Early Numerical Competencies and Students with Mathematics Difficulty

Abstract

Children start elementary school with variable mathematics ski11s. Some childrenunderstand the fundamentals of numbers and mathematics, while others struggle with basic counting, number recognition, understanding of symbols, quantity discrimination, and concepts of addition and subtraction. Often, this set of early numerical competencies is referred to as number sense or early numeracy competencies. Students need to establish and understand these competencies before moving on to more complex mathematical tasks. This article describes important early num erical competencies and provides a description of how these competencies can be taught to students who struggle with mathematics.