Counting forwards and backwards (age 6+)
Count forwards and backwards in tens from any number (not just multiples of 10)
What a learner can do afterwards
- Count 7, 17, 27, 37 … from a non-multiple starting point
- Count backwards in tens from 83
- Explain the pattern of adding/subtracting 10
1 · Read
You already know that a two-digit number has a tens digit and a ones digit. Counting in tens uses that idea. Each time you count up or down by ten, only the tens digit changes. The ones digit stays exactly the same.
Zara starts at 83 and counts backwards in tens. She says 83, 73, 63, 53. Each hop takes away 10, and the ones digit, 3, never changes.
Look at the tens digit and move that one up or down, one step at a time. From 37, forwards goes 37, 47, 57 (tens digit: 3, 4, 5). Backwards goes 37, 27, 17 (tens digit: 3, 2, 1).
Counting in tens moves the tens digit up or down by one each time, while the ones digit never changes.
More to read
Intro to place value: FAQ
Place value gives every digit a job based on where it stands. In 53, the 5 means five tens and the 3 means three ones. Tens blocks and ones cubes make this easy to see and touch. Once you read numbers as tens plus ones, adding and subtracting turn into small steps. Adding ten changes only the tens digit.
Adding 1s and 10s guided practice
Adding ones changes the ones digit, while adding tens changes the tens digit. That pattern lets you jump fast: 34 plus 20 is 54, because 3 tens plus 2 tens is 5 tens. Counting by tens feels like climbing a ladder with big steps. Spot which digit moves and the rest stays put. The same idea works backwards for subtracting ones or tens.
1.2: Introduction to Whole Numbers (Part 2)
Whole numbers count real things: zero, one, two, and on without end. Each place is ten times its neighbor, so 30 is three tens and 300 is three hundreds. Reading numbers aloud in groups keeps big counts friendly. Order on the number line shows which count is greater. Skip counting hops along that line in equal jumps.
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2 · Watch
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Where it sits
18 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.