What a great summer! In addition to the usual summer-like activities, I also made time to enhance my own professional development. One of the areas I worked to deepen my understanding and to build my knowledge was on the topic of Number Sense. I attended more than 20 hours of webinars, facilitated a Number Sense PD opportunity at the CCPS Summer Academy, and spent time re-reading Jessica Shumway's book Number Sense Routines and John Van de Walle's book series Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics. My goal was to better understand how to help our students develop their Number Sense. Keep reading – I'd love to share what I learned with you!What Is Number Sense?
Number sense is NOT something that you either "have" or you "don't have". Like most things, we can cultivate our students' Number Sense. When students develop Number Sense, they understand what numbers mean, they are able to look at the world around them in terms of quantity and number (for example, they understand when 100 is a lot, and when 100 is not very much at all), and they are able to make comparisons among quantities.
Why Is Number Sense Important?
Students who struggle in math often lack number sense. It is difficult to compute without number sense. It is a struggle to find relationships among numbers or equations without number sense. It is more arduous to figure out measurement, geometry, and data problems without number sense. In other words, number sense is the foundational building block for all strands of mathematics. As students build their number sense, mathematics takes on greater meaning. Mathematics becomes more about reaching understandings than following rigid sets of rules. With a strong number sense, children become more apt to attempt problems and make sense of the mathematics.
(Shumway, 2011)
Number Sense Routines in the Classroom
In Jessica Shumway's book Number Sense Routines, she reminds us that routines provide a framework for our day. Our routines help to build community and create a safe learning environment for our students. With routines, we build a sense of belonging, ownership, and predictability which makes the classroom a place to take risks, try new things, and be successful.
Number sense routines should not be "auto-pilot" activities (think about your calendar activities... would that fit into this category?). Number sense routines should be opportunities for meaningful mathematical discussions.
Click HERE to read Math Coach's Corner on Developing FRACTION Number Sense
