The development of young children's mathematical mark making

Supporting children's graphical representations through talk, gesture, play and story contexts Mathematical graphics offer opportunities for personal sense-making by providing a conceptual link between practical exploration and symbolic representation. A six-yearold, in charge of the charity shop role-play area can price items in whole pounds, for example, allowing them to successfully manage the addition of two or three items (Figure 4). [...]children build new knowledge by connecting and adapting existing understanding to deep understanding, where children can use and apply knowledge flexibly, providing a secure and stable basis for future learning. [...]deep understanding gained through mark making enables children to work autonomously, secure in the knowledge that they can record their process in a way that is meaningful to them.