Teaching Numbers

I play a game with my kids that's easy and easily adaptable to skills/levels and they love it! I call it Erase It! I write numbers ( or you can use letters, sight words, whatever the skill, or even a mixture of these) scattered around the board. The students take turns coming to the board, pointing to a number they know and identifying it. If they're correct they get to erase it. They love erasing!! If they're incorrect, I tell them and the group the correct answer so everyone will know that number. ( So for the person who's next, if they're paying attention, they've been given the answer! ;) ) They sit down and we move to the next person's turn. They only get to erase if they give the correct answer. They keep answering until all the numbers are erased.
The only thing you have to watch is making sure you write low enough so that they can reach it and putting the numbers far enough apart so that they don't accidently erase more than one ... because they are sometimes HAPPY erasers! :)

An idea that one of my colleagues gave me with numbers to 31- tear apart an old calendar (laminate to use again) and give each kid a cube and you call a number and they have to move their cube to that number. Its a quick way to see who is having trouble and who is doing well. After a min. I would let someone come up and write it on the board so everyone can check to make sure they are right. We also did number bingo, writing the number i call out on their white boards and holding them in the air and I also put the numbers they were having the hardest time with (11, 13, 20, 12)on their tables. So instead of calling them by color groups- I would call table 11. And I mixed them up often so they would have to look and see which number was at their table.Hope this helps a little- numbers are hard to teach!

A little activity I do is to put calendar pieces down on the floor covered with clear contact paper. I love the Carson Delsoa stars... These pieces are right in front of the door for students to line up on. I put one blank piece first (for the line leader) and then number 1 - ... however many students you have. When we line up I tell them to stand on a number (they do not have an assigned number... they just take the next in line). Sometimes while we are waiting (either for others to line up, or on teachers, etc) my assistant or I would sing ...

(teacher)
"Where is __(number)___?"
"Where is ___(number)__?"

(and the child on that number has to answer)
"Here I am! Here I am!"

(and then we all say.. )
"How are you today sir?"
(and the child answers)
"Very fine and thank you!"

then we all end with
"Next Number... Next Number"

it goes to the tune of "where is thumbkin". It is a little short thing we do to kill time- but it is always funny to see someone who doesn't know there number... all the sudden they get nudges from the front and behind!