Ep 5. What is Subitizing? Why do I need to know that?!

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,800
Hello and welcome to Making Number Sense Makes Sense, a podcast for elementary teachers,

2
00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:17,680
specifically early elementary teachers, looking to really make an impact in the number sense

3
00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:23,720
of their students. Welcome back to the Making Number Sense Makes Sense podcast. Today, I'm

4
00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:31,000
going to talk to you about subitizing. When I first started teaching, I had no idea what

5
00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:39,440
subitizing even was. So now I kind of think of subitizing like a turtle covered in flowers.

6
00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:46,200
I know a turtle covered in flowers. I'll explain. So the other day, I was driving, you know,

7
00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,400
listening to music, driving, and I turned to the side and I had to do a double take. I

8
00:00:51,400 --> 00:01:00,080
was like, what is that? So I see on my left a giant turtle, probably like a tortoise. And

9
00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:06,200
it's person, I don't know, owner, I guess, we're just strolling along the sidewalk. And

10
00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:12,240
this turtle was covered in pink flowers. And I definitely had to do a double take. I was

11
00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:19,720
like, did I, did I just see that? Is that really just a tortoise covered in flowers, just walking

12
00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:24,320
in the neighborhood? And it sure enough was. I was like, oh man, I wish I could have taken

13
00:01:24,320 --> 00:01:29,120
a picture because I have never seen a turtle covered in flowers before in real life. I

14
00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:36,160
wouldn't even think to do that. So subitizing is a lot like that. When you are subitizing,

15
00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:45,080
your students are seeing an image with some numeral on it or value on it. So when your

16
00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:51,480
students are subitizing, they're looking at an image and trying to figure out how many

17
00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:59,840
things they're seeing without counting by once. So subitizing is the ability to instantly

18
00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:06,440
recognize a number of objects without counting. And some of your students may come in already

19
00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:13,240
being able to subitize small numbers like one, two or three objects, especially in familiar

20
00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:19,000
items like on a dice base. So a lot of times if students play games at home, they know

21
00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:24,920
what the number, the dot arrangement of a dice looks like for numbers one to six, and

22
00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:29,560
they don't need to count it, they just see it and know that is subitizing. And dice is

23
00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:34,400
just my example, but it could be finger patterns like if you ask a student to show you five

24
00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:39,360
fingers, they'll probably just put up their hand with five on it and not have to count

25
00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:44,840
each and every finger, they just know that one full hand is five. That ability to know

26
00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:49,800
your numbers like that is subitizing. Make things just a little complicated. There's

27
00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:55,800
actually two different types of subitizing. There's perceptual subitizing and conceptual

28
00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:04,280
subitizing us as people can really only subitize around five items. When you start to see bigger

29
00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:08,600
items that you're still able to subitize, what's actually happening is you're seeing

30
00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:14,920
its parts. So for example, if you're looking at a dice face and you're looking at the six,

31
00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:21,280
we know it's a six because it's a common arrangement. But you might also see the six as a column

32
00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:29,640
of three and three. You might also see just two three groups of two, so two, two and two.

33
00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:35,440
You might also see four on top and then two extras on the bottom. You can see find those

34
00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:43,360
little numbers inside the bigger number. So why is that an important skill to have? Well,

35
00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:48,600
subitizing on its face may seem like a skill that kids only really need in isolation, but

36
00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:54,240
that's really not the case. It helps your students develop more sophisticated number

37
00:03:54,240 --> 00:04:00,280
strategies and counting strategies than just counting by once. It helps kids really one

38
00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:05,960
number to another number and kind of see the smaller numbers inside bigger numbers that's

39
00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:11,200
composing and decomposing numbers. So if you're thinking of the number five, then kids will

40
00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:16,280
start to learn that five is also the same as three and two is the same as four and one

41
00:04:16,280 --> 00:04:21,320
is the same as five and zero. So really beginning familiar with those number pairs that make

42
00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:26,280
up bigger numbers helps with addition and subtraction as kids move throughout the grade

43
00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:30,640
levels. As of now, I've been using dice face number patterns that only really go up to

44
00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:36,680
10. But when you start being able to subitize and see the bigger numbers and smaller numbers,

45
00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,520
you can start to add those to mental math and addition strategies. If I show you the

46
00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:47,760
number sentence 35 plus 12. Now 35 plus 12, some people will just know what the answer

47
00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:52,120
is. But if you're familiar with your number patterns and trying to figure it out in your

48
00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:57,800
head mental math, you might start to break apart those bigger numbers into smaller numbers.

49
00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:04,680
So one way you might do that is if you think of the number 12, 12 is the same as 10 and

50
00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:12,360
two and 10 is an easier number to add on to other numbers than 12 is. So I have 35 plus

51
00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:20,200
12 was my original question. And I broke my 12 into 10 and two. So then I'm thinking 35

52
00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:26,680
plus 10 is 45. And I have that number in my head. And I remember that I have my two other

53
00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:32,920
my two extras, because my original number was 12. So from there, you can do 45 and count

54
00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:39,120
on 454647. Or you might just know that five and two is seven. If you're familiar with

55
00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:43,560
your smaller number pairs, the numbers that make up seven, the numbers that make up eight,

56
00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:48,040
the numbers that make up nine, use that information to get the answer. So from there, you've broken

57
00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:53,160
apart the numbers, you've really been able to manipulate the numbers in your brain to

58
00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:59,480
solve this addition problem. And that's something that I know personally, I never really did.

59
00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:05,040
It wasn't until I took a class as a teacher about developing number sense, did I even

60
00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:10,080
really start to think about that like manipulating numbers in my head to solve questions like

61
00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:17,320
that was never something that I naturally did. And it's so helpful teaching your students,

62
00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:21,440
especially when they're young, to see numbers as things that are flexible things that can

63
00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:28,360
be switched around compensated, it starts to create just a giant world of possibility

64
00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:32,640
around numbers, which is something that a lot of people who are not traditionally in

65
00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:37,600
air quotes math people don't realize that you can do math can seem very rigid. And it

66
00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:42,480
has to be like this, because there's only one right answer. But the creativity comes

67
00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:48,960
in being able to dive into the different ways that you might get to that answer. And growing

68
00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:54,720
up for me, the emphasis was always on did you get the right answer? Not how can you

69
00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:59,440
approach this problem in a way that makes sense to you. So then you can solve it and

70
00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:04,440
get the right answer without having to use a standard algorithm, just really understanding

71
00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:09,600
numbers and understanding math. So I hope that I have convinced you, or at least started

72
00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:15,480
to convince you that subitizing is a very, very important skill for your students to

73
00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:22,360
develop. And it can be a really fun skill to practice throughout your entire math block.

74
00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:27,320
So next, I'm going to give you some ideas of ways that you can include subitizing activities

75
00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:33,360
in your math block that your students might really enjoy. One of my favorite ways to use

76
00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:40,360
subitizing in the classroom is like I said before, just using dice. So using games with

77
00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:45,040
dice, there's so many different things that you can do with dice and not just traditional

78
00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:51,080
one to six dice, you might use a 10 frame dice or five frame dice. That's another way

79
00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:58,720
for kids to really get to know the way that numbers look. And 10 frames, five frames, even

80
00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:04,880
spinners, if you create a spinner that has a five frame on it 10 frame on it. And using

81
00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:09,320
those things over and over in lots of different types of games is a great way to practice

82
00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:15,440
subitizing. I said a 10 frame if you're unfamiliar with a 10 frame, it's basically a rectangle

83
00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:21,240
with 10 squares in it. So it's five squares on top, five squares on bottom, all together

84
00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:27,200
is a 10 frame. And that's another great way for kids to organize numbers organizing counting

85
00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:31,320
into groups of 10, which is really important in our number system that's based in 10. So

86
00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:37,760
10 frames are a great way to practice subitizing as well with numbers higher than six. Something

87
00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:42,600
else that you can do I like to use this as a warm up or a number sense routine is quick

88
00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:49,420
images. So quick images is like it sounds like you show students an image very quickly

89
00:08:49,420 --> 00:08:54,920
like three seconds tops, and then hide it again. And then your students have to figure

90
00:08:54,920 --> 00:09:01,520
out how many things you were showing. So let's say I had a 10 frame with six items in it.

91
00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:06,680
So five on top and one on the bottom, I'll show my kids my 10 frame with six on it and

92
00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:10,760
then hide it really quickly. And so then the kids would have to talk to me about what they

93
00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:16,200
see. So some kids might say, Oh, I know it's six because I saw the top line was full and

94
00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:22,560
had one extra so five and one extra. If I might arrange my six differently for my next

95
00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:29,340
quick image. So instead of having five on top and one on the bottom, I might do three

96
00:09:29,340 --> 00:09:34,520
on the left and three on the right. And then the kids might say, Oh, I know that that is

97
00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:40,920
six because I saw three and three. You could also switch the colors. So maybe I do three

98
00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:46,080
reds and three yellows. And then they could also see three and three is six. He'd like

99
00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:51,640
some more ideas on how to use quick images. I will leave a link in the show notes to my

100
00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:57,320
free quick image kind of sample quick image freebie that you can use in your classroom.

101
00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:01,880
And that's in Google slides. So you can print off your Google slides or just project it and

102
00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:06,200
show your kids really quick and then hide it again. Now quick images doesn't have to just

103
00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:14,040
be 10 frames. It can also be finger patterns. It can be dice. It can be a wreck and wreck.

104
00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:18,160
It can be tile arrangements. There's lots of different ways that quick images can be

105
00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:22,360
used and what kind of images you show your students. So like I said, I will leave a link

106
00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:26,560
to my quick image freebie in the show notes and a blog post that talks all about quick

107
00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:31,960
images and how can you you can use them in your classroom. I mentioned it briefly before,

108
00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:37,720
but using dice in your classroom is a great way to practice subitizing. Again, if you'd

109
00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:43,280
like some more specific examples of games that you can play to practice subitizing,

110
00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:50,120
I'll have pictures and ideas all linked in the blog post that is in the show notes of

111
00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:55,320
this episode. So quick recap.

112
00:10:55,320 --> 00:11:00,200
Subitizing is a amazing skill to help your students develop number sense. You can use

113
00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:06,160
subitizing in your math block as a warm up. You can use it as a kind of wrap up to the

114
00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:13,400
end of your math block or use the thing that some of the tools like 10 frames dice finger

115
00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:19,760
patterns in your math stations or math centers to reinforce the skill. Get your kids familiar

116
00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:27,160
with all different kinds of number patterns and then they can move from the very concrete

117
00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:32,400
to conceptual understanding of numbers as they move throughout the year on your way.

118
00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:37,280
Don't forget to check out the quick images freebie and the accompanying blog post to

119
00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:42,680
see all of this written out as well as pictures of some games that you might like to play

120
00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:48,720
with your students in their centers. I do love talking about math, obviously, but there

121
00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:52,920
are some things I feel like I just need to share because it was just it's just so comical

122
00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,760
like some of the things that these kids do you're just like how that even happened. So

123
00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:02,000
one of my students was working on his drawing. He was so happy to show it to me and he kept

124
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:06,520
talking about his shoes and I'm like why does he keep telling me about his shoes like I

125
00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:11,240
see their shoes I'm glad you added the detail but move away from the shoes. So I look at

126
00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:16,680
him a little bit later and I was like, hmm, he has two different shoes on today. And I

127
00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:20,440
was like, oh, maybe that's why he kept telling me about his shoes because he had two different

128
00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,280
shoes on. I was like, oh, wow, well, I mean, there's nothing we can do about that now like

129
00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:27,840
you're at school we can't change your shoes. I look a little closer. How about they're

130
00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:32,600
both the left foot. So not only did you have two different shoes on, but they were both

131
00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:36,400
the left foot. And I was like, well, it makes sense. He was talking about his shoes. They're

132
00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:41,120
probably uncomfortable. Like I don't even I don't even know how that happened. But I

133
00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:45,480
will say, I have walked out the house in slippers before only to have to turn around and be

134
00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,960
like, I need to put real shoes on. So I guess it happens to the best of us. If you have

135
00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:54,960
been enjoying the podcast, I would love it if you left a review or sent me a message to

136
00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:59,920
let me know what episodes you'd like to hear in the future. Until then, I will see you

137
00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:25,200
next time and don't forget to get your freebie on the way out.