Counting Teaching Resources
Teach counting skills this school year with printable worksheets, educational games, digital activities and more primary school resources designed to help students when they are learning to count.
This extensive collection of teaching resources aligned to the Australian curriculum includes maths mentals, MAB flashcards and more to save primary teachers time on lesson planning. Created by expert teachers, each resource in this maths collection has been carefully reviewed and curated by our team. That means it's ready to use in the classroom! You'll even find editable resources, plus differentiated options.
New to teaching counting, or just looking for fresh ways to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teaching team!
What Is Counting?
It may seem obvious, but let's start at the beginning.
The basic counting process involves a one-to-one correspondence between the items in the set and the counting numbers. It's a fundamental mathematical concept taught in the early years that helps our students develop number sense and mathematical skills.
In the early years, students typically learn to:
- Recite the numbers in sequence
- Count objects by pointing to them and saying the corresponding number
- Recognise and write numerals
- Count forward and backward
- Skip count by twos, fives and tens
- Use counting strategies to solve simple addition and subtraction problems
Counting Vocabulary Terms
Let's dive into some of the common maths vocabulary terms related to counting that students encounter in primary school.
Numerals
Numerals is another word for the symbols that represent numbers, such as 1, 2 and 3.
Digits
Digits are the individual symbols that are used to make up numerals. For example, let's look at the numeral 12. The digits 1 and 2 make up the numeral 12.
Skip Counting
One of the early skills students learn in counting is the process of skip counting, in which they literally skip over numbers. A precursor to traditional addition, skip counting involves counting by a specific number sequence, such as 2, 4, 6, 8, etc.
For example, when skip counting by 2s, a student would start at 2, counting out 4, 6, 8, 10, and so on.
Counting On
Counting on is a simple strategy for performing addition. Using this strategy, students start with a smaller number and count up by the number being added to find a sum.
For example, if a student faces the addition problem 3 + 4, they would start with the number 3 and count on 4 more: 4, 5, 6, 7. In this case, the answer is 7.
Counting Back
The opposite of counting on is counting back. This strategy for solving subtraction problems involves starting with a larger number and counting down by the number being subtracted to find a difference.
As an example, a student who wants to solve the subtraction problem 5 - 3 could count backward from the larger number to find the solution. In this case, the larger number is 5. The student would start with 5, counting back 3 — 4, 3, 2. The answer is 2.
Tally Marks
Tally marks are a great tool for teaching early counting skills. When teaching counting with tally marks, you ask your students to draw a certain number of tally marks to represent a given quantity.
For example, if a student is going to count to four using tally marks, they would draw a single vertical line and then draw three more lines next to it.
Tally marks are typically drawn in groups of five, so if a student were asked to then count to five using tally marks, they would draw a diagonal line crossing through the four vertical lines to represent all five.
Understanding how to create sets of five tally marks can help students count to larger numbers easily. For example, if a student is asked to count to 15, they would create three sets of five tally marks.
Grouping
The term grouping has a number of definitions, depending on how it's being used. But when it comes to counting, grouping refers to a method of organising objects into groups of equal size to facilitate counting.
Sets of tally marks are a perfect example of grouping — they're a visual representation of grouping numbers into sets of five.
How to Teach Counting
Are you looking for some fun ways to teach counting in your early years classroom? The more hands-on and active, the better!
In addition to the worksheets, games and other activities in this collection, try some of these fun ideas from our teacher team!
- Use Snacktivities — Maths manipulatives help young kinesthetic learners understand counting by making the concepts more concrete, and using snacks adds a real-world element to the lesson! Challenge students to string snacks like cereal loops for practice with grouping or simply to count out exact numbers of gummy bears. Just make sure no one samples the manipulatives!
- Get Arty — Incorporating art into counting activities adds an element of fun. For example, ask kids to draw a certain number of circles, squares or other shapes and then count them out loud. This also helps students work fine muscles and develops their understanding of basic shapes.
- Play Store — Even before students learn about currency, kids enjoy the role-play of 'shopping' like adults. Use this to your advantage by setting up a classroom 'store' and asking children to count out the correct amount of play money to purchase items.
- Get Active — Encourage movement and help students get their wiggles out while learning. Ask children to count out loud while jumping or hopping, or play a game of Simon Says that involves specific numbers of a specific movement.
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Halloween Counting to 10 Worksheets
Count, write, and match numbers and objects with printable Halloween counting worksheets.
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Number Talk Task Cards - Ten Frames
Build number sense skills with this set of 30 ten and double ten frame maths talk task cards.
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A New Monarch - A Royal 'I Spy' Worksheet
Count and find the royal symbols that represent the King's Coronation.
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Four in a Row – Numbers 1–5
Match picture cards with numerals to practice counting to 5.
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Ice Cream Addition Activity
A cute ice cream-themed addition activity.
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Numbers 1-12 Frog Catching Flies Activity
A hands-on activity where children consolidate their knowledge of numbers 1-12.
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I Can Count - Worksheet
A worksheet for students to practise counting up to 10 objects.
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1 to 5 Transport Number Match Cards
A transport themed number activity to use in the classroom when identifying, sequencing and counting numbers from 1 to 5.
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Ten in the Bed - Counting Activity
A fun hands-on 'Ten in the Bed' number rhyme activity to help students sequence numbers and count backwards from 10.
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Many Candles Counting Birthday Cake Activity
‘Gift’ this many candles counting birthday cake activity to your students for hands-on counting and number representation practice.
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Animated Flip Book (Ordering Numbers)
Delight your students with this animated flip book that will help them solidify their understanding of counting and ordering the numbers 1 through 20.
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Here Comes the Band – Counting Rhyme Poster
Use the counting nursery rhyme “Here Comes the Band” poster to teach your students about numbers and rhyme simultaneously!
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Spin, Count and Colour Counting Game
Practise counting skills with this fun spin, colour and count game for pairs.
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Monster Counting Mats Numbers 1-10
Count monster eyes up to 10 with this fun counting activity for the early years classroom.
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I Can Count to 10 Mini Book
Practise counting small objects up to 10 with this student counting mini book.
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Counting Watermelon Seeds Task Cards
Practise counting with this set of watermelon-themed counting task cards.
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Halloween Maths Worksheets - Spooky Ten Frames
Model numbers to twenty using ten frames with a spooky Halloween maths worksheet for year 1.
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Pumpkin Count and Colour - Halloween Maths Worksheet
Use these Halloween maths worksheets to practise counting sets of objects up to ten.
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Search and Find – Year 1 Halloween Maths Worksheet
Get your students counting up to Halloween with this fun search and find maths worksheet.
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Autumn Counting to 10 Clip Cards
Practice counting objects with 18 autumn-themed counting to ten clip cards.
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St Patrick's Day Digital Maths Activity
Celebrate St Patrick’s Day with a spot of Maths fun!
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Counting Objects Board Game – Numbers 6–10
Practise counting to 10 with an engaging board game.
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Counting Objects Board Game – Numbers 1–5
Practise basic maths skills with a counting objects board game.
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Counting Objects Bear Hunt – Numbers 6–10
Use one-to-one correspondence and basic counting skills with this hands-on activity.
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Counting Objects Bear Hunt – Numbers 1–5
Use one-to-one correspondence and basic counting skills with this hands-on game.
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Four in a Row – Numbers 6–10
Match picture cards with numerals to practise counting to 10.
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Race to Number 10
Practise counting and sequencing objects up to 10 with this hands-on or interactive game.
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Counting Peg Cards – On the Farm
Practise counting objects with a set of 18 farm-themed counting peg cards.
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Cupcake Counting Activity
A colourful number activity using counters.
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Marine Animal Counting Worksheet
A marine themed counting worksheet to use in the classroom.
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Make a Pizza Counting Game
Use this pizza-themed counting game to get your students matching numerals with their corresponding quantities.
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Counting Picture Puzzle Numbers 6-10
Practise counting 6 to 10 objects and matching groups to numbers through this 15-piece picnic scene picture puzzle