Counting & Number Recognition
Count to 120, read and write numerals, and match number names to quantities — one careful count at a time.
1 What does it mean to count?
Counting is matching each object to exactly one number, in order. Touch each object once, say one number per touch, and the last number you say is the total.
Say the numbers 1, 2, 3, … without skipping and without repeating. The final number is how many there are.
● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Touch each dot once: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. There are 7 dots.
41, 42, __, 44 → count forward: 41, 42, 43, 44.
2 The counting chart to 120
Numbers live on a chart with 10 in each row. Reading down a column adds 10 every time — that pattern makes big numbers easy.
What comes right after 59? Count one more: 60. The ones roll over to 0 and the tens grow by one.
3 Teen numbers: ten plus a digit
The numbers 13 to 19 all mean “ten plus” something. Thirteen is ten + three. This one idea unlocks every teen number.
The number word “twelve” means ten + two, so it is the numeral 12.
“Seventeen” = ten + seven = 17. The “teen” at the end is your clue.
4 Counting forward and backward
Counting works in both directions. Backward counting starts high and steps down by one — it is the doorway to subtraction.
30, 29, __, 27 → step down each time: 30, 29, 28, 27.
5 Common mistakes
Two traps almost every young counter meets — and how to beat them.
Wrong: 27, 28, 29, 31 — the 30 vanished! Right: touch each object once and say every number in order. Slow down at 29 → 30.
Wrong: seeing 12 and saying “twenty-one”. Right: teen numbers are “ten plus”: twelve = ten + two = 12. Twenty-one is 21 — the digits are flipped.
6 Quick checks
Try these yourself, then reveal the answer.
7 Key points and vocabulary
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Count | To match each object with one number, in order. |
| Numeral | The written digits, like 42. |
| Number word | The written name, like “forty-two”. |
| One-to-one | Touching each object exactly once while counting. |
| Order | Numbers always come in the same sequence: 1, 2, 3, … |
Remember
- One touch, one number, in order — no skipping, no repeats.
- The last number you say is the total.
- Teen numbers are “ten plus”: fourteen = 10 + 4 = 14.
- After 29 comes 30; after 99 comes 100. Watch the tens roll over.
- Counting backward (10, 9, 8, …) prepares you for subtraction.