Reply To: Lesson 4-1: From Spatial to Counting Comparisons – Discussion

[Lavon Heath]

If my students subtract 13 from 8, they start by using red and black counters and they line up the zero pairs. Then they count to see that 5 red counters remain. We then use number lines but eventually want to make the jump to the abstract, but I still have students who count up on their fingers from 8 (or who count backwards from 13, depending upon the student.). How do I help them make the jump from counting to additive thinking?

Also, I was interested in the idea of using number tiles before transitioning to number lines. I teach middle school and hadn’t seem that but I do have a few students who don’t seem entirely comfortable with number lines.