Teaching the Teen Numbers

The teen numbers are hard!!  I was reminded of that again today as I picked up my daughter’s Kindergarten Pre-Assessment.  They had her write as many numbers as she could, and just like her older brother used to do, she wrote all the teen numbers incorrectly.

Even though it is incorrect, it is actually normal.  So many kids reverse the order of the numerals in teen numbers.  The main reason for this is the way that we say the words.  “Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen..” the “six” comes first when we say it, so naturally kids think that should also be the case when they write it.  But those are “easy” teen numbers, what about Thirteen and Fifteen?  We don’t even say those as “Threeteen” or “Fiveteen.”  That is why so many kids skip those numbers when they first learn to count…they don’t follow the pattern of the other teen numbers.

Another big issue kids have is understanding that the teen numbers are actually 10 and some ones.  Again, our words don’t help them out.  Most of our numbers follow a wonderful pattern; each of the decades has that decade name along with the ones…for example, Twenty One, Twenty Two, Twenty Three, etc.  Kids get exposure from the very beginning that 35 is Thirty and Five, just from the words we use to say it.  However, that is not the case when it comes to the teen numbers.  One 1st grade teacher I worked with had her kids “Say it Silly.”  When they were saying it silly, they would count link this, “…nine, ten, teny-one, teny-two, teny-three…”  I also like to use Place Value Cards.  Montessori first developed Place Value Cards and I created my own twist on them.  You can buy sets of the cards HERE.  These cards help kids see that teen numbers are made up of a 10 and some ones (but can be used for numbers up to 1000).

Here are some other ideas to help your kiddos with Teen Numbers:

Maria over at Kinder-Craze has some nice ideas for helping kids through those tricky Teens and Twenties.

Here’s a fun video to show them that will have them singing the tune to help them remember that Numbers in the Teens… they start with a 1.

Miss Kindergarten has some activities she uses for helping kids understand that each teen number is Ten and Some Ones.  Check out her Math Centers.

Check out Math Tubs in Kindergarten’s great ideas, I especially like the Teen Tic-Tac-Toe Game and the Teen BINGO Game.

Learning with Play at Home describes ways to set up Exploration with the Teen Numbers.

This Monday Math Message has activities to help with Number Identification.