Teaching Mathematics

to Young Children

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At the end of the lesson, students are able to; 1. Consider math concept for young children, 2.Enumerate materials that can be use in teaching math to young children and; 3.Design developmentally appropriate tools for young children when teaching math.

OBJECTIVES

Concepts are the building blocks of knowledge; they allow people to organize and categorize information..Concepts can be applied to the

solution of new problems that are met in everyday. (Charlesworth&Lind,2010)

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT IN YOUNG CHILDREN

EARLY MATHEMATICSRefers to the exposure and interaction of materials

that contribute to the acquisition of knowledge about math concepts.

PHYSICAL KNOWLEDGE Learning the characteristics of color, size and weight

of objects in the environment.

LOGICO-MATHEMATICAL KNOWLEDGE Includes relationships constructed in order to make sense out

of world, such as counting and classification.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT The construction of knowledge through solving problems

and experiencing the result.

Young children understand math in relationship to how it affects them. The infant discovers the shape of the object by putting it in his mouth and holding on to it. The toddler can let you know that he/she is two years old by striving to show his/her two fingers. The three-year old likes to sing a number song, while the four-year old counts ‘’onetwothreefourfivesix’’. The five-year old shows you how tall his/her block is and the school-age child will try to win the number board game.

MATH LANGUAGE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

NUMBERS & OPERATIONS

1.NUMBER SENSE is a concept and counting skill that children use often in everyday activities.

2. ONE-TO-ONE CORRESPONDENCE is based on the premise

that each object has the value of one. 3. COUNT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING!Count real things to help children use their own experience

with objects to better understand. 4. CLASSIFYING AND SORTING

Children group objects by a common attribute or characteristics, such as size, shape, and color.

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REMEMBER!ROTE COUTING is the ability to recite names of numerals in order while

RATIONAL COUNTING requires matching each

numeral name, in order, to an object in a group.

PATTERNS, FUNCTIONS AND ALGEBRA

PATTERN a sequence of colors, objects, sounds, stories, or movements that repeats in the same order over and over again.

‘’Mathematics is the science and language of patterns.” Copley (2000)

SERIATION or ordering of objects is based on the ability to place them in logical sequence, such as smallest to largest or

shortest to tallest. ‘’Comparative vocabulary develops with seriation: good, better, best, medium,small; lightest, light, heavy, heaviest; lightest, light, dark, darkest.’’ Kennedy, Tipps and Johnson (2011)

EARLY GEOMETRY AND SPATIAL SENSE

GEOMETRY the area of mathematics that involves shape, size, space, position, direction, and movement.

SPATIAL SENSE comparisons that help children develop an awareness of themselves in relation to people and objects in space, such as exploration using blocks and boxes.

MEASUREMENT 1 2 3 4 5 6FT

2 inches

MEASUREMENT is finding the length, height, and weight of an object using units like inches, feet and pounds. Measurement is an important way for young children

to look for relationships in the world.

DATA ANALYSIS AND PROBABILITY

0123456

01234

Questions that cannot be answered by direct observation can often be assessed by gathering data. Data can be organized, represented, and summarized in a variety of ways. Using graphs

and charts, children can discover how to organize and interpret information and see

relationships.

PROBLEM SOLVING WHAT?

HOW?

SOLVED!

?????

Problem solving means engaging in a task for which the solution method is not known in advance. To

find a solution, students must draw on their knowledge, and through this process, they will

often develop new mathematical understandings. Solving problem is not only a goal of learning

mathematics but also a major means of doing it so. (NCTM,2000)

M

Math concepts are better understood when they are a part of the daily activities. Other

curriculum areas can include math easily and successfully through different classroom activities as

simply as counting who are present on the class.

INTEGRATING MATH EXPERIENCES

OTHER CURRICULUM AREAS

MATH AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Math awareness continues outdoors, too. Applications for math concepts are everywhere. Some ideas:

1. Toddlers enjoy play structure that are lower ad wider and allow them to climb up and down.

2.Preschool children can look for rough and smooth objects to compare.

3. Older children can take chalk and make hopscotch area with numerals.

MATH AND SCIENCE

Math and science are like two-piece puzzle. They fit together to make a whole, but each piece is

important by itself. Some ideas:

1. Sort collections of shells, magnets, leaves, seeds, and rocks.2. Planting will always offer children a chance to graph the growth and development.3. Have children count the number of legs of the animals.

MATH AND COOKING

One of the exciting way to teach children math concepts is through cooking.

In dramatic play area you can ask them to prepare the ingredients, how much will be poured and how much will be needed to

cook something. In this way we can extend both the dramatic play and math.

MATH AND ART

The arts help children grow cognitively.

Arts activities invite counting, sorting and

classifying. Through questioning, children

are involved in arts activities and can be

aware of math concepts.

MATH AND LANGUAGE, LITERACY

AND LITERATUREMathematics is everywhere. We consciously include critical thinking, problem solving and communication as important goals within the

mathematics curriculum.

For language, literacy, ad literature development, select math books of all types and genres to read to the children, or have

children discuss during group time.