How to Write Numbers in Tally Marks

In today's day and age, it seems as if computers and calculators have over taken math completely. However, sometimes you just need to count some things the old fashioned way without getting into machines. Here's how to write tally marks next time you are counting everything from wedding programs to items in your pantry.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pen or pencil
• Item you are counting

1. Place a straight line or a "1" for each item you are counting for the first for items. For instance, the first item will be marked as "1." The next item will be marked as "11," the third as "111" and the fourth as "1111."

2. Add a slash across all for straight lines signifying the fifth item you are counting.

3. Move to the right and repeat the process again placing a vertical line for the first four items and then a slash across those four representing a fifth item.

4. Keep five tallies of five grouped together on a line. In society, we often group things in hundreds. It makes it easier to count. So, if you know that every four lines represents 100 of whatever item you are counting, it'll be easy for you to race down the page and count how many items you have.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're counting thousands of items, it is helpful to place a marker along the page every so often. That way if you do mess something up, you don't have to count your groups from the very beginning. Space these markers every 250 items when you write your items in tally marks.