Subitizing

By Doug Clements ,,mm ** Respond to any or all questions below. Please add any additional responses to questions and comments! **

Subitizing is "instantly seeing how many"...it focuses on the whole AND the unit, and it actually trumps counting-DD
 * What is subitizing?**

Subitizing is direct perceptual apprehension of numerosity of a group.TW

Perceptual subitizing is recognizing a # w/o math knowledge (ie-when my girls at the age of three saw 3 bears in front of them, by making single things to count.-DD Conceptual subitizing is more advanced, such as when one looks at a domino and just "knows" that the 2 groups of 4 are actually 8 dots. These come in patterns: spatial, kinesthetic and temporal.-DD
 * What is the difference between conceptual and perceptual subitizing?**

Perceptual subitizing is a basic ability ot "make units" or "single things to count". Conceptual subitizing is the ability to view numbers or number patterns as units of units.TW

If sets are arranged in a rectangular fashion (including dice), they are easier. Linear, circular, then scrambled fashion follow, with srambled fashion being the most difficult arrangement to decipher; however, for larger numbers, rectangular is harder than linear. Many preschoolers cannot subitize conceptually b/c they use 1:1 correspondence.-DD
 * What factors influce the difficulty level for students in subitizing?**

In teaching math, we need to stimulate investigating, exploring, experimenting, student talking, visualizing and using various strategies.-DD
 * What are the implications for teaching?**

Subitizing can be a stepping stone ot constructing more sophisticated procedures with larger numbers, therefore it must be taught and fostered. TW

Conceptual subitizing activities, such as "quick images", where a student holds a pack of cards with holes punched (in a way such as domino holes). The student puts the card on the overhead and takes it off quickly. The class then races to tell the # of dots that were on the card. You can also play games such as concentration with cards that have different arrangements for a given #.-DD
 * What are some stratgies that teachers can use to promote subitizing?**

While reading this article, I was surprised at the connection I made with subitizing and my 4 year old twin girls. I had no idea that I could start working on subitizing with them now, before they reached kindergarten, in fact, I didn't even know what subitizing was! I look forward to using the subitizing games with my own children, as well as with my students!-Dorothy Dalton, 4th grade teacher, SSE I enjoyed reading the article and making connections throughout with some of the training that I had with Math Matters several years ago. It is interesting to see good components of various programs continue to show up as more and more research becomes available on math instruction and student learning.. I think subitizing is such an important skill for our students to gain at an early age. I agree with Dorothy on all of the answers to the question posted and do find that using the games with children of all ages will only postively impact our students as mathematicians. Mia Johnson, Instructional Coach, Oxford Elem.
 * Comments or Thoughts: **

I think it is important for teachers to realize the importance of students having the ability to subitize. Playing games with dice and dominoes help students to be more familiar with regular patterns of numbers. Terra West 4th grade teacher MES

This makes sense. Our brains are programed to look for patterns, so when "dots" are arranged in a specific pattern that our brain recognizes it can "see" the number more quickly. CD

It's amazing how apparent this skill can be spotted within my classroom. All of my students that pick up each Math Expressions concept are those that see quantities and immediatly form a numeral representation for that set. They are the students that can shout out math partners and see where to place break apart lines without counting the dots at all. This article helped me understand just how important this skill is to the foundational understanding of how math works. ML