Developing Number Sense in Your 2nd Grade Classroom
Developing our young learners' Number Sense is critical. Did you know that a student's early mathematical skills has been found to be one of the best indicators of future success in school and predictor of high school graduation!? So, yes, building our students' Number Sense is THAT important!
There are many ways to help students develop Number Sense. For this page, let's focus on the idea of using math charts.
Using Math Charts to Develop Number Sense
In my earlier days of teaching, I remember that finding the "right" posters to decorate my classroom walls was high on my priority list when getting ready to set up my classroom. I've come to recognize that decorating a classroom is really a low priority item. Instead, the focus should be on using valuable wall space for things that have instructional value, not just eye-appeal.
Let's talk about how we can use our wall space for things of value....
Now, at first glance, the Numbers 1-120 poster shown above may appear to be a simple counting poster that offers little to no value to a class of second grade students who (for most of them anyway) can count well beyond 120. And many teachers would consider The Big Addition Chart nothing more than a giant cheat sheet. Posters like these can become valuable tools rather than simple wall art IF we use them in ways that spark our students' curiosity about numbers and their relationships.
Now, at first glance, the Numbers 1-120 poster shown above may appear to be a simple counting poster that offers little to no value to a class of second grade students who (for most of them anyway) can count well beyond 120. And many teachers would consider The Big Addition Chart nothing more than a giant cheat sheet. Posters like these can become valuable tools rather than simple wall art IF we use them in ways that spark our students' curiosity about numbers and their relationships.
Good teaching is about ASKING, not telling.
I believe that good teaching is about asking good questions. As we guide students through the process of learning, we should look for opportunities to ask them questions that spark ideas and further their thinking – asking is much more powerful than telling. You do not specifically need these two posters in your classroom, but let's explore some questions that we could ask if we were using these two posters in our classroom for instruction – and then perhaps this list of questions will become a springboard for more good questions that you can ask using posters that you have in your classroom.
As always, I love to begin with two simple questions (source Annie Fetter):
Numbers 1-120 Poster
The BIG Addition Chart Poster
As always, I love to begin with two simple questions (source Annie Fetter):
- "What do you NOTICE about the numbers on this poster?"
- "What do you WONDER about the numbers on this poster?"
Those two questions could, and perhaps should, be the only questions you ask on the first day as you begin exploring the numbers and number relationships found on the poster. Day 2 can be filled with good questions that are generated from what the students might have Noticed or Wondered from the day prior.
Numbers 1-120 Poster
- "Do you notice any patterns that exist in every row? In every column?"
- "Why do you think every number on each column ends with the same number?"
- "Why do you think that every row begins with the same number, except the last number on the row? Do you notice any row where that pattern is not true?"
- "If we were to add another row, what would be the next number on the poster?"
- "If we were to add three more rows, what number would be on the third row below the number 117? Explain how you know."
- Use Post-It notes to cover all eight of the numbers that surround 63. It may be easiest to letter those Post-It notes A-H. Ask students to pick a Post-It and state what number is hiding beneath it. Be sure to have them explain how they know using all sorts of good mathematical language.
- Use Post-Its to cover five random numbers. Have students determine the hidden numbers and tell how they know. Remember, encourage the use of mathematical language such as "ten more" or "one less".
The BIG Addition Chart Poster
- Begin by asking what they Notice and Wonder about the chart!
- "What pattern do you notice in the diagonal rows?"
- "What do you notice about the diagonal rows that go in the opposite direction?"
- "Why does the number 6 only appear in one diagonal row and no where else on the chart?"
- "Is there a pattern when you look at each column?"
- "Is there a pattern when you look at each row?"
- "If we added a column that said '21' on top of the poster, what numbers would be used to fill the column below the 21?"
* TIP: You may be able to use some ideas from the other grade level pages with some simple modifications. Check 'em out!
