Young children intuitively organize numbers on straight, horizontal lines from left to right before the onset of formal instruction

Abstract

AbstractThe number line estimation task is frequently used to measure children's numerical magnitude understanding. It is unclear whether the resulting straight, horizontal, left‐to‐right‐oriented estimate patterns indicate task constraints or children's intuitive number–space mapping. Three‐ to six‐year‐old children (N = 72, Mage = 4.89, 56% girls, 94% German citizenship) were asked to explain the meaning of numbers to a teddy by laying out a rope and attaching cards showing non‐symbolic numerosities (dots) to it. Most children intuitively created straight, horizontal, and left‐to‐right‐oriented representations. Characteristics of the line correlated with age, mathematical competencies, and home numeracy. This demonstrates the usefulness of the number line estimation task for assessing how children intuitively map numbers onto space.