I am always looking for new and fun missing numbers activities. These activities help students practice oral counting in addition to writing and representing their numbers. I believe students need to know their numbers to build a foundation for more complex problems. What are some fun activities and games to use with students to help them learn their numbers?
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As I work with my first graders, we struggle with counting and identifying all our numbers. We have been doing 5-minute rotations around my classroom centered around writing, reading, and identifying numbers up to 120. Our goal is to have a solid understanding of numbers to 120 before they head off to second grade. We start the lesson with oral counting to 120, then we write our numbers for three minutes in our notebooks. Lastly, I tell them 4 numbers to write down. After this, we head off to our centers around the room, practicing our numbers.
Counting Activities
Children need to count every day. Repeated oral counting helps them hear what numbers sound like and learn their order. Using math manipulatives, like counting chips, can help build a connection between oral counting and counting objects. One-to-one counting is an important skill that needs to be practiced often.
Students begin by counting by ones. They start with a limited range of numbers and increase until they can count to 120. Then, they begin to match the number name with the numeral.
Counting to 100
Students play games and complete activities using numeral cards and parts of the hundreds chart to connect numerals with number names. Use a variety of nursery rhymes, books, and songs to help students associate number sequences with situations that are already familiar to them.
Once students can count to a given number, use a section of the hundreds chart to help them recognize the numerals that represent these numbers. Use matching games and activities to help students connect the number name with the digit.
Songs for Counting to 100
Having students move and count is a great way to incorporate movement and counting. You can have students make up their movements or use these counting to 10, counting to 20, and counting to 100 songs below:
- Jack Hartmann Count to 20
- The Counting Song
- Let’s Get Fit- Counting to 100
- Numbers in the Teens (They Start with a 1) (song … – YouTube
Missing Numbers Standards
Kindergarten Math Standards
Count to 100 by ones and by tens.
Count forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence (instead of starting at 1).
Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects).
First Grade Math Standards:
Count to 120, starting at any number less than 120. In this range, read and write numerals and represent a number of objects with a written numeral.
Missing Numbers to 100 Games
Practice counting with Number Chart! Review numbers up to 120. Look at a number chart that’s missing some numbers. Put numbers in the right spot. Fill the chart correctly to see a surprise!
Get ready to count with Number Bubble – Count to 100! It’s a game to practice counting. Pop bubbles to find missing numbers. Put them in the right boxes. Can you beat all five rounds?
100 Chart Rug
I have students roll number cubes and then find that number on the rug or floor number line.
100 Chart Puzzles
Cut up a 100 chart and students need to put it back together.
Resources to Fill in the Missing Numbers
Fill in Missing Numbers Hundred Chart
Use these 45 Slides and worksheets to practice filling in the missing numbers on a 100 chart.
Students fill in a hundred chart by entering missing numbers into the text boxes. There are multiple versions of each set.
Fill in the Missing Numbers Worksheet
Use this missing number activity to have students practice counting to 120, starting with any number. It’s just like a missing numbers hundred chart activity, with students filling in the missing numbers on each slide or worksheet.
Why Fill in the Missing Numbers to Complete the Pattern?
By filling in the 100 charts, students practice writing their numbers and identifying the patterns. Students will see how the numbers in the row all have the same digit in the tens place, and all the numbers in a column have the same number in the ones place.
Fill in Missing Numbers with Skip Counting
Skip counting can be defined as counting forward by numbers other than 1. To skip count means to count by skipping through a particular number of places in the counting sequence. For example, when we skip count by 5, we start from 0, skip the next number, and go to the fifth number, which will be 5.
Skip counting can also mean adding or subtracting a particular number each time from our previous number. For example, if we are to skip count by 10, we would count as 10, 20, 30, 40 . . . and so on. Note that each number in this sequence is 10 more than the previous number.
Skip Counting 5 Worksheets (and by 10’s and 2’s)
Practice Skip Counting with these Skip Counting 5 Worksheets and Slides, And Skip Counting by 10s and 2’s Worksheets and Slides. There are 180 skip-counting slides and 189 skip-counting printable worksheets.
Missing Numbers Activities to Use As Warm-Up
- Counting to 100 Song- Let’s Get Fit | Count to 100 by 1’s – YouTube
- Go on a counting walk. Find things in nature, on the playground, or within the school building to count as you go by.
- Start with a certain number and continue to count orally as you go around the circle.
- It’s handy to have plenty of small items like mini-erasers, marbles, dry beans, polished rocks, and plastic gems. Children can use them to practice counting.
Digital Resources for Missing numbers from 1 to 100
Practice counting with Number Chart! Review numbers up to 120. Look at a number chart that’s missing some numbers. Put numbers in the right spot. Fill the chart correctly to see a surprise!
Get ready to count with Number Bubble – Count to 100! It’s a game to practice counting. Pop bubbles to find missing numbers. Put them in the right boxes. Can you beat all five rounds?
Write the missing numbers up to 100
Practice Missing Numbers Hundred Chart with 45 Google Slides. Students fill in a hundred chart by entering missing numbers into the text boxes. Multiple versions of each set.
Missing Number Activity
Students should be counting and identifying numbers before they start Kindergarten. It can be as simple as counting how many cars you see in a parking lot, or how many cookies are on their plate.
Students learn best when they feel successful and enjoy coming to school. We need to establish a positive math classroom before we can focus on the standards.
- ☀Download this BONUS Guide with everything you need to cultivate a positive classroom community.
- ➕Includes definitions, lesson ideas, mindset surveys for students and teachers, and printable posters.
- 🧠💪Research shows a link between a growth mindset and math success. Kids with a growth mindset about their abilities perform better and are more engaged in the classroom.
- 👉Includes everything you need to start cultivating a more positive math classroom and students who love math. Download and get started today! Click here to download the Mindset Guide & Survey.
These activities help students practice oral counting in addition to writing and representing their numbers. Students need to know their numbers to build a foundation for more complex problems, which is why I spend so much time making sure they have a solid understanding of them. What are some missing numbers activities you like to do with your students?
