Number Sense
Number sense, which can be thought of as intuition about numbers, is the most important foundation of numeracy (The Primary Program, B.C., 2000, p. 146). A true sense of number goes well beyond
the skills of simply counting, memorizing facts and the situational rote use of algorithms. Number sense develops when students connect numbers to real-life experiences, and use benchmarks and referents. This results in students who are computationally fluent, flexible with numbers and have intuition about numbers.
The evolving number sense typically comes as a by-product of learning rather than through direct instruction. However, number sense can be developed by providing rich mathematical tasks that allow students to make connections.
(exerpt from the NB Grade 4 Mathematics Curriculum)
Number sense, which can be thought of as intuition about numbers, is the most important foundation of numeracy (The Primary Program, B.C., 2000, p. 146). A true sense of number goes well beyond
the skills of simply counting, memorizing facts and the situational rote use of algorithms. Number sense develops when students connect numbers to real-life experiences, and use benchmarks and referents. This results in students who are computationally fluent, flexible with numbers and have intuition about numbers.
The evolving number sense typically comes as a by-product of learning rather than through direct instruction. However, number sense can be developed by providing rich mathematical tasks that allow students to make connections.
(exerpt from the NB Grade 4 Mathematics Curriculum)