They Got It!

During a recent Beginning Readers class, Mrs. Wilkins was reviewing numbers with her students. The students had manipulatives, primarily wooden blocks, placed in front of them on a table.

Speaking to a student who had several manipulatives, Mrs. Wilkins asked, “Do you recognize the pattern…can you think about the number? How do you know it is 5?” A young student answered, “I recognize 4 and then I just add one more and I know it is 5.” Mrs. Wilkins asked a different student what number of blocks was placed in front of her and the student answered, “I know it is 6. I just know what 6 looks like.”

Recognizing numbers, rather than needing to count to determine the total number, is a breakthrough as students gain their number sense. On this fall morning, the children “got it” and their teacher was thrilled!