What Features does Das klein Zahlenbuch Have in the Early Childhood Mathematics Education in Germany? (I): Through the Practical Perspectives of Different Cards in the Book

Abstract

　　The article investigates the series of Das klein Zahlenbuch, published by Wittmann und Müller in a project for mathematics education, called ‘mathe 2000’. Focusing on teaching and learning materials which are various cards of insects, animals, pies, dices and so on, in the second part of the book, Zahlenbuch Teil 2 Schauen und Zählen (2004), the author discusses how the theoretical perspective is reflected to the practical aspect of those cards. As a result, in the playing book, children are expected to grasp numbers from 1 to 5 intuitively and to combine those numbers to understand bigger numbers such as 6 to 12. Through a variety of plays and games using the same cards, the multiple ways of expressing numbers are identified, which would foster children’s consciousness of numbers with the recognition of cardinal numbers.