Our Subitising Dots Worksheets Promote Flexible Thinking

These differentiated Subitising Dots Worksheets partner purposefully with our Subitising to 10 Teaching Slides, but can be used on their own to help your students learn to subitise up to 10 in various ways. 

Two versions of this resource are provided so you can choose what works best for your students: 

Subitising Dots Worksheets: Students are shown a variety of dot arrangements and asked to circle four different groupings that they “see” as they subitise the dots. 

Subitising Dots Worksheets (With Equations): In addition to the dot arrangements, an equation below the dots proposes possible groupings. Students are asked to circle the dots based on this equation to help them begin to “see” a variety of groupings. This version is great for students who need a bit of scaffolding!

What Are the Two Types of Subitising?

Many teachers are familiar with the concept of subitising, but did you know there are two types? It’s true! For best results, give your students practise with both!

Perceptual Subitising: Seeing up to five objects and instinctively and instantly knowing how many there are because the number of objects is so small. 

Conceptual Subitising: Subitising by breaking down a larger number of objects into smaller sets (usually 5 and under) to mentally combine them together. 

This resource focuses on conceptual subitising. Students “see” multiple smaller sets in their minds to help them subitise the larger set. At Teach Starter we have resources to help your students with both methods! 

Quickly Download and Get Subitising 

These subitising dots worksheets are available in both easy-to-print PDF and Google Slides format. Click the drop-down arrow located on the download button to choose the option that works best for you. 

This resource was created by Brittany Kellogg, a teacher and a Teach Starter collaborator.

More Subitising Worksheets and Activities 

If you are looking for more subitising resources for your foundation students, look no further! Some of our favourites are linked below. 

[resource:5113179] [resource:5112278] [resource:5112871]