Number Sense
The intuitive feel for how big numbers are and how they relate. Dyscalculic brains have to build this brick by brick.
See age-by-age examples →Dyscalculia
Language, strategies and worksheets for building number confidence — without the maths-table tears.
12 of 12 terms
The intuitive feel for how big numbers are and how they relate. Dyscalculic brains have to build this brick by brick.
See age-by-age examples →Instantly seeing how many objects are in a small group (up to ~5) without counting. Often delayed in dyscalculia.
Glancing at a dice and knowing it's a 4 without counting dots.
See age-by-age examples →Understanding that the last number counted IS the total — not just a label for the last object.
See age-by-age examples →Building maths concepts with objects, then pictures, then symbols. Skipping concrete steps is where dyscalculic kids fall off.
See age-by-age examples →Physical panic response to maths tasks — sweating, freezing, blanking. Real, measurable, and ruins working memory.
See age-by-age examples →Holding numbers in mind while operating on them. The bottleneck in long multiplication, mental maths and word problems.
See age-by-age examples →The pairs of numbers that make a target (e.g. bonds to 10). Foundational — practise these forever.
See age-by-age examples →Procedural = the steps. Conceptual = why it works. Dyscalculic kids need the concept first, then the steps.
See age-by-age examples →Physical objects (cubes, counters, Numicon, Cuisenaire rods) that let abstract maths be seen and touched.
See age-by-age examples →A drawn or printed line showing numbers spaced evenly. Becomes the child's external working memory.
See age-by-age examples →Sensible guessing of size and quantity. A weak area in dyscalculia — but the most useful real-world maths skill.
See age-by-age examples →Difficulty feeling how long things take or reading analog clocks. Common alongside dyscalculia.
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