Construction Zone: Subitising Play Tray is a hands-on, sensory-rich resource designed to help Early Years learners develop their subitising skills and build number sense. With a fun construction theme and engaging fine motor tasks, this play tray encourages students to recognise small quantities quickly, count accurately and explore numerical relationships through purposeful play.

Students dig through a tray filled with sensory materials, such as yellow sand, dyed rice or shredded paper, to find blocks that match a number represented on a construction card. The tactile nature of scooping, searching and collecting supports the development of fine motor skills, spatial awareness and hand-eye coordination. Each construction card features multiple visual representations of a number, providing repeated subitising practice in an exciting and interactive way.

The play tray setup is flexible, making it ideal for individual exploration, small group work or maths rotations. Whether used for targeting subitising to 5, 6 or 10, this activity supports both early number recognition and foundational counting skills. The optional labels and editable signage help you customise the experience to match your classroom needs or learning intention.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Subitise quantities to 5, 6 or 10 using visual prompts
• ✅ Develop fine motor strength and control through hands-on digging and collecting
• ✅ Strengthen number recognition and one-to-one correspondence
• ✅ Build vocabulary around quantity comparison (more, less, most, least)
• ✅ Foster problem solving, discussion and social interaction through shared play

What’s Included:

• Step-by-step teacher instructions including equipment list, setup guide and extension ideas
• Construction cards with eight visual representations of each number per page
• Optional wheelbarrow labels for student collection bowls
• Display signs for your play tray with and without learning intentions
• Editable sign templates for custom use

Materials Needed:

• Printed cards and signs on thick cardstock
• Sensory filler (e.g. yellow sand, rice or shredded paper)
• Plastic blocks (e.g. multi-link cubes) or similar small items
• Bowls or containers for collecting blocks
• Small toy shovels, vehicles or construction-themed props (optional)

How to Use:

• Set up the tray with your chosen sensory base and hide 50+ blocks inside
• Place construction cards face down in piles
• Students flip a card, subitise the number shown and dig to collect that many blocks
• Students store blocks in a bowl or 'wheelbarrow' labelled with their name
• Continue until students have completed several rounds or a set number of turns

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Use as a maths rotation or exploration station during numeracy sessions
• 💡 Incorporate into sensory play time to reinforce early counting concepts
• 💡 Pair with subitising flashcards or songs to reinforce number knowledge
• 💡 Extend the activity with colour sorting, tower building and data collection tasks

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Print all components on coloured cardstock for visual appeal and durability
• 💛 Offer guided practice before independent play to model subitising and counting strategies
• 💛 Pose questions like “How do you know it’s that number?” to encourage mathematical thinking
• 💛 Vary the challenge by adjusting the numbers or quantity of cards used

Construction Zone: Subitising Play Tray is a playful and purposeful resource that supports early number understanding through multisensory exploration. Whether digging, counting or sorting, students will love this maths-rich adventure in your classroom construction zone!