Module 1 - Number sense & quantity
Number Sense: During the years from kindergarten to eighth grade, students must repeatedly extend their conception of number. At first, “number” means “counting number”: 1, 2, 3... Soon after that, 0 is used to represent “none”, and the whole numbers are formed by the counting numbers together with zero. Number sense essentially refers to a student’s ability to think fluidly and flexibly about numbers. To be successful in mathematics students need to have a sense that numbers are meaningful, i.e. what numbers mean and how they are related to one another. Additionally, they need to understand symbolic representations, use and understand numbers in real world contexts, and be able to perform mental math. Students who lack strong number sense do not have the foundation needed for simple arithmetic, much less more complex math.
Quantity: In real world problems, the answers are usually not numbers but quantities: numbers with units, which involves measurement. In their work in measurement through eighth grade, students primarily measure commonly used attributes such as length, area, and volume. In high school, students encounter a wider variety of units in modeling, e.g., acceleration, currency conversions, derived quantities such as person-hours and heating degree days, social science rates such as per-capita income, and rates in everyday life such as points scored per game or batting averages. They also encounter novel situations in which they themselves must conceive the attributes of interest.
Quantity: In real world problems, the answers are usually not numbers but quantities: numbers with units, which involves measurement. In their work in measurement through eighth grade, students primarily measure commonly used attributes such as length, area, and volume. In high school, students encounter a wider variety of units in modeling, e.g., acceleration, currency conversions, derived quantities such as person-hours and heating degree days, social science rates such as per-capita income, and rates in everyday life such as points scored per game or batting averages. They also encounter novel situations in which they themselves must conceive the attributes of interest.
The following will take you to activities that will provide a better understanding of materials in module 1:
Practice for module 1 materials: