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S-01 — The child can't see a quantity without counting (impaired subitizing)
How many without counting
Builds: Instant perception of quantity (subitizing)
You need: dice or dot cards (1–6), a stopwatch
  1. Show a dot card for 1–2 seconds and take it away.
  2. The child says how many there are — not counting one by one, but “grabbing” the amount with a glance.
  3. If it doesn't work, show the card for longer and let them study the arrangement of the dots.
  4. Gradually shorten the showing time.
  5. Harder: show two dice at once — how many dots in total?
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, ch. 3
quantity-perceptionsubitizingpreschoolgrade-1
S-01 — The child can't see a quantity without counting (impaired subitizing)
Find the same amount
Builds: Matching quantities without counting
You need: domino tiles or dot cards, coins or counters
  1. Show one half of a domino tile.
  2. The child lays out the same number of coins next to it — by eye, without counting.
  3. Check together: do they match? If not, where are there more?
  4. Harder: both halves of the domino — lay out as many coins as there are dots in total.
  5. Goal: the child learns to match quantities visually, without counting one by one.
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, ch. 4
quantity-perceptionsubitizingpreschoolgrade-1
S-01 — The child can't see a quantity without counting (impaired subitizing)
A number line with dots
Builds: Subitizing, ordinal counting, linking quantity and number
You need: 12 dot cards from 1 to 12 (you can draw them by hand), a strip with 12 spaces
  1. Spread the dot cards out on the table in random order.
  2. Pick up the card with one dot and say: “One dot is one. Which card comes next?”
  3. The child finds the right card and explains the choice.
  4. Together, lay the cards out in order from left to right.
  5. When the row is ready, remove one card and ask: “Which one is missing?”
  6. Harder: the child lays out the row alone, and the adult looks for the “mistake”.
Baryaeva L.B., Kondratyeva S.Yu. Dyscalculia in Children, 2013, pp. 83–84
quantity-perceptionsubitizingpreschoolgrade-1
S-01 — The child can't see a quantity without counting (impaired subitizing)
The number path: counting forwards and backwards
Builds: Counting forwards and backwards within 10, naming a number's neighbors
You need: digit cards 0–10, small objects such as pebbles or buttons
  1. Lay the digit cards from 0 to 10 in a row on the floor — this is the “path”.
  2. Ask the child to say all the numbers in order, touching each one with a finger.
  3. Talk about it: “Where do we see numbers in everyday life?” — house numbers, ages, floors.
  4. Remove one card: “Which one has gone?”
  5. Ask the child to say the numbers in reverse order: from 10 down to 0.
  6. The “Neighbors” game: you say a number, the child says which comes before and after.
  7. Harder: the cards are shuffled — the child restores the order alone.
Baryaeva L.B., Kondratyeva S.Yu. Dyscalculia in Children, 2013, p. 86
quantity-perceptionsubitizingpreschoolgrade-1
S-01 — The child can't see a quantity without counting (impaired subitizing)
Put the number line back together
Builds: Restoring a sequence of digits, finding the mistake in a row
You need: digit cards 1–10
  1. Spread the digit cards out on the table in random order.
  2. Pick up the card with the digit 1: “This is the first. What comes next?”
  3. The child finds the 2 and places it alongside.
  4. Continue to 10, saying out loud: “After three comes four, because...”
  5. When the row is ready, remove one card and swap two others.
  6. Ask: “What's wrong? Find it and explain.”
  7. Harder: the child lays out the row and makes one deliberate mistake — you guess which.
Baryaeva L.B., Kondratyeva S.Yu. Dyscalculia in Children, 2013, p. 87
quantity-perceptionsubitizingpreschoolgrade-1
S-02 — The child always counts from one and can't “count on”
Count on
Builds: Counting from any number, not from one
You need: a number strip 0–20
  1. Put your finger on the number 6 on the number strip.
  2. Say: “Count on from six — seven, eight...”
  3. The child continues without starting from one.
  4. Harder: remove the strip and say the starting number out loud.
  5. Next level: “Start at 8 and add 4 — without starting from the beginning.”
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, ch. 3
sequencingprocedural-fluencygrade-1grade-2
S-03 — The child skips numbers when counting or says them out of order
Who are the neighbors?
Builds: Finding your way along the number line, understanding how neighboring numbers relate
You need: number cards 1–20
  1. Lay the cards out in a row. Point to any number: “Who lives next to seven?”
  2. The child names the neighbors: 6 and 8.
  3. Remove the card and ask again — this time without anything to look at.
  4. Harder: “Name the number whose neighbors are 11 and 13.”
  5. Counting backwards: “Name the neighbors of ten if we count backwards.”
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, ch. 3
sequencinglong-term-memorygrade-1grade-2
S-03 — The child skips numbers when counting or says them out of order
Find them and say them in order
Builds: Finding numbers in a sequence and keeping the order in mind
You need: sticky notes or slips of paper, a marker
  1. Write the numbers from 1 to 20 on separate sticky notes — one on each.
  2. Scatter them on the table, numbers facing up.
  3. Task: find 1 and set it aside, then 2, then 3 — in order up to 20.
  4. The child looks for each next number among the scattered notes.
  5. Harder: turn the notes face down — flip them over one at a time and build the row.
  6. Goal: the child says the next number even before finding the right note.
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, ch. 4
sequencinglong-term-memorygrade-1grade-2
S-04 — The child confuses 14 and 40, 15 and 50 — numbers that sound alike
Fingers don't lie
Builds: Telling the teens apart from the round tens through physical reinforcement
You need: just your hands
  1. Explain the rule: tens are shown on the left hand, ones on the right.
  2. Say a number: “Forty.”
  3. The child shows 4 fingers on the left hand (4 tens) and 0 on the right.
  4. Say: “Fourteen.”
  5. The child shows 1 finger on the left hand (1 ten) and 4 on the right.
  6. Mix up the numbers: 16, 60, 13, 30, 17, 70.
  7. Harder: the child names the number from the adult's fingers.
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, ch. 3
language-processinglong-term-memorygrade-1grade-2
S-05 — The child thinks the quantity changes when objects are rearranged
The same pile
Builds: Conservation of number
You need: 5–7 identical objects: coins, buttons or counters
  1. Lay 5 coins out in a row. Ask: “How many coins are there?”
  2. Gather the coins into a pile without taking any away. Ask: “And how many now?”
  3. If the child says “fewer”, don't correct them straight away. Suggest counting again together.
  4. Repeat 3–4 times with different arrangements: in a line, in a circle, close together, far apart.
  5. The goal is the moment when the child says on their own: “It's still five — you didn't take any away.”
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, ch. 1
countingpreschoolgrade-1