21 Skip Counting Activities and Ideas For Elementary Math Students (2024)

Skip counting is an important skill, one that leads kids naturally into multiplication. Kids can learn to skip count by rote, but they’ll get more value from seeing how the concept relates to real-life math. Try these activities and ideas to help make it happen!

1. Sing some skip counting songs.

Mr. R has so many skip counting songs! They’re much more fun that simply chanting, “five, ten, fifteen, twenty…” Find them all here.

2. Read a skip counting book.

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Teach across the curriculum with one or more of these cute picture books that incorporate skip counting as part of the story.

3. Turn sentence strips into a wall chart.

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Such an easy way to make a colorful wall chart! (Need sentence strips? Try this well-reviewed set from Amazon.)

Learn more: This Reading Mama

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4. Group objects to introduce the concept.

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Pre-schoolers and kindergarteners start learning this skill by grouping objects. Get free printable pages to use with this activity at the link.

Learn more: File Folder Fun

5. Skip count with handprints.

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Use your students’ handprints to demonstrate counting by 5s and 10s. So cute!

Learn more: Liz’s Early Learning Spot

6. Play skip counting hopscotch.

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This is a classic skip counting activity. Start out simply by just labeling the blocks by 2s or 5s. Mix things up by adding some choices to make along the way.

Learn more: Math Geek Mama

7. Lace plates as you count.

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This activity is easy to set up, and kids can even flip over the plates to check their answers! Learn how to make them at the link.

Learn more: 123Homeschool4Me

8. Solve a skip counting maze.

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Navigate a maze to practice skip counting. Get free printables at the link below.

Learn more: Confessions of a Homeschooler

9. Count and connect the dots.

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Skip counting connect-the-dots are very popular, and you can find plenty available online. Try these free examples first—your class is sure to love them!

Learn more: Worksheets Site

10. Use paper clips on a paper plate.

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We bet you have leftover paper plates from the lacing activity, so pair them up with paper clips for another idea that also provides fine motor practice.

Learn more: Creative Family Fun

11. Introduce some movement.

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Rather just reciting numbers, get kids up and moving while they skip count! (See more active math ideas here.)

Learn more: Teaching With Terhune

12. Make skip counting art.

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This idea combines grouping with pointillism, the technique of making art from tiny dots. All you need are cotton swabs and poster paint.

Learn more: Creative Family Fun

13. Grab a handful of LEGO bricks.

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Who doesn’t love using LEGOs in the classroom? The various brick sizes are ideal for talking about skip counting.

Learn more: Royal Baloo

14. Fill cups with blocks.

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You can also use LEGOs with this one, or pull out your Unifix blocks. Kids build stacks and fill the cups.

Learn more: Powerful Mothering

15. Put wood craft sticks in order.

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Wood craft sticks have so many uses in the classroom. Label them with numbers and use them for counting practice! You can also have kids draw a single stick and practice counting upwards from that number. (Grab these colorful craft sticks from Amazon here.)

Learn more: Simply Kinder

16. Put some money on the line.

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Nickels and dimes make great skip count tools, and kids will get money practice too.

Learn more: The OT Toolbox

17. Roll the skip counting dice.

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Have kids roll dice to see what number they’ll be counting by. This gives practice all the way up to counting by 12s.

Learn more: 3 Dinosaurs

18. Clip clothespins to a measuring tape.

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Such an easy activity to set up—all you need are clothespins and a measuring tape!

Learn more: Thriving STEM

19. Craft skip counting kites.

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This free printable craft idea makes kites with skip counting tails. Hang them in your classroom when you’re done!

Learn more: Kindergarten Worksheets and Games

20. Put together a skip counting puzzle.

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The puzzles prompt kids if they need some help, buy they’re really secretly getting some counting practice.

Learn more: Life Over Cs

21. Make number posters.

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You can buy a set of these cute numbers at the link below, or break your kids into groups and have them cut out and label their own for display.

Learn more: A Blog From the Pond

Ten frames are a terrific tool for teaching skip counting. Find 10 Frame Activities and Ideas here.

Incorporate more math into reading time with these 17 Picture Books About Math.

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. WeAreTeachers may earn a very small commission when you buy using these links.

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21 Skip Counting Activities and Ideas For Elementary Math Students (2024)

FAQs

21 Skip Counting Activities and Ideas For Elementary Math Students? ›

How can I make skip counting more engaging for my child? To make skip counting more engaging, incorporate it into games, songs, and daily activities. Use visual aids like number lines and colorful charts, and turn practice sessions into playful challenges to keep their interest high.

How do you teach skip counting in a fun way? ›

How can I make skip counting more engaging for my child? To make skip counting more engaging, incorporate it into games, songs, and daily activities. Use visual aids like number lines and colorful charts, and turn practice sessions into playful challenges to keep their interest high.

What is an example of skip counting in math? ›

Skip counting is a method of counting numbers by adding a number every time to the previous number. For example, skip counting by 2, we get 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and so on. Hence we get the series of even numbers here.

What are math manipulatives for skip counting? ›

Our favorite math manipulatives for teaching counting and skip counting are dinosaur counters, bear counters, bug counters, linking cubes, unifix cubes and number tiles.

What is the strategy of skip counting? ›

To skip count means to count by adding the same number each time to the previous number. To skip count by two, you keep adding a 2 to your previous number. To skip count by three, you keep adding a 3 to your previous number. To skip count by any number, you keep adding that number to your previous number.

What is skip count by 3's activity? ›

Properties of Skip Counting by 3

Suppose we have a chart of numbers from 1 to 30 and we do forward skip count by 3 from 0, then the numbers will be 3, 6, 9, 12, and so on. Now, with the same chart of numbers, we do a backward skip count by 3 from 30, then the numbers will be 27, 24, 21, 18, and so on.

What is skip counting by 5 examples? ›

For example, when we skip count by 5, we start from 0, and we skip the next number and go to the fifth number, which will be 5. So to skip count by 5 would mean to count every fifth number starting from the given number. If we start from 0, we count 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 . . . and so on.

What is the formula for skip counting? ›

Skip counting is counting by a number other than one. To do this, you start at zero and add the same number each time you count forward. For example, to skip count by 2, start at zero, then continue to add 2.

How do you play skip counting? ›

Skip counting follows the same basic idea that regular counting does—adding numbers by the same value over and over again. But instead of repeatedly adding by one, skip counting means we'll be skipping a few numbers in the process and adding by twos, by threes, by fours, and so on.

What is the lesson objective for skip counting? ›

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to: define 'skip counting' create number lines to assist with skip counting. practice skip counting by two, three, five, and ten.

How do you teach multiplication with skip counting? ›

One trick to skip counting is using a number line. Starting at 0, you can practice each of your multiplication facts by counting in intervals of that number. Think of skip counting as skipping the intervals of a number line.

How to make skip counting fun? ›

Try these activities and ideas to help make it happen!
  1. Sing some skip counting songs. ...
  2. Read a skip counting book. ...
  3. Turn sentence strips into a wall chart. ...
  4. Group objects to introduce the concept. ...
  5. Skip count with handprints. ...
  6. Play skip counting hopscotch. ...
  7. Lace plates as you count. ...
  8. Solve a skip counting maze.
Jan 13, 2020

How do you teach counting in a fun way? ›

12 Fun Activities to Improve Kids' Counting Skills
  1. Play counting games. ...
  2. Make math puzzles. ...
  3. Use flashcards. ...
  4. Sing counting songs. ...
  5. Play counting games on the computer. ...
  6. Practice number formation with playdough mats. ...
  7. Play counting board games. ...
  8. Create patterns with counting objects in sequence.
Dec 28, 2021

What is skip counting called in math? ›

Skip counting is a mathematics technique taught as a kind of multiplication in reform mathematics textbooks such as TERC. In older textbooks, this technique is called counting by twos (threes, fours, etc.).

How do you teach skipping skills? ›

Beginner strategies
  1. Should be taught as a rhythmical movement: step-hop-step-hop.
  2. Start in slow motion doing steps and then hops and gradually trying to join them together.
  3. Try encouraging step-hop movements to music or clapping.

How do you make rote counting fun? ›

Rote Counting
  1. During a cooking lesson, stir ten times.
  2. On the playground, count the number of pushes the student gets on the swing.
  3. Count items of clothing when dressing (two socks).
  4. Count fingers, ears, toes, etc.
  5. Musical counting – give the student a drum, and have him hit the drum one time for each number said.

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