Numbers to 20: Counting and Ordering

Free sample questions, a clear explanation, and 5 practice skills with an AI tutor that guides without giving the answer away.

Your Amazing Number Power Up to 20!

Hey, Number Explorer! Have you ever lined up with your friends for something super fun, like going down a giant slide or getting a yummy ice cream cone? Counting and ordering numbers is just like that! You're putting everything in its perfect spot, one by one. Let's power up our brains and become experts on numbers all the way to 20!

When we count past 10, we get to the "teen" numbers. Think of them as a team! Every teen number has a full group of ten and then a few extra ones.

Imagine you have a full box of 10 crayons. If you get 3 more, you have a full box and 3 extras. That's 13, or thir-teen! We can show this easily using a ten frame. We fill up one whole frame (that's 10!) and then start filling up the next one.

A ten frame showing the number 13, with one full frame of ten dots and a second frame with three dots.

Knowing the order of numbers helps us compare them. Is 17 bigger than 12? Let's find out! Imagine a super hungry alligator, Gus >. Gus ALWAYS wants to eat the bigger number. So, his mouth will open towards 17! We write it like this: 17 > 12. We read this as "17 is greater than 12." If the numbers are the same, like 15 and 15, they are equal to each other (15 = 15).

Key Takeaways!

Teen numbers are just a group of 10 and some more!
The alligator mouth (> or <) always opens to eat the bigger number.
Every number has a neighbor that comes just before it and one that comes right after it.

Awesome job! Now you can use your number power for anything. Think about the steps to build your favorite toy tower. What's the first step? The second? The twentieth? You are ordering and sequencing! You know what number comes before 15 (it's 14!) and what number is between 18 and 20 (it's 19!). You're a number superstar!

Sample questions

1. Imagine you see 12 shiny stars. How many stars are there?

○ 11

✓ 12

○ 2

○ 20

Answer: 12 — Can you touch each star with your finger as you count them?

2. Look at these 15 yummy apples. How many apples do you count?

○ 5

○ 14

✓ 15

○ 16

Answer: 15 — Remember to count carefully, one by one, so you don't miss any!

3. Imagine a ten frame that is all full, and then 7 more dots are next to it. How many dots are there in total?

○ 7

○ 10

○ 16

✓ 17

Answer: 17 — How many dots are in a full ten frame? Then, how many more do you see?

Skills in this topic

Count and represent quantities up to 20 using concrete objects and ten frames.
Identify and write numerals 11-20 and their corresponding number words.
Compare and order numbers up to 20 using 'greater than,' 'less than,' and 'equal to' symbols.
Identify the number before, after, and between given numbers up to 20.
Plan a sequence of events or items using numbers up to 20, explaining the order.

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