About Number Express
What is Number Express?
Number Express is an online game that aims to improve children’s ability to place numbers in order.
Children help the train conductor of Number Express label the carriages. To do that, they have to place in order the numbers that keep appairing on the screen.
Who would benefit from playing Number Express?
This game could help Preschool, Reception and Year 1 children work on the number sequence.
Children need to be able to read numerals between 1 and 20 to play the game.
Information about the game
School of years recommended: Preschool, Reception and Y1.
The time needed: ~15 minutes.
Materials required: a tablet or a computer, an internet connection.
Numerical skills involved: number ordering.
Learning goals:
Reception
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Numbers: have a deep understanding of numbers to 10;
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Numerical patterns: verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system;
Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage (21 March 2021).
Y1
Number – Number and place value
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Count to and across 100, forwards and backwards, beginning with 0 or 1, or from any given number;
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Count, read, and write numbers to 100 in numerals;
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Given a number, identify one more and one less;
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Identify and represent numbers using objects and pictorial representations, including the number line.
National Curriculum in England: mathematics programmes of study (Updated 28 September 2021).
Prerequisites: children need to be able to read numerals between 1 and 20 at least.
Read more about the cardinality and the ordinality of numbers
Cardinality and ordinality are key properties of numbers.
Cardinality refers to the numerosity of a set whereas ordinality refers to the position a number has in the numerical sequence.
Understanding the ordinality of numbers relates to multiple aspects of maths, including counting, calculation, and understanding number facts and measures (Sella et al., 2017; Lyons & Ansari, 2014; O’Connor, Morsanyi, and McCormack, 2018).
Through counting practice, children learn that number words are associated with different numerical quantities (Wynn, 1990). The number word “one” denotes a set with one item, “two” with two items, and so on. While cardinality mainly emerges from the connection between number words and external numerosities, ordinality appears to emerge from a symbol-to-symbol relation, where each number has its own position within the number sequence. In this light, the numerical sequence can be represented in its verbal and visuospatial format, respectively, the counting list (i.e., “one”, “two”, “three”, “four”, …) and the number line (i.e., 1-2-3-4-…; Sella et al., 2019, 2020).
Intervention studies have shown that training ordinality can have a beneficial effect on early numeracy.
Teacher corner
Simply asking children to indicate the number that comes after or before a given number (e.g., “What number comes before five?”) has a positive impact on their early numeracy (Xu & LeFevre, 2016).
Multiple studies have shown that playing along the number line, where numbers are ordinally spaced, can improve early numerical skills (Siegler & Ramani, 2008; Ramani, Siegler, Hitti, 2012).
Asking children to count forwards and backwards help them memorise the number sequence in its verbal format.
Using the number line help children familiarise themselves with the number sequence visuospatial representation. In this vein, they must understand that adding one item to a set leads to the next number word (i.e., n+1), whereas removing one leads to the previous number word (i.e., n-1).
Tips to make the most of the game
Tip 1
Ensure that the child understands the goal of the game [i.e., ordering numbers].
Tip 2
To complete some basic levels of the game, children need to read numbers from 1 to 20. Before starting the game, you can show your pupils the digits between 1 and 20 and ask them to read them.
Tip 3
In case of wrong responses, a number line will appear to support the child, placing the numbers in the correct order. Ensure the child makes the best use of the feedback.
Tip 4
The shop can also be a mathematical game. Prompt the child to estimate if they have enough money to buy an item before clicking on it.
Reference
Level of confidence:
This game aims to improve especially number ordering skills. Numerous researchers have shown the importance of this skill in mathematical learning (see for example O’Connor, Morsanyi, and McCormack, 2018).
This game has gone through this process of revision:
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internal revision. We had feedback from some colleagues with different backgrounds (cognitive science, mathematical pedagogy).
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External revision. We had also feedback from a primary school teacher that is part of a Maths Hub and a an education consultant specialising in the learning and teaching of primary mathematics.