step 1 of 6
After the berry bowl at Meadow Lane, Mia wants to write numbers down. Her teacher says out loud: twelve.
Mia picks up her pencil. How many digits does she need for twelve?
Reading and writing numbers to 20
Read and write numerals from 0 to 20
What a learner can do afterwards
- Read any numeral 0–20 when shown it
- Write numerals 0–20 legibly from dictation
- Represent a number of objects with the correct written numeral
1 · Read
Numbers after nine use two digits. The first digit means tens. The second digit means ones.
Tap each block and count out loud.
Try it together
Mia hears the word twelve. She writes a one, then a two. That makes 12.
Twenty uses both spots too. The 2 counts two whole tens, and the 0 shows there are no extra ones.
Good to know
Read digits left to right. First digit is tens. Second digit is ones.
Two digits make numbers after nine: first tens, second ones.
2 · Watch
3 · Play
Take it off screen
Print a worksheetA4 with an answer key page for grown-ups. No screen, no internet.
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
Then practise
32 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.