Skip count by 2s to at least 50
Whisper Counting
Timeframe: 1-5 minutes
Audience: 1 student to whole class
Materials: number line or hundreds chart are optional.
Summary: Students skip count and whisper the number 1 and then say the number 2 loudly, continue on by whispering 3 and then saying 4 loudly etc. You could also add hand actions to incorporate kinesthetics eg. crossing arms when whispering.
Guiding questions: What patterns do you notice when counting? When would this be useful? Why does this make us more efficient mathematicians? Can this be adapted to other skip counting patterns? There is an opportunity to make up actions with students.
Source: Adapted from Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute
Mathsframe: Sequences - Whole Numbers
Timeframe: 5-10mins
Audience: Students play individually
Materials: iPads/Computers
Summary: Students can select their level of difficulty and complete the number sequences. Includes: Count on and back by 2, count on and back by, count on and back by 10, count on and back by 2, 5 and 10, count on and back by 3, 4 and 6, count on and back by multiples of 10, count on and back by multiples of 100, count on and back by steps of up to 12, count on and back by steps of up to 50, count on and back by steps of up to 100, count on and back by 2, 5 and 10 (including negative numbers), count on and back by 3, 4 and 6 (including negative numbers), count on and back by multiples of 10 (including negative numbers), count on and back by steps of up to 12 (including negative numbers), count on and back by steps of up to 50 (including negative numbers), and count on and back by steps of up to 100 (including negative numbers)
Guiding questions: What patterns do you notice? What strategies help you to work out what number comes next? When we’re ordering numbers counting up, what do we expect the numbers to do? When we’re ordering numbers counting back, what do we expect the numbers to do?
Skip Counting Tennis
Timeframe: 10-15mins
Audience: Whole class in pairs
Materials: Skip counting patterns recorded on the whiteboard or anchor charts for anyone who requires support, 100s chart to keep track
Summary: In pairs, students are rehearsing their skip counting patterns. The teacher specifies the number to count by, and the students hold their pretend tennis racquet and hit an imaginary ball back and forth between them. In order to hit the ball they must say the next number in the counting pattern. They simply take turns to count by that number, back and forth, until the teacher decides to change to a different counting pattern.
Guiding questions: When we skip count by __, how do we know which numbers to say out loud, and which ones not to say? What patterns do you notice? How can we keep track and ensure that we are counting accurately?
Source: Source unknown
Skip Counting Buzz
Timeframe: 10-15mins
Audience: Play with the whole class or small groups
Materials: 100s chart, number line (optional)
Summary: Students stand in a circle and take turns going around the circle to count upwards by 2s (e.g. two, four, six, eight, ten… etc). Prior to counting, the teacher should name a number that is the buzz number. Anytime that number is featured in the answer, the child whose turn it is should say “buzz” instead of the numerical response. Then counting resumes with the next person in the circle. If any player miscounts or accidentally says the Buzz number, they’re out and sit down. The next person in the circle must say the correct answer. Play resumes around the circle. Continue playing until one person is left. They are the winner!
Guiding questions:
Source: none
Count by Threes Song (Uptown Funk Tune)
Timeframe: 3:30 minutes
Audince: Whole class, small group or independent
Materials: Device to play video on
Summary: Video of the 'Three Times Table Song'. This is a cover of Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars.
https://youtu.be/9XzfQUXqiYY?si=hD9Pluc7LJ49TTCa
Guiding questions: What patterns did you notice when skip counting by threes?
Skip Counting Races
Timeframe: 10 minutes
Audience: Whole class
Materials: Whiteboards, markers and timer
Summary: Either start from zero or from a certain number, write 3 numbers on the board and ask students what skip counting pattern is being used. Stn continue skip counting pattern as quickly as they can for a certain time (1 or 2 minutes). Once timer stops, students recite their numbers altogether, the person who gets the largest number has a handicap in the next round.
Guiding questions: What is the number pattern, how do you know?
Source: Heidi Tozer
Music Maker
Timeframe: 10-15mins
Audience: Students working individually or in pairs
Materials: iPads, number lines or number charts to support if required
Summary: Students use number lines to ‘set a rule’, e.g. “start from zero and count by 2”. Then they must click each number along the number line that matches the rule. They can set multiple rules, including starting from 0, 1 or 2, and count upwards by any number between 2 and 10. Once they’ve set up their rules and clicked the correct numbers, they can play their song.
Guiding questions: What do you notice about the numbers that play a musical note all on their own? What do you notice about the numbers that had more than one note playing at the same time? What patterns do you notice? How does starting from 1 or 2 change the counting patterns as opposed to starting from zero?