Early math literacy is so important. We can learn so much about our students at the very beginning of the year by knowing their math competencies. How could this understanding help us inform our teaching?
Early numeracy development is one facet of students’ mathematical thinking. Suppose a current level of numeracy understanding is not assessed in the classroom before core instruction begins. In that case, teachers cannot make data-driven instructional decisions to meet the needs of the diverse range of students' abilities within a classroom setting. Teachers cannot instruct with fidelity using the grade-level math curriculum if students are struggling with basic mathematical skills. Identifying these deficits should be the first step before any teaching begins.
In the article, "Examining the Effect of Students’ Early Numeracy Activities at Home on Later Mathematics Achievement via Early Numeracy Competencies and Self-Efficacy Beliefs" by Sunghwan Hwang, “...students who engage in more early numeracy activities at home are more likely to have high mathematics achievement…” Some students are not exposed to these activities at home or at an early age. They are already at a disadvantage if these activities are not practiced in repetition at the start of their elementary school career. By the time they reach the upper grades, they lack the understanding of basic early numeracy skills that could have been practiced at home, such as performing singing counting songs, reading counting books, playing with numerical toys, and teaching counting and writing numbers.
In another article, "What Explains Early Numeracy Achievement: A Comparison of South Africa and China" by Thukwane Nelisiwe and Ke Yu, “Early numeracy does not only begin formal schooling, but parents can also stimulate early numeracy skills by introducing numeracy activities at a young age.” Again, if students are not exposed to this early intervention at home, this responsibility falls on the schools. Even in the upper grades, some students lack the practice of some basic skills, such as counting forward and backward, recognizing patterns when counting, identifying values of numbers, etc., which are all parts of early numeracy.
Suppose educators can ascertain students’ current levels of numeracy competency using a screener assessment that identifies where students lack the basic understanding of numbers and how they work. Furthermore, suppose teachers can use this new information to implement lessons in small group instruction sessions to strengthen areas of weakness identified through these screeners. Teachers will be able to pinpoint and make data-driven instructional decisions to meet the needs of the diverse range of students’ numeracy competency within a classroom setting. Establishing what level of early numeracy development a student can understand is necessary to understand the limits to their mathematical thinking. Teachers can then implement new knowledge of students’ current numeracy development into their teaching practices, such as in math centers, and this will improve instructional decision-making based on observed actions and explanations made by students.
Some students will struggle in the grade-level math curriculum because there are gaps in basic mathematical skills. If these barriers in early numeracy are identified before teaching, there is a possibility of greater success in overall math competency. Identifying and then focusing on developing and mastering these fundamental numeracy skills is necessary to improve math instruction. Think: if the only thing holding back a student’s success in math is a deficiency when working with numbers, such as counting forward and backward fluently & efficiently, wouldn’t you want to help them achieve this simple skill to thrive in math? I would.