The pre-numerical period is preparatory to the study of numeration and the first ten. During this period, it is necessary to identify the stock of mathematical knowledge and skills of each child entering school and prepare them for further work.
In this case, it is necessary to determine whether the child can count and within what limits, whether he understands the meaning of the terms “more”, “less”, “the same”. To what extent does he master the concepts of “left-right”, “top-bottom”, “front-back”, “before-after-between”, etc. To do this, during the conversation, each student is asked to complete several tasks such as:
1) Count the pictures. How many pictures are there?
2) Take in your left hand the same number of pencils as there are on the table.
3) Which pencils are more: blue or red?
4) Look at the picture for the fairy tale “Turnip” and say who is standing in front of Zhuchka, after the cat, between the cat and the granddaughter.
If the student copes with the tasks, then he should be offered more complex ones, for example, on addition and subtraction within 10, on recognizing numbers and names of geometric figures. The information obtained should be written down and used later for individual work.
The teacher develops the concept of number gradually, showing that there are different ways of forming numbers: in the process of counting, measuring, and by performing arithmetic operations.
Counting skills should be practiced in every lesson, and it is necessary to count objects, and not just name numbers in direct and reverse order. An important point is to point out to children that when counting, they cannot skip objects or count the same object several times. Objects should be counted in direct and reverse order, paying attention to the fact that the result of the count does not depend on the order of the count.
That you can count not only from the left or right, but also from top to bottom and bottom to top, for example, the steps of a school staircase.
It is necessary to teach children to use not only cardinal numbers, but also ordinal numbers, offering exercises: “Count like this: one, two, three…” and “Count like this: first, second, third…”. At the same time, it is necessary to draw children’s attention to the fact that if the last object turns out to be the third, then there are three objects in total, and vice versa, if there are three objects, then the last object will be the third, and that the third is only one object.
In the pre-numerical period, it is important to carry out work aimed at teaching how to compare objects and establish relationships: “more-less”, “the same”, “longer-shorter”. This is done when performing practical exercises: a pencil is longer than a pen, a notebook is lighter than a textbook, notebooks are the same width, etc. Students measure out the classroom in steps, count how many glasses of water fit in a jar, etc.
With the help of practical exercises in the pre-numerical period, spatial concepts of schoolchildren are clarified, for example, put notebooks on the left and textbooks on the right; find a picture in the upper left corner of the textbook page, etc. To master ordinal relationships: before-after-between, the teacher asks the class to line up and gives the task to determine who stands in front of Vova, who stands after him, and who stands between him and Tanya.
It often happens that in the first days of school, children show weak skills in writing numbers. Therefore, it is necessary to teach how to hold a pen and pencil correctly, highlight a line and a cell, and arrange notes in a notebook evenly. For this, it is useful to draw patterns of dots, sticks, plus and minus signs.
During this preparatory period, it is necessary to introduce children to the math textbook, the workbook, the ruler, and other aids. If necessary, they should be taught how to use them.
The question of what those schoolchildren who already have some mathematical training should do during this pre-numerical period is a difficult one, because such children may find the first lessons in mathematics uninteresting and become disappointed. In this case, an individual approach is necessary.