number and then have them add or subtract a specific number, like 7, but the task is they need to calculate the answer in their head before using the calculator.