FoNS involves systematic counting (Berch 2005; Clarke and Shinn 2004; Gersten et al. 2005; Griffin 2004; Van de Rijt et al. 1999) and includes notions of ordinality (Ivrendi 2011; Jordan et al. 2006; LeFevre et al. 2006; Malofeeva et al. 2004; Van Luit and Schopman 2000). It entails counting to twenty and back or counting upwards and backwards from an arbitrary starting point (Jordan and Levine 2009; Lipton and Spelke 2005), knowing that each number occupies a fixed position in the sequence of all numbers (Griffin 2004).
Counting skills underpin arithmetical competence in general (Gersten et al. 2005; Passolunghi et al., 2007; Stock et al., 2010) and mental arithmetical competence in particular (Lyons and Beilock 2011).
References
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Griffin, S. (2004). Building number sense with Number Worlds: A mathematics program for young children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19(1), 173-180.
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