Number symbols — Mathematics, 4–6 years
Learn how written marks stand for amounts we can count. Mathematics, 4–6 years.
A mark can stand for a number
When we count three buttons, we can show the amount with the mark 3, even when the buttons are put away. The mark is not three buttons; it is a quick way to tell someone how many there were. We can read it, write it, and use it to compare or calculate.
Why write numbers?
A pile of objects can be moved, lost, or hard to show to another person. People needed a small record of how many animals, eggs, or things they had, so number marks were invented and shared. Written numbers solve the problem of remembering an amount without carrying it around.
From objects to a mark
Put four toy cars in a row. Touch each one once: one, two, three, four. The amount is four, so choose the written mark 4. Now cover the cars: the mark 4 still tells us that there were four cars, even though we cannot see them.
A mark is not the thing
It is easy to think that a larger-looking mark means a larger amount, or that 4 must look like four objects. That makes sense because drawings often show what they mean. Number symbols are different: 4 can describe four tiny beads or four enormous boxes, and its shape does not show their size.
Numbers on the move
Written numbers help us read a bus number, find a page, choose a shoe size, or see how many minutes are left. In each case, the mark carries information when the actual objects are not all in front of us. The symbol is useful because people agree on what it means.
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