Funny Numbers

Hello Everyone! Allow me to intrude myself. 

I'm 48! 

My friends call me "4 ten 8."

You can call me "4 ten 8" too.

Or you can use my funny name "3 ten 18!"

Thanks to our MathMaster Greg Tang, our second grade students continue to use Number Nicknames and Funny Numbers to build their conceptual understanding of place value and fluently add and subtract within 100. 

Number Nicknames? Funny Numbers? They are easy. 

Number Nicknames allow us to talk about numbers using a predictable pattern. 
For example, when we count (in English) we say:
  0,   1,   2,   3,   4,   5,   6,   7,   8,   9, 
10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19,
20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, etc. 

Perhaps you noticed the "un-friendly non-familiar pattern" of our teen numbers. This makes it difficult for our children to learn and internalize the patterns in which we red and write numbers. So Greg Tang suggested giving the nicknames.

12 is 1 ten 2
15 is 1 ten 5
37 is 3 ten 7 
and so on. 

And while our students are speaking in nicknames they are building a place value understanding. 

But wait, there's more. We the explore Funny Numbers to continue to build conceptual understanding of non-standard partitioning. Typically, we think of 49 as 40 + 9 (standard partitioning). But we need to be flexible in our thinking of numbers as we break them into parts. So 49 is also 30 + 19,  20 + 29, etc. To help students achieve this we use Funny Numbers.  

We begin with our nicknames.

83 is "8 ten 3" but its funny number is "7 ten 13. With enough practice students begin to speak "fluent funny number."

Why is that important? Well, having a solid understanding of place value allows students to add and subtract with greater fluency, understanding, and accuracy. 

If you were born before 2000 (give or take a couple of years) you gravitate towards the standard algorithm for most mathematical calculations. Algorithms are important--they are the most efficient ways to calculate. But not many of us born before 2000 truly understand what is happening in the algorithm or why it works. 

With Funny Numbers we can teach conceptual understanding, encourage practice and then transition to the standard algorithm easily. 

Here is an example:

Some of our second graders were invited to share this with our Board of Education. 

Introducing ourselves: Formal Names, Nicknames and Funny Numbers!

Playing Funny Numbers with Board of Education Members

More Funny Numbers

Now watch some of our second graders in action!