It is important for children to develop number sense as they move through the grades. This simply means that children develop the ability to understand numbers, number relationships, and can use this understanding to solve mathematical problems.
The Ontario curriculum scaffolds the development of number sense for children as they learn to read, represent, compose, decompose, compare, order and estimate numbers. This journey begins in kindergarten where children learn about counting and quantity as they investigate and explore numbers in their everyday lives. The Ontario Mathematics Curriculum supports the development of number sense throughout the grades by carefully scaffolding for each grade.
Grade 1 - Numbers to 50
Try this at home: Together, count a small collection of items.
Grade 2 - Numbers to 200
Try this at home: How many ways can you show 2 dollars using different coins?
Grade 3 - Numbers to 1000
Try this at home: Count by 10s, 20s, 25s or 50s to 1000. To add an extra challenge, start at a number that is not 0.
Grade 4 - Numbers to 10 000
Try this at home: Think about as many situations as you can involving numbers up to 10 000. Discuss what the numbers and units represent.
Grade 5 - Numbers to 100 000
Try this at home: Have a discussion about where you find big numbers. Think about as many situations as you can involving numbers up to 100 000. Discuss what the numbers and units represent.
Grade 6 - Numbers to 1 000 000
Try this at home: Have a discussion about how big is a million. Think about it in terms of a number of items, where you can find a million, and how much it really is. You may want to check out the book - How Much is a Million
Grade 7 - Number to one billion
Try this at home: Think about as many situations as you can where you would find a billion. Discuss what the numbers and units represent.
Grade 8 - Very large and very small numbers
Try this at home: Have a discussion about what the smallest number is and what the largest number is. Then do a bit of searching to see if you are right. Discuss how big and small those numbers really are in comparison to everyday items.
Celebrating the Many Global Contributions to Mathematics
Throughout human history, people from many cultures and societies have contributed to the continuously developing understanding of math. As a part of each monthly newsletter, one of these many significant contributions will be shared in celebration of how diverse ways of knowing have shaped our mathematics today.
Did you know that the first known use of zero was about 4000 years ago in the Sumarian culture in Mesopotamia? It was used as a placeholder to indicate the absence of a number. It was later independently developed by the Mayans and even later in India. Arab merchants brought zero from India to the West where after much debate it was accepted as a number.
To learn more about the history of zero, visit BBC's webpage We Couldn’t Live Without Zero - but we once had to.