What a number is
Grades K–2The big idea
A number is just how many: a name for an amount.
Think of it like claps you can hear: Three claps, three blocks, three jumps: all different things, but the same amount: three.
Feel the amount
Clap three times. Now stack three blocks. Now take three steps. They look and sound different, but something is the same about all of them. That same thing is the number three.
👉 Tap to add blocks until you have three. Say the amount out loud.
Tap a block to take it away.
That's 3.
Wonder out loud
These are good questions to ask: yourself, a grown-up, or your math helper.
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