Learning numbers in kindergarten
How to Teach Numbers 1-10 in Kindergarten – KindergartenWorks
Number sense and learning to write and use numbers 0-10 is a pretty big deal the first nine weeks of kindergarten.
Here is a set of materials that helps me teach kindergarteners how to form the numerals and teach them how to count one-to-one all the way to ten.
Because, let's be honest.
Lots of kinders come in counting to ten skills - and then also - lots don't. I have found that it's very common to have incoming students that can only count up to four or five objects correctly.
Here's what I created to use in my classroom and you can use it too.
Teach them with a story
Just like I've learned that teaching procedures with a story is very effective, I've learned that teaching numbers with a story is effective too.
But I didn't really like any books that existed because they didn't teach students literally "this is how you count" and "this is how to make a 4. " And that's just what I needed.
So, I created the monster numbers book and also turned it into an audiobook.
My kinders love it and it helps me teach a lot in a short amount of time.
It talks about the process of counting 1:1 all the way up to four.
It capitalizes on the fact that most students can count that many objects but pushes them to see that counting uses a pattern that they can apply to every number after.
As a teacher, you simply use the repeated phrases from the book "When you touch one, you say a number. When you touch another one, you say the next number" when you are working with kids who need help counting and touching objects one-to-one.
After that, it goes over easy-to-remember number formation chants to practice forming the numerals correctly.
So you can have students practice doing this with you as you read - they quickly learn to chant along with you and can even draw numbers in the air with their finger as you read aloud.
Of course, the way to maximize teaching numbers with young students is to do this more than once.
You can print this story and read it as often as you want.
To make it more fun and interactive, let's talk about how to engage the student's whole body in order to learn how to write numbers even faster.
Teach them with a video
A video can take learning how to write numbers and make it more interactive. So, use this free Monster Numbers video for kindergarten to your advantage!
We love throwing it up on a big screen to practice forming numbers with arms, elbows, legs, and heads. So much fun!
It also works great if you break it up into parts to focus on just a couple of numbers!
Enjoy this free how to write numbers video - it's about 10 minutes so it is a mini-lesson in itself, but should help get kinders moving while they're learning.
Now that you've laid a good foundation by reading and re-reading Monster Numbers and showing the video a few times - it's time to give the students practice in small groups.
Teach them in small groups
Have your students create their own little Monster Numbers book and "capture" monsters by completing the pages.
I like using this as a lesson with my guided math groups.
The mini-book starts with the number 5, since that's where most kinders need work on counting 1:1 when they enter kindergarten.
Do a few pages together, using the chants you learned from the book and video, and let students get some pencil and paper practice.
Send the little books home so that parents can see what students are working on.
Use the number handwriting chants any time you can
Now that your students can practically recite the whole video along - it's time to use those easy-to-remember chants any time your students are working on writing numbers, or need help with writing numbers correctly.
Whenever students are attempting to write on their own, or you are writing numbers in front of the whole class (like during calendar time) - use the chants!
Prompt students with a few words and let them finish saying it aloud.
Send home a set of the chants to go home to parents so they can use them at home too!
Hopefully, these will earn some at-home fridge space for a few weeks. {wink}
Teach what is a ten frame
Help your students quickly develop number sense by helping them see numbers in an organized way.
Introduce a ten frame - using a ten frame has been critical for me to teach so many math skills. But, let me make it easy for you. Your kids have already been exposed to one!
The "monster keeper" from the book is a ten frame.
It's a great visual for kinders and you can print as many monster manipulatives you'd like.
Use the ten frame whole group or with your small groups as needed -they are fantastic for exploring how to count, touching objects 1:1, and getting to know the layout of a ten frame.
Teach them how counters of any kind can be placed into a ten frame to help objects stay organized and make it easier to count.
Down the line in the school year, students will learn that 5 on top and 2 on the bottom is 7 without having to count each object. That's powerful when it comes to teaching your students how to subitize larger numbers.
For now, teach them what a ten frame is and use it often for counting.
Related: How to make ten frame manipulatives
Use some independent activities
You've taught counting 1:1 and how to form numbers as a whole group, in small groups and now you need to give students lots of practice doing this on their own using independent activities.
There are tons of printables, simple games, and center activities out there that can help you accomplish this.
I made a center activity that didn't need an explanation of how to do it. This way I could use it at the beginning of the school year when kinders aren't very independent workers yet.
Since most students come into kindergarten with the general concept of how to do a puzzle - I simply made ten frames into number puzzles to bring it all together.
There are two different kinds of puzzles to allow for differentiation.
The 3-piece number puzzles all have the same shape which means they have to count if they are to get the puzzle correct.
Revisit what worked
If you've been teaching students how to count and how to form numbers:
- whole group
- in small groups
- with independent activities
and using the number chants whenever you can - your students will be well on their way to using numbers - not just learning them - in kindergarten!
Since the monster number ten frames are kinder-friendly, it's easy to use them again when it's time to introduce a new skill.
Once they know numbers to 10, it's time to dig deeper into numbers 0-5.
A special note - making 5 is a huge concept in kindergarten, so don't skip, ignore or gloss over it!
And then you're ready to focus on digging deeper into numbers 5-10.
Since I kind of loathe worksheets, I've made ten frame workmats. They are great for giving students a target number to make in different ways.
Students practice different ways of making numbers 5-10 You can use the workmats along with the recording sheets if you want.
They were fun to make and I love the idea of even using bingo-daubers for representing items in a ten frame. In this case, those daubers will create fantastic monsters.
Get Monster Numbers
If you love the idea of using this printable book and any of the printable resources, you can purchase the Monster Numbers Pack here:
Go to Purchase
You'll get:
- the 35-page printable "Monster Numbers" book
- Audio recording (mp3) of this book read aloud by me
- CD label image
- 3 differentiated sets of number puzzles (Matching numbers to ten frames 1-10)
- Handwriting 0-10 chant poster/parent resource
- 11 page "My Monster Numbers" mini-book
- 5 workmats and 5 matching recording sheets
- Manipulative monster pictures and monster-themed ten frames (Monster-Keepers)
Bonus: Teach them with playdough
I love teaching things in tactile ways.
Playdough is a staple material in my kindergarten classroom.
So, I made sure to create an independent activity that uses playdough to practice forming numbers and counting to ten.
These bonus playdough numeral formation and ten frame work mats still feature the monster keeper and familiar monsters - but transition students into using a plain ten frame to count their playdough monster balls.
You can simply laminate or slide the pages into a plastic sleeve and you're set to go!
Go to Purchase
Let's wrap it up
Teach numbers 1-10 in kindergarten by using: whole group, small group and independent activities.
Be sure to use books, videos, chants and get students moving and manipulating objects or playdough whenever you can to make it hands-on.
You're sure to maximize the time you spend teaching numbers to ten this way.
I hope that the Monster Numbers video and printable resources can help make it easier to quickly implement in your kindergarten classroom.
If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.
More Math
- Making 5 Fluency Ideas and Games
- Learning Teen Numbers in Kindergarten
- Teach: How to Draw a Ten Frame
- 2 Activities and 5 Videos to Teach 2D Shapes
5 Tips on How to Teach Numbers to Kids in Kindergarten
One of the first lessons we learn as kids is how to count numbers. Opening the door to mathematics, learning numbers is a crucial skill to master in the earliest years of education.
When teaching numbers, many strategies can help kids feel confident in counting independently. It’s not only important to establish the ability to count. Building an understanding of the numbers will help kids develop math skills in the future.
Teaching numbers doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With a patient approach and an engaging lesson plan, you will soon have your kids excited to count!
When Should Kids Start to Learn Numbers?
Children are exposed to numbers at the very beginning of their lives, whether that be with pattern recognition or the ability to discern quantity amounts. That being said, children can begin learning their numbers as early as preschool. Since math is all around us every day, there are many opportunities to encourage number retention among kids who are not confident with their numbers.
5 Tips for Teaching Numbers
At Learning Without Tears, we know that there are numerous strategies for teaching numbers to young children.
We believe that with a proper plan in place, every child can feel confident about their knowledge of numbers. Consider Learning Without Tears’ top five tips for teaching numbers to set your little ones up for success in mathematics.
1. Begin with Number Formation
There are only ten characters that you need to teach or remediate (0-9). Think about that, just 10.
Many of our children have names with more than 10 characters, especially when you consider writing their first and last name. It is much easier to teach ten numbers instead of 26 lowercase letters and 26 uppercase or capital letters. Also, numbers do not come in lowercase and uppercase. They are just one size. This makes teaching numbers for the first time or remediating numbers very easy as they are all made of the same size.
Click here to download a free copy of our Number Formation Chart.
2. Start at the Top with Numbers
So many children struggle with where to start letters or numbers when they are writing. They generally form letters and numbers inconsistently, sometimes starting at the top, the next time starting at the bottom, and the next time maybe starting in the middle. The results of these inconsistent start patterns and habits are usually letters or numbers that are poorly formed and difficult to recognize or to read.
All numbers start at the top. This is easy to remember. With the Handwriting Without Tears approach, we have a song, “Where Do You Start Your Letters.
” Well, one of the verses of that song goes, “Where do you start your numbers? At the top!” Yes! All numbers start at the top.
If you are not familiar with our song, you can find it on our albums, our workbooks, on our website, and as part of our Interactive Teaching Tools. The kids really love this song. We have a short version and a longer version that really gets the kids moving as they learn about start, top, and bottom. The song even teaches them how to “shake it in the middle,” which is so much fun for little kids. Please be sure to check it out. You will love this song, too!
3. Create Number Stories for Sequence
Consider how numbers are actually formed during the writing process. We refer to this as start and sequence. We now know that all numbers start at the top.
But what happens next? We call this sequence.
To help young children learn to write numbers, we have developed what we call Number Stories for each one. These are clever ways to help our young children remember the correct way to form their numbers. We use reference words about where the number will start, followed by sequence reference words to build the automaticity of forming the number.
These stories are found in our student and teacher books, on our website, and as a part of our Interactive Teaching Tools. Our number formation pages are free and can be found on our website. We even have them in Spanish!
4. Use Friendly Terminology
At Learning Without Tears, we use the terms Big Line, Little Line, Big Curve, and Little Curve.
All of the numbers can be made with these four basic strokes or shapes.
For our younger children, we build numbers using our Handwriting Without Tears Wood Pieces. As they progress and learn to hold a writing tool, we use small chalkboards and chalk to teach proper number formation. Then we introduce small crayons and Gray Blocks to provide a visual guideline for not only the formation of the number but for size and placement as well. Lastly, they will use a pencil and the Gray Blocks to produce numbers, eventually transitioning to a single baseline in their workbooks or on paper.
We even have an app for the iPad called Wet-Dry-Try to help teach, practice, and eventually master number formation. This is a great way to incorporate technology and add additional multisensory techniques to enhance learning opportunities for children. The Wet Dry Try app can also be used with capital and lowercase letters.
Check it out! Your children will really enjoy using this tool.
5. Teach Number Placement
The placement of numbers on paper is also something we need to teach and address during our summer number lessons. I have already mentioned some of our techniques and strategies previously.
All numbers are to be correctly placed on a single baseline. With young writers, we use the Slate Chalkboard to provide a strong visual and tactile representation of the baseline. This is also incorporated into the Wet-Dry-Try app for iPads.
When the children transition into a student workbook, they have a visual of the Gray Block to guide placement. The next step is to place the numbers, starting at the top, onto a single baseline.
Eventually, on math papers, the student will not have a line to place numbers on. At this level, they will “see” the line in their minds and place the numbers on it. This takes a while and a great deal of practice for children to be able to do this. Until then, use chalkboards, tablets, Gray Blocks, and lines to teach and remediate the placement of numbers.
Learning Without Tears Can Help Teach Numbers!
Our goal at Learning Without Tears is to help provide trustworthy academic resources and products to parents and teachers to help prepare children for growth and success. We know that every child can be taught their numbers, but we want to make teaching numbers an engaging and worthwhile experience. As one of the first building blocks for mathematics and future learning, teaching numbers is a lesson that should be approached with references and support that we at Learning Without Tears are more than happy to provide.
If you’re curious about the best way to learn how to teach numbers, Learning Without Tears has everything you need. We provide an extensive collection of educational products and resources that will have your child counting in no time. With a diverse selection of items to help students of all learning types, we’re confident that every child can benefit from the enriching teaching tools offered at Learning Without Tears. Explore our selection of free resources today to learn more!
Math class in the middle group "In the country of numbers" Kindergarten No. 30 | Plan-summary of a lesson in mathematics (middle group) on the topic:
Lesson in mathematics in the middle group "In the country of numbers" Kindergarten No. 30
Lesson in mathematics in the middle group is designed to teach children to distinguish and name known geometric shapes: a circle, square, triangle, quadrilateral, oval and group them by color, improve the ability to determine the position of geometric shapes in relation to each other, learn to count within four and correctly find the place of a number in ascending order.
Tasks:
Educational:
- teach children to distinguish and name known geometric shapes: circle, square, triangle, quadrilateral, oval and group them by color.
- improve the ability to determine the position of geometric shapes in relation to each other.
- teach children to count within four and correctly find the place of a number in ascending order.
- repeat verses about numbers within four.
- to expand the stock of words with the opposite meaning (antonyms) through the game "On the contrary".
- to form the ability to find a house according to a given number. (P.I. "Find your house")
Developing: to develop the ability to count and answer the teacher's questions.
Educational: to cultivate perseverance, the ability to work in a team.
Materials: 3 hoops with numbers 1, 2, 3; medallions for each child with numbers, a dog toy, a painted rug, 3 bear toys.
Handout: cards with numbers up to four.
Preliminary work:
- Geometric Lotto game.
- Shape and color game.
- Find your house game.
- The opposite game.
- Game "Extra Four"
- Game "Live Numbers".
Course of the lesson
- Guys, what do you think you can go on a trip? (by plane, train, car, etc.)
- You are correct. Shh! Guys, do you also hear that knocking? (yes)
- While we were talking about the trip here, it seems that someone came to visit us. (Walk to the door)
– Indeed, the dog has come. (I bring in a toy)
The dog heard that you will play today, she wants to play too. Shall we play with her? (yes) And the dog's name is Bobik.
– Bobik, what did you bring? Oh, turns out guys, that's the rug he sleeps on. And what an interesting, unusual. You are Bobik, sit down, and the guys and I will look at your rug.
– Guys, what geometric shape does the rug look like? (per rectangle)
– What is the rug decorated with? (geometric shapes)
– What geometric shapes do you see? (triangle, circle, oval, square, rectangle)
- What color are they? (blue, red)
– On which side of the carpet are the blue geometric shapes? (on the left)
– And the red ones? (on the right)
- And what figure is on top of the circle? (triangle)
– From the bottom of the circle? (oval)
– And between which figures is the rectangle located? (between square and triangle)
– Well done guys, did you like the rug? (yeah)
- Guys, Bobik asks if you and I know the numbers.
Bobik, the guys know the numbers. You will be convinced of this. Now we will play the game "Live numbers".
Live Numbers Game
Rules: 4 children receive numbers from 1 to 4, the leader is chosen and put the numbers correctly in order. The game is repeated 2 times.
– Amal, where will you put Alena?
– Nikita, what, after whom will you put?
- What do you guys think, did Amal arrange the children correctly? (children's answers)
– Well done! And now let's have a rest, do a physical education minute.
(I spend a physical education session with the children)
- Bobik, we know another game, it's called Find the Number.
Find the number game
- Guys, you have plates laid out on the tables, and there are numbers in them. Let's show Bobik a number that indicates how many spouts he has? (children show)
- What is the number Vyacheslav? Amal? (one)
- Bobik, the children showed correctly that you have one nose.
And let's tell Bobik a poem about the number one.
Here is one, or one -
Very thin, like a knitting needle.
Now show me the number that indicates how many eyes Bobik has?
- What number are you showing Nikita? (two)
– Nastya, look at Bobik, how many eyes does he have? (two)
- And what poem do we know about the number two?
And this is the number two.
Admire what it is like:
The deuce arches its neck,
Dragging its tail behind it.
- Well done guys. Guys, we read a fairy tale about bears that live in the forest. Let's count them, how many there were.
There lived… dad, mom and a little bear (showing toys)
Now show me the number that indicates how many there are?
- What number is Danil showing? (three)
– Polina, how many bears were there? (three)
About the number three, what poem do we know? Tell Angelina.
Look at this,
The number three is speaking.
Troika is the third of the badges.
Consists of two hooks.
- Let's show Bobik a number that indicates how many paws he has? (I go with the dog to the child).
– Sasha count how many paws the dog has? (four). Did you show correctly? (yes)
– And you, Igor, what number did you raise? (four)
- Bobik, we also know a poem about the number four.
Look, four is a chair,
Which I turned over.
– What good fellows you are! And you, Bobik, did you like the answers of our children? Since we liked it, we want to play one more game. Will the guys show Bobik the game "On the contrary"? (yes)
– Well, then I invite you to the rug.
– Bobik, you and I are coming with us.
Reverse game
Rules: children stand in a circle, I throw the ball to the child, saying "wide". The child catches the ball and returns it with the words "narrow". I use the parameters of magnitude, weight, time concepts, etc.
Long - short,
Large - small,
Low - high, etc.
- Everyone was named correctly. Well done! Bobik, stop sitting, come play with us.
Find your house outdoor game
Rules: There are 3 hoops on the floor inside each hoop of numbers, from 1 to 3. By the number of the medallion, the children look for their houses.
Together with the dog we check the correctness of the task, I ask the children questions.
- Well done, guys. (I praise the children) Bobik really enjoyed playing with us. Let's ask Bobik to stay in our group, (stay Bobik). He agrees, Bobik stays.
Educational games Learn numbers for kids
Contents
- Cards with sheep "Learn numbers"
- Copy-book numbers
- Circle the correct numbers
- Lego numbers
- Learning numbers games for kids
- Name it!
- Make the number
- on cells
- Finds
- Pantomime
- Coarse
- Gymnastics for
- Find the error Games Tan.
- Mixed domino
- Print "Learn numbers" tasks for kids
- Digital maze
- Count up to 10 on fingers
for children Educational games "Learn numbers" for kids: a selection of fun games and tasks. Print out children's tasks with numbers for preschoolers.
Children aged 2-5 usually do not yet know all the numbers, but only name or “recognize” some of them. Kids confuse a number and a number, a number and a letter, they confuse numbers with each other: zero and the letter 0, G and 1, 2 and 5, 9 and 6, 1 and 4, etc. They often break the sequences between adjacent numbers from a row.
Certain difficulties arise in some children when the result of the count must be indicated by a number or the figure must be correlated with the required number of items.
Lessons "Learn numbers" for preschool children will allow you to easily and quickly eliminate such problems in a playful way.
Here: games for children "Let's learn letters".
Cards with sheep "Learning numbers"
Educational cards - visual material, convenient for explaining any topic. Therefore, it is successfully used in the study of numbers.
Copy-book numbers
Here: print additional copy-book numbers for children.
Circle the correct numbers
Lego numbers
Learning numbers games for kids
Name it!
Figures made from different materials are considered: paper, cardboard, fabric, printed on cards of different sizes and colors, written or printed, etc. In the process of such a lesson, you can find out what numbers the child knows and where he saw them.
Make a number
It is proposed to lay out figures from circles, sticks, cubes, triangles, mosaics, mold them from plasticine, clay. You can cut out numbers from velvet or plain paper, old newspapers or magazines, fabrics and stick them on.
Numbers by cells
It is necessary to paint over the cells, as in the sample, and get numbers from 0 to 9.
Finders
Cards with numbers are laid out on the table. The child receives a card with a number. You have to find yours.
Pantomime
The adult draws a number in the air with his finger, and the child guesses it, then they switch roles.
Laughers
By drawing or drawing, the figures turn into "little men", "animals" or other funny figures.
Gymnastics by numbers
An adult offers (squat, jump) to a child as many times as the number indicates.
Find the mistake
The child is shown two cards. The kid needs to determine whether the image of the number on one card matches the number of circles, triangles or objects on the other card.
Memory with numbers
The child examines cards with numbers and memorizes them. The adult swaps them. The kid points out what has changed. If any card is removed, the child guesses which number is gone.
Tangram "Numbers"
Sensorics will help you remember writing numbers: write numbers, mold from plasticine, lay them out from buttons, pompons, figurines, sticks .
.. Here are the numbers from the tangram.
More tangram tasks here.
Number 9 coloring pages0239
You can take coloring pages with numbers and invite your child to color them. The child will be interested in creativity, and at the same time consolidate knowledge about the new figure.
Here: Print out the number coloring tasks.
So that the coloring process does not bore the child, you need to use various interesting techniques for this
- color the numbers not only with pencils, but also with paints, wax crayons, stamps;
- lay out numbers from sticks, cubes, mosaics, buttons, peas, pebbles;
- model numbers from plasticine,
- color with fingers using finger paints;
- use non-traditional drawing techniques: cotton buds, crumpled paper, blots, etc.
Board games "Learn numbers" for children
Any walking board games teach counting. Children must understand the number corresponding to the number of dots on the top face of the die that has fallen out, and make the corresponding number of moves forward.
