Comparing Number

Comparison Senser: Foundations

From the first months of life, children are sensitive to a change in the number, either of a change of very small collections, such as 1 vs. 2, or large changes in larger collections, such as double the number. Therefore, we know infants have an unconscious, innate sensitivity to such simple equivalence comparisons.

Activities

You may see this:

Other Examples:

See the baby show a preference for large groups that change in number (this is the same video as in “Number Senser: Foundations” in the “Recognition of Number and Subitizing” learning trajectory).
Children appear to recognize that two very small collections have the “same number” consciously by 10 months of age. Between 9 and 11 months, they develop the ability to detect a change in the direction of ordinal sequences (e.g., from getting bigger to getting smaller).

Help your student become a(n) Comparison Senser: Foundations

Activities encourage explorations of and talk, often first modeled by an adult, about quantities (many, only one, more, fewer, less, etc.) everywhere possible in natural conversations. Number words are promoted too.