7YO: Number Sense in 7PW

We tell the students in 7PW, “We don’t want you to be just a calculator…we want you to understand why you do what you do to solve math problems.” To help them understand how numbers can work, we engage in different number activities before our main lesson. In November and December, we are playing a game called “Leaping Numbers”. In this activity, a series of numbers are shown. The goal is to decipher the pattern. The students have become quite prolific. We discuss solving in reverse, does the next number increase or decrease and by how much each time. Other activities we do often are subitizing (recognizing quantities up to 10 by sight), estimation jars (using clues to narrow down the number of small objects in a larger container) and 3 act math (solving real life problems using basic math). These activities are engaging and challenging. The students enjoy these tasks.