A student's understanding of quantity is determined by his or her ability to construct relationships based on varying quantities. Constructing relationships is dependent upon a child's ability to make comparisons between sets of objects. For prekindergarten students, this includes the conceptual understanding of more and less. These concepts initially create some confusion for students. For example, a set of five objects is more than a set of one object. Conversely, a set of five objects is less than a set of eight objects. Experiences for these concepts should include using a multitude of contexts and manipulatives.
 

The term, less, is a more difficult concept than more when children compare quantities. The first reason is because the term, more, is used quite frequently in children's conversations. Examples of this are: "Would you like more juice?" "May I have more paper?" Rarely do young children ask for "less" of something.
 

Secondly, thinking about the meaning of less is difficult. Something that is not there is more abstract than thinking about something that can be seen as having more. The concept of less needs to be modeled. When students line up two quantities being compared in two rows and use a matching strategy and one-to-one correspondence, it helps them to understand what is less and what is more.