Sternenfänger ist ein etwas abstrakter Begriff. Vereinfacht könnte man sagen, dass ein Sternenfänger eine Person oder Figur ist, die Sterne fängt oder sammelt. Ob es dabei um echte Sterne geht, zum Beispiel in Geschichten oder Mythen, oder um symbolische Sterne – also zum Beispiel Erfolge, Träume oder Ziele, die man erreichen will- hängt vom Kontext ab.

Here you can find information and tips on how to use the app.

Games

The Star Catcher educational game helps children learn different quantities. They have to learn how many things there are without counting them. They also have to learn how to divide large quantities into smaller quantities. The game makes learning fun. In the game, children catch stars in the sky. It's like counting and dividing. There are seven different exercises. Each exercise gets more difficult over time.

1. Starcatcher: In this exercise you see a starry sky. You have to circle a certain number of stars with your finger as quickly as possible. The exercise continues until the sun rises. If you find the stars quickly, they disappear from the sky. This gives you more points. Sometimes there are also UFOs in the sky. But you are not allowed to circle the UFOs.

2. Starfinder: In this game, stars are drawn in groups. Your task is to find the correct group for the number at the top of the screen and click on it quickly. Can you find all the groups before daybreak?

3. Starfield: In this exercise you will see many stars in different colors. You have to find stars of the same color that are next to each other, above or below each other. Sometimes there are UFOs that stand on a star. You are not allowed to tap on these stars.

4. Shooting stars: In this exercise, many stars rain down from the sky. You have to guess the correct number very quickly.

5. Falling Stars: In this exercise, stars fall from top to bottom. You have to catch the stars before they reach the bottom of the screen. It is similar to the game Star Catcher.

6. Starlights: In this game, groups of stars flash. You have to identify them. The children write the number of stars in a grey box. You can write with your finger or a special pen.

7. Star puzzle: In this game, the child has to find numbers. There is a number that has to be reached. Part of the number is already there. The child now has to quickly find the missing part of the number and click on it.

When the child plays a game, they get points. If they solve the game quickly, they get more points. This is intended to help them learn faster and improve. The child can see how good they are by clicking on the trophy button. They can also print out a certificate there.

options for setting

In the app, you can set the language and sounds as you need them. If you only want to practice with certain numbers, you can set that too.

Children who have difficulty learning and who struggle with games when they have to be quick are given more time. The playing time is doubled.

There is a way to see the data from the measured flash times. But only teachers are allowed to do this. They can use it to see how well the students are learning and where they still need help. It looks like a picture with lines and dots for each day of practice.

Instructional Integration

To support simultaneous and near-simultaneous quantity recognition, students need special exercises and activities to help them learn to recognize quantities immediately. Here are some ways you can incorporate this into your classroom using this app:

flash cards to start with

Use cards with a few dots (stars), lines or similar to start the exercises. Show the card briefly and ask the children to quickly say how many things they see without counting. After this exercise, the children can continue practicing with the app on their own and at their own pace. You can also do other exercises, such as pair exercises.

Exercise: Recognizing things

Teach children to see patterns in pictures. For example, they can learn that four dots often look like a square or a cross. Or that five dots are arranged like the "5" on a cube. This will help them recognize large quantities quickly. They should also learn to divide quantities into smaller groups. For example, show them a picture with eight dots and ask them to see it as two smaller groups (like 4 and 4, or 5 and 3). After they've practiced with an app, you can talk to the children about how they can recognize quantities even faster. You can also share ideas about how to quickly recognize large quantities by dividing them into smaller groups.

Practice briefly but over a longer period of time.

Exercises for quick glances and pattern recognition require practice and time. This enables children to grasp numbers and quantities better and faster. It is good to repeat these exercises often. This can be at the beginning of a school lesson, for example. Or you can use an app or other quick glance exercises again and again. For example, in different work stations or in the weekly plan. There is even a badge in the app. Children get this when they have practiced with the app on many days.

Background to the teaching methods

The ability to quickly recognize sets of numbers is very important for learning calculation methods that do not require counting. It is also necessary for being able to use tools such as the abacus or number fields well. Children who recognize sets quickly and almost simultaneously, without counting, learn to calculate better and faster. They also understand mathematics better in other respects.

The simultaneous quantity recording Subitizing is the ability to quickly recognize small quantities. Usually, these are three or four things. For example, a child immediately recognizes three apples in a picture without counting them. Almost simultaneous quantity recording means recognizing larger quantities by seeing smaller groups and adding them together. For example, a child sees six apples as four apples plus two apples and can quickly get to six.

The ability to count things quickly is important for math skills. This ability helps to solve math problems better. It also helps to better understand math concepts. This ability is trained in the first two years of school. Special exercises help with this, for example in an app. These exercises help to count things faster and to recognize them better. They are short, intensive and the images often change quickly. The students have to quickly count how many things they see. These exercises help to get better at math.

In this app you have to do everything quickly. That's important. Because with the exercises in the app you can learn to be faster. That's better than counting everything slowly.