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Number Shapes

Number · Reception–Year 3

Drag shapes 1 to 10 onto the mat. Bonds, doubles and odd or even.

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About the number shapes

Number shapes turn a number into something you can see the size of. Drag a shape out of the tray and onto the mat, and the total at the top counts as you go.

The shape is the point, so there are no numerals printed on them. A child reads seven from the two columns and the step at the top, not from a digit, and that is what makes the ten shape feel like a landmark.

Put a shape next to the ten shape and the gap tells you the bond. Two fours side by side make a rectangle, five and five make the ten, and any odd number leaves a step. Tidy up lines everything into rows grouped by size when the mat gets busy.

The colours match Trove's printed number shapes, so what is on the board matches what is on the table.

SET A NUMBER TO MAKE and the mat becomes a question. Press New for a fresh one or Set to choose the tens and the ones, and the board says so when the shapes add up to it. It goes up to 99, which is where the shapes stop being the right tool: ten is the biggest one, so 99 is ten shapes a class can lay out and count, and a three digit number would be ninety-nine of them.

Only a finished build is marked, and there is no score anywhere. Part way there the board shows the number to make beside the running total and leaves the rest to the class.

How to use it on your whiteboard

  1. 1Drag a shape from the tray onto the mat, or tap it to drop one on.
  2. 2Drag shapes around to line them up or fit them together.
  3. 3Watch the total at the top of the tray as you add and take away.
  4. 4Press New under Make for a number to build, or Set to choose the tens and ones.
  5. 5Tap Tidy up to line everything into rows, grouped by size.
  6. 6Select a shape and use Duplicate to make another the same, or Delete to take it off.

Questions

Is this the same as Numicon?
It is the same idea, using Trove's own shapes and colours. Two columns filled from the bottom, so the size and the shape of a number are both visible.
Why are there no numbers on the shapes?
Because reading the shape is the skill. A printed digit lets children read the digit instead, which teaches them nothing about the size of the number.
Can I use it for number bonds?
Yes. Put a shape against the ten shape and the missing piece is the bond. It is the clearest way to show bonds to 10 on a board.
Can I set a number for the class to make?
Yes, up to 99. Press New under Make for one, or Set to choose the tens and the ones. It stops at two digits because ten is the biggest shape: the Dienes blocks go far higher, and they are the tool for numbers past a hundred.