Answer:
DEVELOPING PROFICIENCY WITH WHOLE NUMBERS
Whole numbers are the easiest numbers to understand and use. As we described in the previous chapter, most children learn to count at a young age and understand many of the principles of number on which counting is based. Even if children begin school with an unusually limited facility with number, intensive instructional activities can be designed to help them reach similar levels as their peers.1 Children’s facility with counting provides a basis for them to solve simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems with whole numbers. Although there still is much for them to work out during the first few years of school, children begin with substantial knowledge on which they can build.