Count up to three or four objects by saying one number name for each item.
Count out up to six objects from a larger group.
Count actions or objects that cannot be moved.
Begin to count beyond 10.
Begin to represent numbers using fingers, marks on paper or pictures.
Select the correct numeral to represent 1 to 5, then 1 to 9 objects.
Recognise numerals 1 to 5.
Count an irregular arrangement of up to ten objects.
Estimate how many objects they can see and check by counting them.
Count aloud in ones, twos, fives or tens.
Know that numbers identify how many objects are in a set.
Use ordinal numbers in different contexts.
Match then compare the number of objects in two sets.
Say and use number names in order in familiar contexts.
Count reliably up to ten everyday objects.
Recognise numerals 1 to 9.
Use developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems.
The personal numbers that children refer to, such as their age, house number, telephone number or the number of people in their family.
Instances of children counting an irregular arrangement of up to ten objects.
Children's methods of counting out up to six objects from a larger group, for example, when children do a jigsaw together and share out the pieces, counting to check everyone has the same number.
How children begin to represent numbers using fingers, marks on paper or pictures.
Children's recognition of numerals.
How children use their developing understanding of maths to solve mathematical problems, for example, solving a debate about which of two piles of pebbles has more in it.
Encourage estimation, for example, estimate how many sandwiches to make for the picnic.
Encourage use of mathematical language, for example, number names to ten: "Have you got enough to give me three?".
Ensure that children are involved in making displays, for example, making their own pictograms of lunch choices. Develop this as a 3D representation using bricks and discuss the most popular choices.
Add numerals to all areas of learning and development, for example, to a display of a favourite story, such as 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'.
Make books about numbers that have meaning for the child such as favourite numbers, birth dates or telephone numbers.
Use rhymes, songs and stories involving counting on and counting back in ones, twos, fives and tens.
Emphasise the empty set and introduce the concept of nothing or zero.
Provide collections of interesting things for children to sort, order, count and label in their play.
Display numerals in purposeful contexts, for example, a sign showing how many children can play on a number track.
Use tactile numeral cards made from sandpaper, velvet or string.
Create opportunities for children to experiment with a number of objects, the written numeral and the written number. Develop this through matching activities with a range of numbers, numerals and a selection of objects.
Use a 100 square to show number patterns.
Make number games readily available and teach children how to use them.
Display interesting books about number.
Play games such as hide and seek that involve counting.
Use rhymes, songs and stories involving counting on and counting back.
Calculating
Find the total number of items in two groups by counting all of them.
Use own methods to work through a problem.
Say the number that is one more than a given number.
Select two groups of objects to make a given total of objects.
Count repeated groups of the same size.
Share objects into equal groups and count how many in each group.
In practical activities and discussion, begin to use the vocabulary involved in adding and subtracting.
Use language such as 'more' or 'less' to compare two numbers.
Find one more or one less than a number from one to ten.
Begin to relate addition to combining two groups of objects and subtraction to 'taking away'.
Methods children use to answer a problem they have posed, for example, "Get one more, and then we will both have two".
How children find the sum of two numbers.
The variety in responses when children work out a calculation.
The ways children count repeated groups of the same size, for example, counting the number of socks in five pairs.
How children share objects, for example, sharing eight crayons equally among four children and knowing that each child has two crayons.
Children working out what remains if something is taken away.
Show interest in how children solve problems and value their different solutions.
Make sure children are secure about the order of numbers before asking what comes after or before each number.
Discuss with children how problems relate to others they have met, and their different solutions.
Encourage children to make up their own story problems for other children to solve.
Encourage children to extend problems, for example, "Suppose there were three people to share the bricks between instead of two".
Use mathematical vocabulary and demonstrate methods of recording, using standard notation where appropriate.
Give children learning English as an additional language opportunities to work in their home language to ensure accurate understanding of concepts.
Encourage children to record what they have done, for example, by drawing or tallying.
Use number staircases to show a starting point and how you arrive at another point when something is added or taken away.
Provide a wide range of number resources and encourage children to be creative in thinking up problems and solutions in all areas of learning.
Encourage children to make links between cardinal numbers (quantity) and ordinal numbers (position).
Make number lines available for reference and encourage children to use them in their own play.
Help children to understand that five fingers on each hand make a total of ten fingers altogether, or that two rows of three eggs in the box make six eggs altogether.
Shape, Space and Measures
Show curiosity about and observation of shapes by talking about how they are the same or different.
Match some shapes by recognising similarities and orientation.
Begin to use mathematical names for 'solid' 3D shapes and 'flat' 2D shapes, and mathematical terms to describe shapes.
Select a particular named shape.
Show awareness of symmetry.
Find items from positional or directional clues.
Order two or three items by length or height.
Order two items by weight or capacity.
Match sets of objects to numerals that represent the number of objects.
Sort familiar objects to identify their similarities and differences, making choices and justifying decisions.
Describe solutions to practical problems, drawing on experience, talking about own ideas, methods and choices.
Use familiar objects and common shapes to create and recreate patterns and build models.
Use everyday language related to time; order and sequence familiar events, and measure short periods of time with a non-standard unit, for example, with a sand timer.
Count how many objects share a particular property, presenting results using pictures, drawings or numerals.
Use language such as 'greater', 'smaller', 'heavier' or 'lighter' to compare quantities.
Talk about, recognise and recreate simple patterns.
Use language such as 'circle' or 'bigger' to describe the shape and size of solids and flat shapes.
Use everyday words to describe position.
Use developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems.
Children's interest in and observation of shapes, such as how some are the same or different.
How children match some shapes by recognising similarities and orientation, for example, Stevie looked at a rhomboid, saying, "It looks like a boat". Picking up a triangle, she says, "This one's different... it's only got three points".
How children select a named shape for a particular purpose.
Children's use of positional or directional clues, for example, "We had to come round the park and past the shops".
Children's ordering of two items by length or height, for example, comparing the length of zips on coats: "Too long for your coat".
Children's identification of a mathematical problem involving shape, space or measures and the ways they solve them.
Children's use of positional language, for example, "I'm near the end of the path".
Words children use to describe comparisons and measures such as 'greater', 'smaller', 'heavier' or 'lighter'.
Ask 'silly' questions, for example, show a tiny box and ask if there is a bicycle in it.
Play peek-a-boo, revealing shapes a little at a time and at different angles, asking children to say what they think the shape is, what else it could be or what it could not be.
Make books about shape, time and measure: shapes found in the environment; long and short things; things of a specific length; and ones about patterns, or comparing things that are heavier or lighter.
Be a robot and ask children to give you instructions to get to somewhere. Let them have a turn at being the robot for you to instruct.
Introduce children to the use of mathematical names for 'solid' 3D shapes and 'flat' 2D shapes, and the mathematical terms to describe shapes.
Ensure children use everyday words to describe position, for example, when following pathways or playing with outdoor apparatus.
A picture of my family - In a pre-school, a practitioner supports two children to think about biggest, smallest, tallest and shortest, as they discuss the pictures they have drawn. [transcript]
You can watch the video via modem or slow / fast / superfast broadband connections. If you are behind a network firewall, why not click here to view a flash file of the video. You do need to have the flash plugin.
Provide a range of boxes and materials for models and constructions such as 'dens', indoors and outdoors.
Provide examples of the same shape in different sizes.
Have areas where children can explore the properties of objects and where they can weigh and measure, such as a cookery station or a building area.
Plan opportunities for children to describe and compare shapes, measures and distance.
Provide materials and resources for children to observe and describe patterns in the indoor and outdoor environment and in daily routines, orally, in pictures or using objects.
Provide a range of natural materials for children to arrange, compare and order.
Acknowledgements
Disclaimer
00012-2007CDO-EN