Number Sense Journey — Pāngarau Tuatahi
Hamilton Zoo & NZ Conservation Sites
🎯 Three Progressions for Number Fluency
Learners count native birds, design feeding runs, and budget for enclosures at Hamilton Zoo and conservation sites including Tiritiri Matangi, Zealandia, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, and Otago Peninsula.
📚 Progression 1: Number Foundations (Years 1-2)
Counting to structured strategies. Big idea: Numbers name quantities, can be composed/decomposed, and support additive thinking to 20.
Counting Collections — Aviary & Wētā Survey
Subitising flashes, build bird groupings to 20, tens frames as "bird perches".
2Number Line Walks — Zoo Paths
Outdoor chalk lines as zoo pathways, jump counts forward/back to reach enclosures.
3Make-10 Treat Packs
Ten-frame games, rainbow facts, equation matching to pack treats for lemurs.
4Doubles & Near Doubles
Domino doubles, penguin pair cards, near doubles on kākā feeding posts.
5Part-Part-Whole Crates
Connecting cubes as crates, partition 12 fish, discuss efficient splits.
6Keeper Story Problems
Feeding route and native bird counts, act out add-to/take-from problems.
7Strategy Congress
Choose and defend counting-on vs make-10 when topping up habitats.
8Fluency Circuit & Mini Check
Games: cover-up tens frame, ladder races, quick image animal cards.
📚 Progression 2: Multiplicative Foundations (Years 3-4)
Place value to 1000 underpins efficient strategies for addition, subtraction, and early multiplication/division.
Place Value Towers — Giraffe Feed
Base-10 blocks, build 3-digit feed counts, expand and rename.
2Tidy Number Addition — Manifests
Number lines and tidy numbers for delivery totals.
3Efficient Subtraction — Inventory
Add-on and counting-back with open number lines.
4Arrays & Equal Groups — Viewing Seats
Build arrays, record as repeated addition and multiplication.
5Fact Families — Keeper Kits
×/÷ fact families for 2, 5, 10, then 3, 4 to pack keeper kits.
6Area Models — Map Overlays
Partition by place value, record partial sums on map grids.
7Multiplicative Strategies — Fencing
Doubling/halving, "make a tidy group" for fence panel estimates.
8Mixed Problems — Shift Handover
Choose and justify operation, peer feedback for shift handover.
Print Practice Sheets Instantly
Inspired by Math-Drills: generates contextualised problems using Hamilton Zoo scenarios. A5 format, 2 per A4 sheet.
Progression 1 — Addition/Subtraction to 20
Progression 2 — Place Value & Multiplication to 1000
📄 Resources / Ngā Rauemi
🎬 Videos & PLD
🦜 Context Sites
🌿 Te Ao Māori Integration
📋 Curriculum Alignment
Te Mātaiaho: Number — Quantify, order, compare; use place value to operate
NZC Mathematics — Number & Algebra L1-4:
- Number knowledge and additive strategies to 20
- Place value to 1000, tidy number strategies
- Basic multiplication/division facts
- Multiplicative strategies, fraction/decimal equivalence
Whakataukī: Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu — With structure, ideas fly
📎 Unit Resources
Downloadable handouts, worksheets, and materials for this unit.