The students know that when they instantly recognize how many objects there are, that’s called subitizing.  Now we are learning to explain what we can often see so quickly.  For example, dots arranged like this: OOO  OO  may be seen as 3 and 2 more make 5.  They may also recognize 5 objects if they are arranged like a 5 on a die.  It is important for students to extend their language capabilities so they can clearly explain their thinking, a dominant skill in Common Core State Standards.

We also are spending several lessons counting on from five.  We fill  a 5-frame with cubes and then add 1 more or 2 more, etc.  Students need practice to understand that they do not have to go back to 1 in order to count to the end each time we make a new number model.

Another skill we are working on is making different combinations of 10.  We start with a train of 10 cubes and then break it apart in different ways.  It takes a few tries before students realize that every combination still gives a total of 10.

I hope this background information will help you practice and extend  these skills at home.