Skip Counting Teaching Resources
Explore printable skip counting worksheets and skip counting charts for your primary classroom to help students understand number patterns and build a strong maths foundation.
Created by Aussie teachers for teachers like you, every resource in this maths teaching collection has been reviewed by the expert teacher team at Teach Starter to ensure it's ready for your lesson plan and your students. Aligned with the Australian curriculum, each printable and digital resource has been carefully selected to be included in this collection.
Explore digital and printable resources designed around skip counting by 2, skip counting by 5, skip counting by 10, and more.
New to teaching this section of the maths curriculum, or just looking for some fresh ideas for how to teach skip counting? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Is Skip Counting? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Are you teaching students how to skip count and looking for a simple way to explain the concept? Here's a definition from our teacher team to help!
Skip counting is a method of counting that involves adding or subtracting a specific number other than 1 to/from the previous number in a list.
It gets its name because we 'skip' numbers in this maths technique rather than naming off numbers one by one.
For example, when skip counting by 2s, we may start with 1, but we don't say 2 next. Instead, we move directly to 3, then 5, then 7, and so on. We counting, but we are 'skipping' over the numbers 2, 4, 6, and so on.
When skip counting, we can can count by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, 10s, and so on. This counting method can start at 0 or 1 or further down the number line.
How to Teach Skip Counting and Why It's Important
Skip counting may sound like it's meant to make maths fun — and there's certainly fun to be had in the engaging activities our teacher team has created for your classroom! — but this skill plays an important role in building number sense and laying the groundwork for young students to be successful at multiplication later in primary school.
The goal is to help students better understand the number system and how numbers relate to each other. By 'skipping' the numbers, kids can understand quantities increasing or decreasing by a constant value.
Skip counting is also crucial in helping students to recognise patterns in numbers and develop their fluency with numbers.
But how do you teach skip counting? Here are some of our teacher team's tips on how to teach skip counting:
- Practise Skip Counting From Different Starting Points — You can skip count from 0, from 1, from 5, or just about anywhere. By starting at different points in the number line, students become more familiar with a variety of numbers and start to recognise patterns.
- Count Backward and Forward — Counting isn't just a forward process. It can go backward too!
- Make It Fun — Practice skip counting regularly with your class using any of the fun skip counting activities created by our teacher team, from puzzles to scoot and counts. (Keep reading for ways to make this happen!)
Skip Counting Activities — Fun Ideas From Our Teacher Team
This collection is full of games, task cards and more to make skip counting fun, but we didn't stop there! Here are some more fun ideas from our teacher team to inspire you!
- Bring Out the Beach Ball — Play a game of passing the ball while students practise their skip counting. Assign one student to start, and hand them the beach ball. Provide them with a number and the multiple (for example, if you're practicing skip counting by 10s, you might start with 10). Students then pass the ball to one another, and the student who has the ball has to provide the next number in the sequence.
- Play a Count on Circle Game — Have your students stand in a circle. Assign a student to start the game. Call out a number, then have students go around in the circle, skip counting until everyone gets a chance.
- Take Advantage of Your 'Lost' Time — Lining students up to go to the tuckshop? Before you leave the classroom, you can practise skip counting — go down the line and have them skip count forward and backward.
- Pop It — Grab a popping bubble toy to reinforce their skip counting skills! Students can push down on the bubbles by multiples.
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Christmas Skip Counting - Printable Puzzles
Grab a set of 10 printable Christmas puzzles to help students skip count in the classroom.
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Number Patterns Year 2 Worksheet Set
Download this number patterns year 2 worksheet set to give your students practice skip counting, recognising patterns and solving word problems.
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Number Patterns Year 1 Worksheet Set
Share this number patterns year 1 worksheet set with your students to introduce them to early concepts of algebra.
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Skip Counting Caterpillar Worksheet Pack
Craft a Skip Counting Caterpillar with our printable skip counting cut and paste worksheets for year 1.
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Skip Counting Worksheet — Counting by 2, 5 and 10
Practise counting by 2, 5 and 10 with this skip counting worksheet.
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Numbers 1-20 Puzzle Pack
Identify and sequence the numbers from 1 to 20 with a set of Numbers 1-20 puzzles for kids.
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Skip Counting Robot Worksheets - 2s, 5s and 10s
A set of 4 robot themed worksheets to help students skip count by 2s, 5s and 10s.
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Skip Counting Puzzles
Practise skip counting and identifying multiples of numbers with printable skip counting puzzles for kids.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Numbers by 10 - Shark
Join the dots and numbers to make a picture.
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Counting by 5's Maze
Get to the party by skip counting to 100 with our counting by 5’s worksheet.
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Roll and Multiply Interactive Activity
Teach your students the multiplication strategy of repeated addition using this colourful interactive dice game!
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Skip Counting Worksheets (Fill in the Blanks)
Excerpt: Use this set of skip counting worksheets to check student understanding of skip counting in increasing intervals of 5, 10 and 100.
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Complex Dot-to-dot – Skip Counting by Twos (Seahorses) – Worksheet
A complex dot-to-dot where students demonstrate skip counting by twos.
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Number Grid Interactive Activity
Share this number grid interactive activity with your students to give them practice adding and subtracting ten and one from a given number.
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Skip Counting Worksheets (Complete the Series)
Use this set of skip counting worksheets to check student understanding of skip counting in increasing intervals of 5, 10 and 100, by finishing a series.
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I Have Who Has: Skip Counting by 2,3,4,5,10
Teaching skip counting? Introduce your students to our I Have Who Has - style whole class games with this fun and interactive card activity!
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Complex Dot-to-dot – Skip Counting by Twos (Car) – Worksheet
A complex dot-to-dot where students demonstrate skip counting by twos.
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Skip Counting Robot Template
A fun robot template to help students skip count by 2s, 5s and 10s.
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Complex Dot-to-dot – Skip Counting by Threes (Castle) – Worksheet
A complex dot-to-dot where students demonstrate skip counting by threes.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Numbers by 5 - Robot
Join the dots and numbers to make a picture.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Numbers by 2 - Dinosaur
Join the dots and numbers to make a picture.
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Skip Counting Worksheet
A worksheet focusing on skip counting and number patterns.
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Skip Counting Exit Tickets
Assess student understanding of skip counting within 1000 by 5s 10s and 100s.
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Skip Counting by 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 Posters and Worksheets
Practise and review skip counting by 2,3,4,5,and 10 with a pack of printable skip counting charts and worksheets.
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Complex Dot-to-dot – Skip Counting by Fives (Turtle) – Worksheet
A complex dot-to-dot where students demonstrate skip counting by fives.
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Skip Counting Robot Strips - 2s, 5s and 10s
A set of 12 skip counting robot strips to help students skip count by 2s, 5s and 10s.
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Skip Counting by 2s, 5s and 10s PowerPoint
A 28 page editable PowerPoint to use in the classroom when introducing skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s.
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Roll and Colour Worksheet for Ten More, Ten Less
Use this interactive worksheet to help students practise finding the number that is 10 more and 10 less than a given number.
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100 Days and Still Poppin! Counting to 100 Worksheet
Add to your stockpile of 100th Day of School ideas with a Pop-It-themed 100th Day of School worksheet.
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Cinderella's Shoes - Skip Counting Worksheet
Count Cinderella's shoes using skip counting by 2s.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Numbers by 3 - Kite
Join the dots and numbers to make a picture.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Numbers by 5 - Dinosaur
Join the dots and numbers to make a picture.