2

IMPROVING
NUMBER SENSE
Routines That Are
Not Routinized

A
routine is an activity or event that occurs on a regular basis over a period of
time. Think about the routines you already have in your classroom—
greeting students in the morning, backpack procedures, morning meeting
rituals, taking attendance, lunch count and lunch line procedures, read-alouds,
calendar routines, weather observations and graphs, and author’s share, just to name
a few. Routines provide frameworks for our day. Our routines build community and
create a safe learning environment for students. Routines provide feelings of
belonging, ownership, and predictability, which make the classroom a place to take
risks, try new things, and be successful.
Routines are a regular part of most math workshops and math lessons. You find
them in curriculum materials, such as the math message in Everyday Mathematics
(University of Chicago School Mathematics Project 2007) and ten-minute math in
Investigations in Number, Data, and Space (TERC 2008). Many teachers begin their
math block with some kind of warm-up. My purpose is to help you take what you are
already doing with math routines and refine it to expand students’ number sense. In
this book I show you how to go beyond the curriculum materials to design routines 13
Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
14 NUMBER SENSE ROUTINES

based on your students’ unique strengths and needs. These number sense
routines are not “auto pilot” activities, but opportunities for meaningful prac-
tice. You’ll learn when to use a particular routine, how to differentiate, and
how to use routines as formative assessment tools. We’ll also explore the
mathematics behind the routines and take a look at paths students take as
they develop their number sense.

A ROUTINE IN ACTION:
COUNT AROUND THE CIRCLE
I shook the rain stick, our signal to clean up from quiet time and transition
into math workshop. My fourth-grade students put their materials away and
made their way over to the community circle. As Jose plopped down beside
me, he asked, “Are we counting by hundreds today?” I gave him the heads up
that we would be counting backward by tens. He began counting backward
from ninety by tens quietly to himself as his classmates got settled.
Within two minutes everyone was ready. They were sitting in a circle on
the floor and were ready to “count around the circle.” I began our routine by
saying, “Let’s start with 188 and count backward by tens around the circle. If
I start with 188 and we move clockwise around the circle, what do you think
Catie will land on?” Catie was sitting directly across from me, about halfway
around our circle of twenty-two students.
Anthony estimated, “Somewhere in the hundreds, like close to 118 or
108, because we’ll go pretty far down the number line if we are counting by
tens.”
Marjorie said, “Maybe close to Anthony’s guess, but maybe a little less
than 100.”
Nisaa added on to Marjorie’s idea and said, “I agree with Marjorie,
because Catie’s about the tenth person and we’re counting by tens. That
means that it will be about 100 less than 188 . . . so, around 88?”
We had a quick discussion reinforcing the idea that an estimate does not
have to be exact by looking at words that Anthony, Marjorie, and Nisaa
used: somewhere, close, about, around, and maybe. We briefly talked about
why numbers like 178 and 268 would not be good estimates. The number 178
is only one jump of ten away from 188—that estimate did not make sense
because the first person to count would say that number. The number 268 is
more than 188—this wouldn’t make sense because we said we would be
counting backward, not forward.
I started the count for that day’s sequence by saying, “Let’s try it . . . 188.”
Jose, the first person, said, “One hundred seventy-eight,” and then we
continued around the circle. I wrote each number on an open number line as
someone said it (see Figure 2.1). The visual scaffold was helpful for the majority
of the class, although in different ways. It helped the few students who were
still struggling with this skill of counting backward by tens, as it allowed them

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
Chapter 2: Improving Number Sense 15

Figure 2.1

to participate in the counting activity. The majority of the students, however,

did not need the visual scaffold to support their skill of counting backward by
tens. But it helped these students to really understand the pattern and later
apply it to other situations, for example, counting backward by twenty.
We continued to count smoothly around the circle, each person saying a
number aloud while everyone else counted in their heads: “One hundred sixty-
eight, 158, 148 . . .” Then, Adam got stuck. Adib, the person before him, said,
“One hundred eight.” Everyone waited silently, knowing that Adam would
figure it out. He looked at Anthony and restated “One hundred twenty-eight,”
then looked at Melanie and restated “118,” then restated Adib’s number,
“108.” He said, “One hundred?” I wrote 100 on the number line, showing that
it was 8 away from 108. That visual scaffold on the open number line was just
enough support, and he said, “Ninety-eight!” Adam was one of the students
still working to keep the visual number line model in his head. He wasn’t quite
fluent and automatic yet; nevertheless, he was able to solve the problem.
When we got to Catie, she said, “Seventy-eight,” and we all nodded,
confirming our estimates. I stopped them when we got to 8 in order to revisit
the estimates and talk about Adam’s strategy for figuring out the jump to 98.
Then, we tried counting backward by twenty, this time all the way
around the circle. I again drew the open number line, but did not write each
number as the students counted. I encouraged them to “see the jumps” in
their heads as we counted around the circle. When Antonio got stuck, I drew
a support on the number line to scaffold his strategy for figuring out what
would come next (see Figure 2.1). We held a brief discussion about how the
pattern changed after zero (8, –12, –32, . . .), how the tens place was no

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
16 NUMBER SENSE ROUTINES

longer even but now odd, and that we were “adding even though we [were]
subtracting.” They were very excited to see this change of events. I asked
them to keep thinking about these numbers, the patterns, and why this
change happened. I assured them that we’d have more opportunities to look
at these interesting negative numbers. They knew they needed to keep
thinking about the “why,” and we then moved on to the multiplication mini-
lesson I’d planned for that day.
This Count Around the Circle routine, which is discussed in depth in
Chapter 4, is a typical start to our math workshop. The predictability and
ritualistic nature of routines in our classroom helps everyone feel at ease and
participate, which promotes successful learning. Every day after our ten
minutes of quiet time—which is our independent choice or rest time after
lunch and recess to help us refocus for the afternoon—we come to the rug
and sit in a circle. When I say, “Today we will Count Around the Circle,” or
“Today we will play with quantities on the ten-frames” (discussed in Chapter
3), students know what that particular ritual entails. We know what to do.
We know what to expect. It’s a comfortable and successful start to our math
workshop each day.
In addition, the daily routine time gets students actively involved as they
review number sense concepts and play with new number sense ideas; it also
allows teachers time for formative assessment. In our case on that day,
students had an opportunity to practice their estimation skills, practice
counting backward by tens and twenties, continue to notice patterns in place
value when counting, and begin exploring new ideas about negative numbers.
Number sense routines are a form of practice, but they are deep, mean-
ingful practice. They serve to reteach, reinforce, and enrich. They maximize
our time with students because they allow us to give our students multiple
opportunities to strengthen and develop number sense. I find that number
sense routines work most effectively when they occur at the same time each
day. The predictable structure helps students make connections among
routines from one day to the next. For example, in my fourth-grade class-
room, we discussed the reasonableness of estimates before counting around
the circle, because in the days prior, students’ estimates were often way off or
they were trying to calculate rather than estimate. Sometimes their estimates
didn’t fit with an obvious pattern. For instance, some students were making
odd number estimates for a counting sequence that involved counting by
twos starting at an even number.
In the days that followed this counting example, students started figuring
out that Nisaa’s estimates were frequently really close to the actual answer
(without calculating it exactly). They started paying more attention to her
estimation strategies and tried to figure out why her estimates were reason-
able and so close to the exact answer without calculation. With the repeated
experiences, my students made connections from one day to the next and
were really figuring out what it means to estimate. As they made those day-

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
Chapter 2: Improving Number Sense 17

to-day connections about estimation, they were also practicing a variety of

counting sequences each day we did the routine. This practice over time
helped my students gain understandings of relationships among numbers on
the number line and notice patterns in place value. The children applied
these understandings to their computation strategies and skills. The fluency
with counting and the understanding of place value helped them become
better and more efficient problem solvers. Lastly, the counting sequence in
this example led the children to explore new ideas about negative numbers.
The benefits of the counting routine during those weeks were deep, mean-
ingful, and varied.
The number sense routines explored in this book are “responsive”
routines—they are responsive to students’ discussions, understandings, and
learning needs. All of the routines in this book do the following:

• Provide daily number sense experiences

• Include discussion about numbers and their relationships
• Respond to students’ current understandings
• Build on students’ existing number sense
• Encourage students to play with numbers and enrich their mathematical
thinking
• Help students make connections to big ideas in mathematics

In other words, number sense routines provide a daily framework for

number sense practice, yet these routines are responsive to students. They are
fluid and flexible. In The Morning Meeting Book, Roxann Kriete and Lynn
Bechtel say, “There is a sensitive balance between the lovely sense of secu-
rity that routine can provide and the monotony that can creep in when that
routine is unlivened and unleavened” (2002, 29). Routines provide a
comfortable predictability, but at the same time, we plan routines that will
keep students challenged, provide opportunities to practice using their
number sense, and reteach when necessary.

WHY FOCUS ON ROUTINES?

If your classroom is similar to the average classroom nationwide, chances are
that the range of learners is wide, from the student struggling with number
sense to the student who continually needs a challenge. More and more
teachers are using a math workshop format to meet the diverse needs of their
students. There are many ways to set up a math workshop. Some teachers
structure them as follows:

• Warm-up (or math message or ten-minute math)

• Mini-lesson

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
18 NUMBER SENSE ROUTINES

• Guided math groups

The teacher meets with small groups of four to five students while other
students work in math stations, work on projects, problem solve, or
work on a math game.
• Reflection or share

Other teachers set up their math workshops like this:

• Warm-up
• Mini-lesson
• Active learning or guided practice
Students work on an activity or some sort of problem or game related to
the mini-lesson while the teacher confers with individual students
or groups of students.
• Reflection or share

This book focuses on one component of your math block—your warm-

up, which I refer to as a number sense routine, prior to the mini-lesson.
Students need quick, explicit, daily experiences with number sense concepts.
Routines provide that structure, no matter what you are teaching during the
mini-lesson or during the active learning portion of the math block. The
routine does not always need to be related or connected to the math lesson
for that day or the math unit for that month. Its purpose is to provide a daily
experience with a number sense concept. The ultimate goal is that students
make connections over time, build an understanding of relationships among
numbers and operations, and ultimately apply their number sense under-
standings in problem solving.

STUDENTS MAKING CONNECTIONS,

UNDERSTANDING RELATIONSHIPS, AND
APPLYING THEIR NUMBER SENSE: THE
POWER OF NUMBER SENSE ROUTINES
Numerical literacy is the goal. We want students to build number sense and
use their number sense. I keep my eye on that goal by observing students’
number sense growth, then watching for its application to mathematics prob-
lems and discussions. All students have their own path as they move toward
numerical literacy. Let me share snippets of Jaime’s, Margaret’s, and Andy’s
paths.

Jaime
One morning in early May, I began our math class with the following scenario:
“We’ve been working outside in our garden to get it ready for planting. We’ve

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
Chapter 2: Improving Number Sense 19

talked about how much space we need between seeds. We’ve also observed
other gardens with nice neat rows of plants. We decided our garden will need
three rows of five seeds. How many pumpkin seeds will we need?”
Jaime, a first grader, started to solve the problem as he usually did, by
directly modeling the situation. He took out the pumpkin seeds one by one
and lined up five seeds, then lined up another row of five seeds, and finally
lined up a third row of five seeds. After his seeds were organized into three
rows of five seeds, he counted all the seeds by ones: “One, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.” However, this time Jaime did something different
after counting by ones.
“Hey, that’s like 5, 10, 15, like the red and white beads!” he said, refer-
ring to the rekenrek, a Dutch arithmetic tool we had been using earlier to
explore the power of the five- and ten-structure of numbers (discussed in
depth in Chapter 3). This routine provided a visual for Jaime that helped
him “see” how numbers are composed. Now he was able to recount the seeds
by fives and pointed to each row, saying aloud, “Five, 10, 15, see?!” This was
the first time Jaime had applied a more efficient counting strategy to solve a
story problem.
This was a great moment for Jaime. Previously he had listened to other
students solve problems using the more efficient counting strategy and was
able to explain what they did, but he had never applied this more efficient
strategy on his own. The daily interaction with number sense ideas affected
the way Jaime began to think about numbers. He started to “see” quantities
and apply his understanding to solving a problem, thereby becoming more
efficient and fluent in his computation. This was a student who was “strug-
gling with number sense.” He had strategies to solve problems, but found it
difficult to be more efficient. The key in Jaime’s evolution of number sense
was the daily engagement in routines—and for this specific example, it was
the routine of visualizing quantities of fives by using the rekenrek routine and
then using this visualization to solve a math problem more efficiently. In
other words, the routines allowed Jaime eventually to use his number sense
understandings and apply them to a mathematical situation.

Margaret
Like Jaime, Margaret was a student who was struggling. Unlike Jaime’s
distinct “aha” moment, Margaret’s understandings and application of number
sense developed over a longer period of time.
It took a while for Margaret to understand Count Around the Circle
(discussed in depth in Chapter 4). Eventually, though, this ended up being
the routine that helped her develop the confidence to attack even the most
daunting math problems. By midyear in third grade, after participating in
numerous whole-class and small-group Counts Around the Circle, I noticed
that Margaret was finally becoming more fluent with a variety of counting

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
20 NUMBER SENSE ROUTINES

sequences, even when we started at various points (for example, counting by

hundreds starting at 347). When asked, “What do you notice about this
counting sequence?” she was able to discuss which place in the number was
changing and why. This new fluency in counting and understanding of place
value was also transferring to her problem solving during the rest of math
workshop. She began counting by tens and hundreds rather than by ones.
The first time I watched her count backward by hundreds to solve a subtrac-
tion problem (There were 783 books at the book fair and Ms. Lindgren sold 200
of them), I wanted to jump up and down with joy.
Count Around the Circle had helped her develop a mental number line,
understand the patterns of our place-value number system, and use leaps of
friendly numbers like 100 and 10 to solve problems. Her ability to problem
solve and her confidence in solving math problems skyrocketed as she “got”
Count Around the Circle.

Andy
Unlike Jaime and Margaret, Andy had a fairly strong sense of number when
he entered my classroom in the fall of his third-grade year. He knew how to
decompose numbers and use his understandings of place value to solve prob-
lems using tens and ones. He knew how to skip-count by a variety of
numbers, which helped him solve multiplication and division problems.
What I observed during our routines (mostly during our discussions
about the mathematics in Count Around the Circle and Quick Images with
dot cards) was that Andy was growing his number sense in terms of relational
thinking. During the number sense routines, Andy was pointing out relation-
ships he noticed among numbers and equations. When we looked at Quick
Images with dot cards he eventually started playing with ideas of equality, the
distributive property, and the associative property, stating, “Four groups of 3
is the same thing as 2 groups of 6. It just depends on what the story problem
is, but you can just take those 2 groups of 3 and make them 6 and take the
other 2 groups of 3 and make that 6—either way the total is 12.” (See Andy’s
thinking in Figure 2.2.)

• • • •
•• •• •• ••
4 × 3 = 12 (four groups of three)

• • • •
•• •• •• ••
Figure 2.2 2 × 6 = 12 (two groups of six)
Andy’s Thinking About Quick Images

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
Chapter 2: Improving Number Sense 21

Andy practiced his relational thinking as we worked on true/false state-

ments like those that follow. (Note: true/false statements are a number sense +2
routine that is not discussed in this book. For more information, see Thinking 98 100
Mathematically: Integrating Arithmetic and Algebra in Elementary School by –2
+37 +35
Thomas P. Carpenter, Megan Loef Franke, and Linda Levi [2003].)
135

5 + 4 + 10 = 10 + 5 + 5 false Figure 2.3

13 + 7 + 4 – 4 = 7 + 13 true Andy’s Thinking About 98 + 37
13 + 9 + 6 = 5 + 10 + 13 true
6 + 3 + 10 =8+3+7+2 false

I observed that he was thinking more and more about relationships

among numbers rather than just solving for each side. For example, for the
second equation in the preceding list, Andy said he didn’t solve both sides
because he knew “Four minus four is zero, so that balances the equation.”
The more that Andy was thinking relationally during our number sense
routines, the more I saw him apply that understanding to other problems.
Not only did I watch him use a compensation strategy (which uses relational
thinking) in math workshop but I also heard him state a direct connection
to the problems we used in our true/false statements: “I know 98 plus 37 is
135 because I moved some of the numbers around like we do in the true/false
number sentences. I know that 98 is only two away from 100, and 100 is
easier to work with, so I took 2 from the 37 and made it 35. That way 100
plus 35 is 135, and that was easier than 98 plus 37, but it’s okay because they
mean the same thing.” (See Figure 2.3.) Andy was applying what he knew
about relationships among numbers and equations to problems such as these.
He was becoming more numerically literate due to the variety of routines he
experienced each day.
•••
The power of routines that provide students opportunities to interact with
numbers, big math ideas, and strategies on a daily basis is exemplified in
students like Jaime, Margaret, and Andy. Building number sense every day
through routines will improve students’ numeracy. By using predetermined
sets of routines to enhance the experience in a creative math environment,
the teacher sets the stage for successful development and use of number
sense.

A LOOK AHEAD
Part II of this book explores ideas for routines I have found to be most effec-
tive in helping students build a strong sense of number. The following
tables list and summarize the routines that will be discussed in the
following chapters.

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
22 NUMBER SENSE ROUTINES

Chapter 3 Visual Routines: Seeing and Conceptualizing Quantities

Ways to Use the Routine and

Name of the Routine Helps with . . . How It Works Questioning Strategies

Quick Images Using Dot • Subitizing These are cards with dots To elicit thinking about Quick
Cards (and Pictures, • Visualizing amounts on them arranged in Images, ask these questions:
Dominoes, and/or Dice) • Using groups and various groups. You can • How many did you see?
(page 36) combining groups to make your dot cards • How did you know it so quickly?
figure out “how many” based on twos, fives, tens, • Did you need to count? So what
doubles, or the visual did you do? What did you see?
arrangement of dice or • Why are you able to know the
dominoes. You flash the amount so quickly?
amount quickly, giving
students about 3–5 To discuss perceptual subitizing, use
seconds to visualize the the following:
amount. Then, you ask • 3 dots: Did you count each dot or
students what they saw. did you just see the amount?
This will encourage them • 5 dots: Did you count? Did you
to think in groups rather see an amount? (Some students
than count by ones. might see the 5 as a whole
amount; others may see 3 and 2
or 4 and 1.)
• 3 dots and 1 dot: How many
dots? How did you see it?
• 2 dots and 2 dots: How many
dots? How did you know?

To encourage conceptual subitizing,

use the following:
• 2-by-2 array with 2 dots off to
the side: How many dots? How
did you figure it out?
• 5 dots in dice formation with 4
dots in dice formation: What did
you do to figure it out quickly?
• A card arranged with 1 dot, 2
dots, and 3 dots: How many
dots? How did you combine the
dots to know how many?
• 4 rows of 3 dots: How did you
know the total so quickly?

• Grouping You can use the ten- To elicit thinking about ten-frames,
Ten-Frames (page 43) • Using the ten- frame much like Quick ask the following:
structure and five- Images. The difference in • How did you figure out how
structure using the ten-frame is many?
• Composing and that the five- and ten-
decomposing ten structures are highlighted To work on combinations of ten and
• Teen numbers by the configuration of the commutative property, use
• Part-part-whole ideas the frame. problems like these:
The ten-frame can • 9 + 1 and 1 + 9, 8 + 2 and 2 + 8,
better highlight the idea 7 + 3 and 3 + 7, etc.
of teen numbers—the

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
Chapter 2: Improving Number Sense 23

Chapter 3 Visual Routines: Seeing and Conceptualizing Quantities (continued)

concept that a teen To work on teen numbers, use the

number is a ten and then ten-frame to discuss and figure out
some more. amounts like this:
The ten-frame can • Fourteen is composed of a full
also be used for two-digit ten-frame plus a ten-frame with
addition and subtraction. 4 dots.

Children can use ten-frames to

practice addition with problems like
this:
• A ten-frame with 9 dots plus a
ten-frame with 4 dots: Children
will often move 1 dot from the
4 to the ten-frame with 9 to
make 10, then do 10 + 3.

To explore part-part-whole
relationships, use problems like this:
• Show a ten-frame with 6 dots.
Ask: How many dots are needed
to make 10?

Rekenrek (page 49) • Grouping The rekenrek is a Dutch Use these questioning strategies
• Using the ten- arithmetic rack. It has with the rekenrek:
structure and five- two rows with 10 beads • Can you show a way to make
structure on each (or, on a fifteen? Can you show another [a
• Composing and rekenrek with 100 beads, different] way to make fifteen?
decomposing 20 (or ten rows with 10 beads • How many do we need to add to
100 on the rekenreks on each row). Each row make seventeen?
with 100 beads) of 10 beads is made up of • How many do we need to take
• Teen numbers 5 red beads and 5 white away to make twelve?
• Part-part-whole ideas beads. There is a white • What can we do to make eight?
panel attached to the end • How many are hiding behind the
of the frame that allows white panel?
you to hide some beads
and show other beads.
You can use the
rekenrek in a Quick
Images manner to
encourage the use of
groupings. And, like the
ten-frame, the rekenrek
highlights the five- and
ten-structures. The
rekenrek is different in
that it has 20 beads total
(or 100 beads total) and
the beads move on the
rods, giving it a
kinesthetic aspect.

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
24 NUMBER SENSE ROUTINES

Chapter 4 Counting Routines: Understanding Place Value and the Number System

Ways to Use the Routine and

Name of the Routine Helps with . . . How It Works Questioning Strategies

Count Around the Circle • Counting sequences Choose a counting Variations on this routine include
(page 57) • Using patterns for sequence—for example, the following:
problem solving count by tens starting at • Count by ones, tens, fives, twos,
• Estimation thirty-two—and go threes, and so on, starting at
• Understanding place around the circle as each zero.
value person says a number. • Count by ones, tens, fives, twos,
• Understanding how (For example, the first threes, and so on, starting at
the number system person says, “Thirty-two,” various numbers.
works the second person says, • Count by fractional numbers.
“Forty-two,” the next • Count by hundreds or thousands
person says, “Fifty-two,” or millions, starting at zero or at
and so on.) various numbers.

To facilitate understanding of the

patterns, write the numbers on the
board as students say them.

Ask a variety of questions to

differentiate the level of difficulty.
(For a list of questions, see Box
4.3).

Choral Counting • Counting sequences In this routine, the class Use this routine if the majority of
(page 66) • Understanding counts aloud a number the class is struggling with the
patterns in numbers sequence all together. counting sequence.

Use a number grid or number line

as students are counting to help
students see and use the patterns.
(See the appendix for various
versions of number grids.)

To facilitate higher-level thinking

and spark discussion about the
sequence, ask: What do you notice
about this pattern?

Start and Stop Counting • Counting sequences The class counts a Ask questions to facilitate
(page 67) • Understanding number sequence all discussion about patterns, such as
patterns in numbers together, with a starting odd/even patterns:
• Difference or distance number and a stopping • If we start with twenty-five and
between two numbers number. For example, count by fives, what numbers could
have the class count by we stop at?
tens, starting with 26 and • If we count by twos and start with
stopping at 176. In 1,222, what numbers could we
addition to whole class, stop at? Why would the number
this routine works need to be even?
particularly well with
small groups and To highlight the distance between
individual students. numbers and guide a discussion

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
Chapter 2: Improving Number Sense 25

Chapter 4 Counting Routines: Understanding Place Value and the Number System (continued)

about difference, use the following

questions:
• If we count by twos, starting with
1,222 and stopping at 1,234, will
it take a long time or not much
time? How do you know?
• If we count by twos, starting with
1,222 and stopping at 4,222, will
it take a long time or not much
time? How do you know?

Organic Number Line • Irrational numbers This is a number line To focus on benchmarks, ask
(page 72) • Various names and that you can add to questions like these:
representations of continuously throughout • Where does this number go on our
numbers the year. Think of it as number line? How do you know?
• Big ideas like one section of your • What numbers can you think of
benchmarks, “whole number” number that go between 21 and 1? How do
equivalence, the line—you are magnifying you know?
whole, and part of the (and hence adding more
whole details to) the number To focus on equivalency, use
• Strategies like using line from 0 to 2. For prompts and questions like these:
benchmarks and example, there are many • Prove that 42 and 12 are equivalent.
doubling and halving numbers that fall • Can you show another way to
between 0 and 1: 12 , 41 , represent 164 ?
3
4 , 0.25, 0.3333, etc.
There are also different To focus on the whole and parts of the
ways to represent each of whole, ask questions like this:
these numbers, and some • Are this half and this half the same
of these numbers are amount? (Show two models
1
equivalent. representing 2 , but each with a
different whole.) Prove it!

To focus on doubling and halving, ask

questions like this:
• What is half of 41 ? Where does that
fraction go on the number line?

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
26 NUMBER SENSE ROUTINES

Chapter 5 Playing with Quantities: Making Sense of Numbers and Relationships

Ways to Use the Routine and

Name of the Routine Helps with . . . How It Works Questioning Strategies

Ten Wand (page 81) • Combinations of ten The Ten Wand is made Use questioning strategies like
• Commutative property up of ten Unifix cubes, these when working with the Ten
• Part-part-whole ideas five of one color and five Wand:
• Ten-structure and of a different color. The • How many on the floor and how
five-structure wand breaks in two many in my hand?
pieces at various places • How did you see seven so quickly?
(decomposing the ten) to How did you know that’s seven
help students see without counting it?
combinations visually. • What is it about the wand that
made it easy to see the amount?
• If we put the parts back together,
how many cubes make up the
wand now? Why is it still ten?
• So if there are two on the floor,
how many more are needed to
complete the broken wand?

Ways to Make a Number • Thinking flexibly Students write as many This routine can be open-ended
(page 83) about numbers ways as they can think of (just give students the number and
• Composing and to “make” a selected no guidelines) or it can have
decomposing numbers number. They might use constraints (such as, Think of ways
• Place-value visuals of the quantity, to make this number with three
understanding equations, models, and so addends).
• Base ten and grouping on.
ideas Use questions like these with Ways
• Relationships among to Make a Number:
ones, tens, and • What is it about ten that gave you
hundreds the idea to write it that way?
• Why does that work?
• How do you know it works?

Today’s Number • Understanding The teacher chooses a In order to help students

(page 88) numbers embedded in number, such as ten, to understand numbers in various
various contexts be Today’s Number (there contexts, ask questions like these:
• Numbers’ are a variety of reasons • When is ten a large amount?
relationships to 10 for picking a particular • Why did you think of that as an
and 100 number) and asks various example of when ten is a large
• Grouping ideas questions about the amount?
(repeated groups, base number, such as: When is • When is ten not very much?
ten, tens bundled as a ten big? When is ten small? • Why does ten mean different things
hundred) in different contexts?

(See Box 5.3 for a complete list of

ideas and for questions to use with
Today’s Number.)

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
Chapter 2: Improving Number Sense 27

Chapter 5 Playing with Quantities: Making Sense of Numbers and Relationships (continued)

To highlight a number’s relationship

to 10 and/or 100, ask questions like
these:
• How far is 24 from 100? How do
you know?
• How far is twenty-four from ten?
How did you figure it out?
• How many 24s are in 100?

Use the following questions to

elicit discussion about base ten ideas
in relation to Today’s Number:
• How much is ten groups of twenty-
four?
• How many tens are in twenty-
four?

Mental Math (page 91) • Efficient strategies Present an equation or To facilitate students verbalizing
• Flexible thinking story problem and ask their mental math, use questions
• Place-value students to solve it in like these:
understanding their heads (without • What did your brain do?
• Base ten and grouping paper and pen or • Why does that work?
• Using relationships manipulatives). Children • Who can restate what Kelly
among numbers should then verbalize the said/did in her head? Why do you
• Computation and strategies they used think she used that strategy?
operations properties mentally. • What part was tricky to do without
paper?

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
28 NUMBER SENSE ROUTINES

Chapter 6 Calendar and Data Routines: Using Numbers Every Day

Ways to Use the Routine and

Name of the Routine Helps with . . . How It Works Questioning Strategies

Calendar (page 102) • Understanding how Use a real calendar in Questions to use for the calendar
our time is organized addition to a premade routine include these:
and measured calendar from the teacher • What is today’s date? What was
• Counting, recognizing, store. As a class, write in yesterday’s date? What will
and sequencing important days tomorrow be?
numbers throughout the school • How many days (or months) until
year (birthdays, field Thanksgiving?
trips, etc.). Integrate • When did we go to gym class?
social studies and science. • If January ends on a Monday, on
what day will February begin?

Collecting Data Over a • Using numbers in Collect data, such as Discuss patterns in temperatures
Long Period of Time authentic ways temperature, weather, and weather with questions like
(page 104) • Thinking about and sunrise/sunset times, these:
patterns and cycles over time on graph paper • What do you notice about the
• Getting a sense of in public spaces in the data? What tells you that?
measurement amounts classroom on a daily • What do you think this graph will
• Using descriptive basis. Once or twice a look like next month? How do you
statistics month, hold class know?
discussions about the data
trends and the To encourage the use of descriptive
interpretation and statistics, ask questions such as
analysis of the data. these:
• What is the most common
temperature this month?
• What is the most common type of
weather this month?
• What is the mean temperature in
January?
• What’s the range in temperature
for September? How is it different
from the range in December?

Examine the visual pattern of sunrise

and sunset times and ask questions
such as these:
• What do you notice about the
length of the day over time?
• What patterns do you notice in the
data?

Counting the Days in • Gaining a sense of Use sentence strips and To help students have discussions
School (page 109) growing quantities sticky notes to build a about the growing quantities and
• Keeping track of number line throughout the patterns in keeping track of the
information the year that will days in school, ask questions like
• Thinking about emphasize each tenth day these:
patterns of school. • What color sticky note do you need
for today? How do you know?
• How did you know what number
comes next?

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
Chapter 2: Improving Number Sense 29

Chapter 6 Calendar and Data Routines: Using Numbers Every Day (continued)

• Beginning to think Use a number grid from 1 • How many days will it be on
about why ten is an to 180 to keep track of Friday?
important and friendly the days in school. • Which number on the number grid
number will we move the circle to on
Add one cube to a Friday?
container each day you • How many days until the 100th
are in school (and day of school? How do you know?
eventually organize the • How will you count the cubes?
cubes into tens to count • About how much of the rock jar do
efficiently). you think will be filled up by the
seventy-fifth day of school?
Add one rock to a
container each day you
are in school (see a pile
grow).

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.
 This page intentionally left blank

Number Sense Routines: Building Numerical Literacy Every Day in Grades K – 3 by Jessica F. Shumway. © 2011 Stenhouse Publishers. No reproduction
without written permission from the publisher.