Teachers Get These Engaging Ordinal Number Activities for your kiddos. They’ll make learning how to name the position of something from 1st, 2nd, 3rd to last great fun!
be a little tricky for little learners, usually Foundation, Kindergarten, Preprimary and preschoolers.
Previously Students have probably been focussed on counting a sequence, or learning that numbers can be used to tell how many there are in a collection. Now learning Ordinal Numbers is going to challenge this learning to also include the idea of using numbers to identify the order or position of something in a group.
Many children may understand the idea of ‘first’ but tend to associate it with last, and not as a way to identify the position or order of numbers and objects, so just be aware of this when teaching and assessing your students.
Ordinal Number Activities
Before we get to the Ordinal Number Printables, you may like to try some of these simple ideas. They are a great way of weaving in incidental learning throughout the day.
Line ups
These have to be the quickest, easiest, and most fun way to build understanding of ordinal numbers.
Now before you think lining up your students think lining up objects!
Lining up the students is really not the time to discuss ordinals! Especially in Kindergarten and Preprimary!
- Ask students to find 2nd, tenth object in a group
Days of the Week, Calendar Time, & 100th Day of School
Using calendar time is a great real life situation to help teach ordinals.
- talk about which is the 1st, 2nd day of the week and month
- Counting how many days at school in a build up to the 100th day of school is another meaningful daily activity too. We have 100th Day ten frames & visuals in our Watercolour Rainbow Decor packs
Daily Schedules & Routines
- Talking about the sequence of the day is allso another real life use of ordinals.
- Using a visual timetable with 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc added will make learning ordinal numbers very meaningful.
Sequencing & Procedures
These are 2 of the main writing genres in Foundation, Pre primary & Grade 1, which also happen to use the language of ordinal numbers.
- They don’t have to be formal written tasks
- Discussion of the steps involved are just as effective
Sports
Of course sports and running games are also a natural ordninal numbers learning environment.
- Tread carefully and make sure the situation isn’t too competitive. I usually look to real life sporting races.
Story Books & Number Rhymes
Narratives are a songs are also natural incidental teaching opportunities for ordinal numbers.
Below are our Ordinal Numbers Teaching Resources and Printables for explicit teaching. Click each image to download.
Related Resources: Daily Number Sense Activities Every Teacher Needs To Know
Ordinal Number Activities
