What is number recognition?
Numbers are everywhere: on clocks, doors, buses, birthday cakes and the pages of a book. Number recognition means you can look at a number and know its name straight away. When you see 7 you say "seven". When someone says "four", you can find 4.
There are three ways to meet the same number:
| Way | Example for five |
|---|---|
| A numeral you see | 5 |
| A number word you hear or read | five |
| A quantity of things | ● ● ● ● ● |
Strong number sense means you can move between all three. You see 5, you hear "five", and you know it means this many: ● ● ● ● ●.
The ten digits
Every number we write is built from ten symbols called digits:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bigger numbers reuse the same digits. The number 12 is a 1 and a 2 side by side. Once you know these ten digits well, you can start to read any number.
How to learn the numerals
- Trace it. Draw the numeral in the air, in sand or with your finger on the table. Your hand helps your brain remember the shape.
- Say it. Say the number name every time you see or draw the numeral.
- Match it. Put the right number of blocks next to each numeral card.
- Find it. Go on a number hunt: look for numerals on signs, phones, calendars and price tags.
Seeing small amounts at a glance
You don’t always need to count. When you see dots on a die, you just know there are three or four. Knowing how many are in a small group without counting is called subitizing. Dot cards, dice and fingers help you practise it.
| Picture | How many? |
|---|---|
| ● ● | 2 |
| ● ● ● | 3 |
| ●● ●● | 4 |
| ●● ● ●● | 5 |
Worked examples
Example 1: Which numeral shows "seven"?
Answer: 7.
Example 2: Your friend holds up a card with ● ● ● ● ● ● on it. Which numeral matches?
Count or look carefully: there are 6 dots. Answer: 6.
Example 3: A bus has the number 12 on the front. What is it called?
Answer: twelve. It is made of the digits 1 and 2.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up 6 and 9. They are the same shape turned around. The 6 has its loop at the bottom; the 9 has its loop at the top.
- Writing numerals backwards. Many young learners write 3, 7 or 9 facing the wrong way. Look at a number chart and check which way it faces.
- Reading 12 as "twenty-one". In 12, the 1 comes first.
Try it yourself
- Which numeral is "three"?
- How many dots: ● ● ● ●?
- Which numeral comes in the word "nine"?
- Point to the numeral with the loop on top: 6 or 9?
Answers: 1) 3 2) 4 3) 9 4) 9
Quick recap
- A numeral is the written symbol; a number word is the name in letters.
- There are ten digits, 0 to 9, and all numbers are made from them.
- Match numerals, number words and quantities to recognize numbers quickly.
- Small groups can be seen at a glance without counting.