Developing Number Sense in Pre-K with Five-Frames

Teachers in early childhood and elementary classrooms (grades K-5) have been using ten-frames as an instructional tool to support students’ mathematics skill development for many years. Use of the similar five-frame has been limited, however, despite its apparent potential as an instructional scaffold in the early elementary grades. Due to scant evidence of teacher use and a lack of systematic research we know little to nothing about both the developmental and pedagogical implications of using five frames and related instructional manipulatives in early childhood mathematics classrooms. In this paper, we provide an overview of five-frames and specifically demonstrate ways that five-frames, if used in conjunction with concrete manipulatives, can support pre-kindergarten (pre-K) children’s development of Gelman and Gallistel’s (1978) three basic counting principles: the stable-order principle, one-to-one correspondence, and cardinality. We conclude by discussing the developmental and instructional implications of using five-frames, as well as offer a set of teaching tips designed to help teachers maximize the potential advantages of integrating five-frames in the pre-K classroom.