Composing Numbers

Parts Combiner

Recognizes that sets can be combined in different orders, but may not explicitly recognize that groups are additively composed of smaller groups. The toddler also recognizes Part-Whole relations in nonverbal, intuitive, perceptual situations and can nonverbally represent parts that make a whole.

Activities

You may see this:

Other Examples:

When shown four red blocks and two blue blocks, intuitively appreciates that "all the blocks" include the red and blue blocks, but when asked how many there are in all, may name a small number, such as 1.
A toddler puts three items (i.e., cars) in a row.
A toddler notices and groups by differences in number and quantity based on physical characteristics of objects and visuals (i.e., grouping stacks of Unifix cubes/dot cards by “more” versus “less” or the “same”).
A child trades several small items for a larger one, an initial step for grouping and later, place value.
A child identifies “more” with collections of up to four items, without needing to count them.
A toddler gives a caregiver one food item from a pile of many when asked for “one”.