Point to each object once and say the next number. The last number you say tells you how many there are. In a ten-frame, a full top row is five, so you can count on from five. When objects are scattered, start at one side and work across so none are missed. If a picture has two kinds of shape, count only the kind the question asks for.
Explore this idea with maths tools
Maths you can move
Build 8 + 2
Tap two gold counters to fill the ten-frame.
8 in the frame + 2 waiting. The total stays the same.
Words to know
- count
- say one number for each object to find how many
- ten-frame
- two rows of five boxes that hold up to ten counters
Worked examples
Count five counters
- 1.Touch each counter once: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
- 2.The last number said is five.
= 5
Count eight counters in a ten-frame
- 1.The top row is full, so that is 5.
- 2.Count on along the bottom row: 6, 7, 8.
= 8
How many circles? There are 6 circles and 3 squares.
- 1.Count only the circles and skip each square.
- 2.Touch each circle once: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
= 6
For parents
Method: Touch and count
What to say: Can you touch each one as you count? How do you know you didn't miss any?
Common mistakes:
- Misses an object while counting, so the count is one too small.
- Says two numbers for one object (or counts it again), so the count is one too big.
- Counts every shape in the picture, not only the kind the question asks about.
- Counts the first full row of five and stops, forgetting the second row.
- Counts the empty boxes in the ten-frame instead of the counters.