This article is an examination of children's understanding of the properties of the letter and number sequences they have learned to recite. The developmental claim is that the form of children's early mental representations of those systems must change in order to support the cognitive skills they serve, namely, reading and arithmetic. Competence with the written notation systems depends on advances in the representation of the concepts. Some evidence from children's understanding of written language and written numbers is presented to show that the early conceptions are inadequate for engaging in symbolic thought. The specialized form of knowing needed for literacy and numeracy skills is called symbolic representation. This develops gradually and is not evident until children are about 6 years old.
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