Elementary Math Activities for Counting by Two
Counting by twos is an important step to master in elementary math. It helps students learn that there are faster ways to counting larger numbers. It also prepares children for more complex math learning subjects in the future. The best way to help kids learn to count by twos is to incorporate fun games into the lesson plan.
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Rhymes
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When teaching children how to count by twos, incorporate popular children's rhymes or songs. Print out copies of the rhyme for all the students. Read aloud the rhyme together a few times and ask the students to circle certain words in the rhymes. Once they have done this, ask students to count by twos for each instance the words appear. A good example is "Three Little Kittens," because many key words, such as "kittens" and "mittens," are repeated many times.
Images
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Children learn better with the use of imagery and pictures, so use pictures to help them visualize counting by twos. Provide them with pictures of animals' tails and animals without tails, for example. Ask the children to count by twos the number of animals with tails. Images help kids count by twos and help them visualize math equations that would otherwise be difficult. This also is a fun and playful way to help students learn, because it seems like a game.
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Participation
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Ask for a volunteer to count the class. Have two children stand together and ask the student volunteer to count each group of two. Alternatively, you can pair marbles or other objects and ask students to take turns counting them. The object of the lesson is to show children that counting by twos is faster than by counting by ones.
Groups
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Students also need to be able to count in twos without images and hints. Put students into groups of four and ask each student in the group to write down the next number in sequence, counting only in increments of two, all the way to 100. This is a good way for students to work as teams and learn together the importance of being able to count by twos without visual aids.
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References
- Photo Credit counting image by Lisa Eastman from Fotolia.com
