Math Strategy: What is 'Counting On'?

What is Counting On?

Math Strategy: Instead of counting all when combining two values the student begins counting at one of the given numbers and continues to count on until they have counted as many as the second number.
Math Strand: Number Sense and Numeration



Overview: 

 Counting On is a mental math strategy to use for addition. Students could be encouraged to start using this strategy once they are joining two numbers and Counting Three Times (add link). Counting On is being able to "hold" a quantity in their head and then add on to it. Students start with one of the addends and count on by ones until the second addend is reached. Once the student has grasped counting on then the next step would be to focus on efficiency with this strategy which leads into counting on from the larger amount and identifying that Counting On is only effective if your adding 1, 2, 3, 4 to a number (no higher amount).

How this supports student learning:
Being able to start counting at any number is important because it shows how well a student understands numerical order. For example, when a student adds 7+5, some students have to rote count to 7 and then begin counting on. Also, the Counting On strategy reinforces the commutative property of addition where a pair of numbers can be switched around without changing the result, for example, 5+7=7+5. This strategy puts them on the road to more efficient strategies.



Where to next?
You can reinforce the Counting On strategy by using a variety of manipulatives such as dominoes, linking cubes, ten frames, and number lines. Counting On activities can be found in the texts, "Number Talks" by Sherry Parish and "What to Look For" by Alex Lawson, specifically on page 162. (Copies of this book will be available in all schools shortly.)

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