Subitizing is an important part of building a strong foundation of number sense. If you are not familiar with the term, subitizing is the ability to see, understand, and name a number in its various representations or forms. For instance, the number 3 can be shown as:
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There are two levels of subitizing, perceptual and conceptual. For younger students we would want to focus on perceptual which is what you see above. Once they begin to master that skill you can move on to conceptual which is the ability to see, understand and name two groups together. Such as, 2+3=5.
When teaching subitizing do not be afraid to teach your young students the word subitizing. They love it! In fact, I always challenge my students to teach their families about subitizing. When I catch them subitizing, such as when identifying the number 3 on a die playing a game I say, "You're subitizing!" and make a big deal about it. They usually beam with pride, and soon after they like to point out to me that they are subitizing! I always tell them that subitizing helps their math brain grow so keep doing it!!!
A couple of ways to teach subitizing: First, use ten frame cards, or number representation cards as a warm up. I keep sets of these types of cards laminated and in a basket to be used as a math warm up, and as a time filler when you only have a minute or two. You can flash the cards to the whole class, or individual students. Second, play games with dice, dominoes, ten frames, etc. There are a myriad of games available that incorporate these manipulatives in them. Some are math based and some are not. Who doesn't love cross curricular activities? Any extra practice is great! Finally, you can be more explicit in your teaching by playing games that allow students to practice the direct connection between a number and ways to represent a number such as a spin and find game, a show it 3 ways game, etc. I have some resources available in my store as well as the printables below. These are print and go activities that you can use in your math centers.
Have fun subitizing with your students! If you have any questions, please leave them below!
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