As all our youngsters begin their schooling in math they are asked to be able to count and write the numbers to 100, and count backwards from 10 – 0. Funny, we are never asked to know the alphabet z to a, but I digress. I am willing to bet that most of you fine Kindergarten teachers count 1 to 10, but you are asked to have your children learn these same numbers backwards ending with 0. A bit confusing in my mind. I think we could look at it with a small change, and it may make the concept of the larger numbers easier.
Rather than starting with 1, lets start with 0.
These are our digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 9. There are ten of them, and that is why our system is called BASE TEN. We write our numbers based on these ten digits, and no more. More over, this list of digits is our pattern, 0 to 9. It tells us size, order, magnitude. So lets use that to our advantage. Now that we have listed our digits, 0 – 9, what is next, and why?
You students will probably know that it is 10, but now you can point out something as you move from 10 through 19. You repeated your 0 – 9, and placed a 1 in front of all of them to get 10 – 19. As you year progresses, and you stretch toward 100, our 0 – 9 keeps repeating, and our 1 goes to 2 the to 3 and
4 all the way to 9. This gives us our last 2–digit number 99. But, by this time, hopefully they realize that again we have run out of digits in our 2 places, and we need to add another place. This makes the creation of the number 100 more real to the students, as it follows the pattern. It also gives the digit 0 more strength in the minds of your students. It may mean, having no value, however, its importance in Math is undeniable. Try this method if you are not using it already , or let me know why it may bother you. Remember, it is just an idea, and because I believe in pattern first, concept second, we need to begin with a pattern.
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