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Mastering Numbers in the Teens and Twenties

As my class prepares for the 100th day of school, we are working on number writing and recognition. Everyone is FINALLY over the hump of those pesky numbers in the teens and twenties. I swear, the numbers in the teens are the hardest numbers to learn in the whole series up to 100. They’re called numbers in the teens, but eleven and twelve don’t even have the word “teen” in them. And then there’s thirteen and fifteen (not three-teen and five-teen which would just be so much more logical!)

Needless to say, I have pulled a few tricks out of my hat to help my each and every one of my students  master these tricky numbers. We have been counting, writing, finding, arranging, and singing every day in my classroom as we work toward mastery.

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links, which helps to support the blog.

First on the list… number mazes! My students use bingo dotters to create a counting path on the paper. This particular number maze counts from 1 to 20
number mazes to help students recognize numbers in sequence
You can purchase Number Mazes in my TpT store. The set includes DIFFERENTIATED mazes that count up every decade to 120.

number-mazes-pic
My students LOVE working on their number mazes.
great ideas for helping students learn their numbers up to 100
Counting and identifying the correct numerals up to 30 is only half of the battle. Writing these numbers is equally important. Once the class finishes their number maze for the day, everyone practices writing their numerals. This is a page from my Count & Write to 120 pack on TpT (before my big revision and update).
great resources for helping students learn their numbers up to 100
The complete Count & Write to 120 set is also differentiated. Three separate writing pages are included for each decade to meet the diverse needs of my kinders.

count-and-write-to-120
I also believe that independent exploration is an important facet of each student’s development so I made a simple interactive number line on my classroom whiteboard. The line itself is just created with painters tape (because it will peel off easily when we are finished with the number line.) I laminated number squares, cut them apart, and added a magnet to the back of each piece so students could manipulate and rearrange the numbers as they work to learn their numerals. This instantly became such a popular area of the classroom!
FREE download to create this cute interactive number line for your classroom
FREE download to create this cute interactive number line for your classroom
I love how each child has his/her own way of exploring content. This little guy used the number line to count by twos on his own. This is not a skill we have discussed in class yet.
FREE download to create this cute interactive number line for your classroom
You can download the pieces to assemble this brightly colored interactive number line for your own classroom. It’s a FREEBIE in my TpT store.
FREE download to create an interactive number line for your classroom
While we learned our numbers up to thirty, we watched two wonderful Harry Kindergarten videos on YouTube: Numbers in the Twenties and Numbers in the Teens. The music is catchy, repetitive, and it helped my students learn their numbers! Best of all, my students were so busy having fun  they didn’t even realize they were learning.
great ideas for teaching numbers in kindergarten

Now that my students have mastered their numbers up to 30, we are busy getting ready for the 100th day of school. I’ll be back soon with an update on our progress!

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Maria Gavin

Maria is a former kindergarten and first grade teacher, with 13 years of teaching experience. Her love and passion for all things early childhood is now fulfilled as a mom to two amazing kids. She loves sharing practical and creative tips and ideas that are perfect for young learners – in the classroom or at home!

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22 Responses

  1. I am SO GLAD I’m not the only one! I have several sweeties who can’t consistently count to 20, but can count 21-100 COMPLETELY independently!! Thanks for these great resources. Your products are used pretty much daily in my classroom 🙂

  2. HI Maria,

    I can’t seem to find the number line in your TPT store. Can you share the link? would really like to use these with my kiddos!

    Thanks!

      1. Hi Maria,
        My kiddies have loved and used this number line. I would very much like to purchase numbers 30-120. I have students who love to count!
        Do you have the higher numbers in your TPT offering?
        Ps. I just adore the number maxes!!!
        Thank you,
        Grace and Peace,
        Rhonda

      2. Hi Maria,
        My kiddies have loved and used this number line. I would very much like to purchase numbers 30-120. I have students who love to count!
        Do you have the higher numbers in your TPT offering?
        Ps. I just adore the number mazes!!
        Thank you,
        Grace and Peace,
        Rhonda

  3. THANK YOU! I just gave my kiddos their little “midterm” to assess their progress and they definitely need more practice with those pesky teens like you said! Using these starting tomorrow 🙂

  4. maria,

    i love your number line but do you have numbers that go up to 50. I already printed the numbers up to 30. Thank you so much

  5. Thank you so much for sharing this! I teach prek and some of my littles are ready for the next step. I LOVE your ideas!

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Hi, I'm Maria.

I’m a former kindergarten teacher turned work-from-home mom. I still love sharing ideas and resources to make teaching easier, so you can focus on what really matters in the classroom. When I’m not working on the blog, you’ll find me chasing kids around the house with a cold cup of coffee in my hand (some things never change even once you’re out of the classroom!)

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