Small groups of up to five can be known just by looking, without counting one by one. This is called subitising. Dice patterns and five-frames are always arranged the same way, so learn what each one looks like: four corners and one in the middle is five. When dots are messy, look for small groups you know, like a pair and a pair. Bigger groups can be seen as two parts: two and three make five. If some dots are hidden, see the ones that are showing and think how many more make the whole. You can always touch and count to check.
Explore this idea with maths tools
Maths you can move
Build 8 + 5
Tap two gold counters to fill the ten-frame.
8 in the frame + 5 waiting. The total stays the same.
Words to know
- subitise
- know how many there are just by looking, without counting
- pattern
- dots arranged in a way you know, like on a dice
- five-frame
- a row of five boxes that holds up to five counters
- part
- one of the small groups that make up the whole
Worked examples
How many dots are on the dice? (four corners and one in the middle)
- 1.Four dots sit in the corners, like a square.
- 2.One more dot is in the middle, so it is 4 and 1.
= 5
How many dots altogether? (2 teal dots and 3 orange dots)
- 1.See the teal group: 2 dots. See the orange group: 3 dots.
- 2.2 and 3 make 5.
= 5
There are 4 dots altogether. You can see 3. How many are hiding under the cup?
- 1.You can see 3 dots at a glance.
- 2.3 and 1 make 4, so 1 dot is hiding.
= 1
For parents
Method: See it, say it
What to say: How many did you see? How did you see it so fast? What groups can you see?
Common mistakes:
- Misses a dot (often the middle dot of a dice pattern or one off to the side), so says one too few.
- Starts counting one by one, loses track and counts a dot twice, so says one too many.
- Looks at the empty boxes of the five-frame instead of the counters.
- Says five for any five-frame, because the frame has five boxes.
- Sees only one of the two groups (usually the bigger one) and says that number.
- Says how many dots can be seen, not how many are hiding.
- Repeats the total from the question instead of finding the hidden part.
- Counts on from the dots shown but counts that starting number too, so says one too many are hiding.