::Subitizing::

“From a Latin word meaning suddenly, subitizing is the direct perceptual apprehension of the numerosity of a group” (Clements, 1999, p.400).

Subitizing is a process of recognizing the numerosity of a group quickly; looking at the quantity for a short time and then being able to tell how many are in the groups without counting each object (Copley, 2010).

Teacher can encourage children with subitizing by doing some activities such as:-

Using tens frame flash card with dots (the card shows 10)

The card shows 5

Using domino flash cards (the card shows 10)

 

These activities are vital among young learners because “subitizing is a fundamental skill in the development of students’ understanding of number” (Baroody, 1987, p.87 as cited in Clements, 1999, p.404). Subitizing also prepares children to pay attention and be alert with numbers especially when they are solving Mathematics problems in the future.

This is the example of task sheet that the teacher could use in the classroom during subitizing activity:

Taken from: Irons, R.R. (2003). Growing with Mathematics: Student Book. Chicago: Wright Group/McGraw-Hill.(page 55)

This task sheet has slightly the same concept as the dominoes flash cards, yet it is more interesting because it requires the children to colour the pictures that have a particular attribute (dominoes pictures that shows ten). Both activities provide the opportunity for the children to learn and improve their subitizing skills.