Tricky Teens

The teen numbers are very difficult to learn.  We have been doing many activities to not only learn how to read and write the numbers but also to understand the place value behind the tricky teens.  We started by building these cube towers.  Then we ordered them.

The students noticed that each tower had a ten green cubes in it.  They also found that the black cubes increased by one each time.  I introduced them to the "math way" of counting.  Instead of saying eleven, the math way maintains the place value and we would say "one ten, one."  Twelve is "one ten, two."  Saying numbers the math way, also helps students remember to put the one first when writing teen numbers.  Next, I started to move the kids to the symbolic representation of the number with these cards.

Instead of just a one in front, the students see a green ten stack like the cube towers.  Now they can "see" that the number 18 is a ten and an 8.  We ordered and matched these numbers to the cube towers.  Then, the kids independently sorted and ordered their own set of teen cards.

Next, we started to take the picture of the ten stack away and show that even though it seems like a one, it is actually a ten.  We played several different games where the students had to identify and order the teen numbers.

See if your child can identify, write, and order the numbers.  Ask them to count the math way for you.  The teens are tricky, any extra practice you could do at home would certainly help.