Early Relationships Among Sequence Number Words, Counting Correspondence, and Cardinality

Abstract

Earlier chapters have focused on young children’s ability to produce the number-word sequence (chapter 2), make accurate correspondences when counting (chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6), and relate counting to developing concepts of cardinality (chapters 7, 8, and 9). In this chapter data are provided that indicate how these various aspects of counting in a cardinal situation fit together for children of varying ages, that is, how relatively difficult these aspects of counting are. The focus here is only on the earliest relationship between counting and cardinality, the ability to answer a how-many question with the last counted word.