{"id":27911,"date":"2024-09-20T11:18:36","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T19:18:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.abcmouse.com\/learn\/?p=27911"},"modified":"2025-05-28T07:59:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T15:59:05","slug":"what-is-subitizing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abcmouse.com\/learn\/advice\/what-is-subitizing\/27911","title":{"rendered":"What is Subitizing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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What is Subitizing? Plus, How to Teach It to Your Child <\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Subitizing is part of daily life. Learn about this important math skill, and get tips and fun activities to help your child master the concept. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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By Jill Staake<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviewed by Owen Bissell<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Table of Contents<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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What is Subitizing?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is Subitizing a Useful Math Skill? <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Do Children Learn Subitizing?<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Teach Subitizing<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subitizing Activities for Practice at Home <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While parents are familiar with many of the math terms used in early number sense skills<\/a>, there’s one many have never heard of: subitize (pronounced \u201cSOO-bi-tahyz\u201d). Here\u2019s what subitizing is, and why your child needs to learn this foundational skill. Plus, get fun subitizing activities to try at home! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Subitizing? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Subitizing is the ability to look at a group of objects and automatically know how many there are without counting them. It\u2019s an innate skill for most adults. We look at a bowl of apples on the counter and can see that there are four, without needing to count them one by one. Most people can easily subitize groups containing up to six objects at a brief glance. This is known as perceptual subitizing. <\/p>\n\n\n

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While subitizing usually works best with smaller numbers, it can be adapted for larger numbers by breaking big groups down into smaller ones. This skill, known as conceptual subitizing, is especially helpful when items are shown in predictable patterns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Think of rolling a pair of dice. The dots on each side are arranged in patterns you\u2019ve become very familiar with over time. In a snap, your brain recognizes the pattern of three dots on one die and six dots on the other. Without conscious thought, you add the numbers together for a total of nine. That\u2019s subitizing! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ABCmouse Preschool Math Program<\/a> includes interactive activities to build number sense, including subitizing and early counting strategies.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why is Subitizing a Useful Math Skill? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Subitizing is a real time-saver. When you can scan a collection of objects and know the total without needing to count them out, you\u2019re able to move on to the next task more quickly. But that\u2019s not the only benefit of being able to subitize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you subitize larger numbers, you break them into smaller groups and then add them together. (Tally marks are a good example.) This is really what addition and subtraction are all about: decomposing numbers into smaller groups and adding them back together again. Subitizing helps kids see that bigger numbers are made up of multiple smaller ones, the foundation for arithmetic skills like addition and multiplication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subitizing can help kids with skip counting too (e.g. \u201cthree, six, nine, twelve \u2026\u201d). In fact, adults use subitizing and skip counting all the time when counting large numbers of items. Imagine you have a bowl of pennies you need to count. You dump them out on the table, then begin pulling them aside in groups of twos or threes, counting as you go until you get to the total. You\u2019re using both subitizing and skip counting to complete the task. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tip: <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Practice skip counting skill with these free printable skip counting worksheets<\/a> for kids.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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When Do Children Learn Subitizing?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kids start picking up this skill at a surprisingly young age, often before they can formally count. If you offer a toddler two piles of their favorite snack (e.g. strawberries), they\u2019ll likely pick the one that has more items in it, even though they may not be able to count yet.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Preschool children (ages 3 to 5) officially begin learning to count items, one by one. Around the same time, they begin to subitize smaller groups, starting with three or four items in a group. By kindergarten and early elementary, this number increases to five or six items in a single glance. At this age, you may start to see subitizing listed as a formal learning objective in the curriculum. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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After that, subitizing gets a little more complex (conceptual subitizing). Students learn to break bigger groups into smaller ones and look for recognizable patterns that make subitizing possible as they build their math abilities further. Through both explicit and implicit instruction and practice, they master the subitizing skills they\u2019ll use throughout their school years and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How to Teach Subitizing<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although this skill becomes subconscious over time, it\u2019s still smart to teach and practice subitizing skills with your child. This may be something that comes easily to them, or it could require more specific instruction. Here\u2019s how to get started. <\/p>\n\n\n\n