Chapter 8: Developing Early Number Concepts and Number Sense
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
1) Which of the following is NOT a research–based strategy for helping teachers develop high-quality
activities for children ages 3–6?
a) Build on students’ previous experiences and knowledge.
b) Base mathematics curriculum on a solid understanding of child development.
c) Greatly limit the amount of play time students have with mathematics to ensure there is ample time
to cover the curriculum.
d) Regularly assess students’ understanding, knowledge, and skills.
2) Which of the following is an example of a tool that will promote instant recognition (subitizing)?
a) Dot plates
b) Spinners
c) Fraction bars
d) Base ten materials
TRUE/FALSE. Write “T” if the statement is true and “F” if the statement is false.
3) Early experience and guidance are major factors in development of mathematical skills. Studies show that many
learners who enter school from disadvantaged circumstances and behind their peers never catch up.
4) Children will learn how to count (matching counting words with objects) before they understand that the last
count word represents the amount of the set.
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
5) Which of the following represents a true statement about the number 0?
a) It is a concept that is easily understood by small children without an adult having to intentionally build
understanding.
b) Developing students’ understanding of it is crucial, due to its important role in the base-ten number
system.
c) Because early counting involves touching an object, 0 is usually included in the count.
d) A zero dot plate is not useful in initiating dialogue about the concept.
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.
6) Calculator activities can help develop numeral ____________ and familiarity with other symbols on the keypad.
7) Although the forward sequence of numbers is familiar to most children, counting on from a particular number and
_______________________________ are often challenging tasks.
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
8) Which of the following is a true statement about developing the concepts of more than, less than, and same?
a) A child who enters kindergarten unable to pick the set that has “more” is representative of the norm.
b) The concept of “more” is frequently more troublesome for students to grasp than “less.”
c) Children should practice constructing sets of different amounts and comparing them.
d) Activities that use dot cards and counters are not appropriate to develop these concepts.
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.
9) _______________________________ is frequently defined as “good intuition about numbers and their
relationships.”
TRUE/FALSE. Write “T” if the statement is true and “F” if the statement is false.
10) Because many textbooks move directly from rudimentary aspects of numbers to addition and
subtraction, many students continue to count by ones to solve simple story problems and have difficulty
mastering basic facts.
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.
11) The words more and _____________ can be paired or substituted with add and subtract to connect
these ideas with the arithmetic operations
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
12) Anchoring numbers
a) Is the process of relating a given number to another benchmark number.
b) Is best introduced using the numbers 3 and 6.
c) Is not well–taught using five- and ten-frames.
d) Is a skill that can’t be assessed through a diagnostic interview.
13) Part-part-whole concepts
a) Are usually taught through introductory activities that require the student to break apart several
different numbers during one activity.
b) Consist of activities in which students can break apart a number into two or more parts or compose a
number from two or more parts.
c) Must be taught using very specifically designed materials.
d) Do not include as an important category of activities missing part activities.
14) While developing students’ understanding of the relationships for numbers 10 through 20, all of the
following should be kept in mind EXCEPT
a) Even though students experience numbers up to 20 regularly in real life, it should not be
assumed that they will automatically extend the relationships they learned for numbers 1 to 10 to
bigger numbers.
b) These relationships are just as important as the ones involving numbers 1 to 10.
c) Children should learn that there is a set of ten involved in any number between 10 and 20.
d) While learning about these relationships, students should develop a complete understanding of
the concept of place value.
TRUE/FALSE. Write “T” if the statement is true and “F” if the statement is false.
15) Activities involving calendars are critical to the development of mathematical understandings.
ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
16) Briefly describe a learning sequence that would help to develop an early number concept and/or
number sense. Provide the name of the concept it would develop, a potential manipulative material that
could be used, how it would develop this concept, and one way you might connect the activity to a real–
word application.
