True story, there aren’t a ton of activities for number recognition out there. I went on the search when we were working on number recognition during the school year and almost everything I found included 1:1 correspondence, but we were just working on recognizing and naming numbers in our classroom. Throwing 1:1 correspondence activities in there were just confusing for my students. That’s when I started to dive into creating resources aimed at generalizing and mastering number recognition in our classroom.
Before I dive into the activities, I want to share a little bit about how I teach number recognition in my classroom. Since number recognition is a discrete skill, I typically teach it in a 1:1 setting with my Discrete Trial Kit for Numbers. Once I’ve introduced a group of 10 numbers, I’ll start working on generalizing those numbers at center time. It’s important to note that I’ll often group my instruction into groups of 10 numbers. I’ll usually start teaching numbers 0-9 and move to 10-19 and so on until we have mastered numbers all the way to 100.
1. Number Match
I’m such a fan of no prep activities that I included 2 on one page with this one! This no prep, print and go activity is great for students with limited fine motor skills. In the first activity, students draw simple lines to match numbers. The second activity has students pasting numbers to their match. You can keep these pages whole or snip them in half for your students to have two activities to complete. You could also laminate these activities and provide students with a dry erase marker or add velcro to make this an independent work station task.
2. Number Clip
These number clip cards are one of my favorites. I print these out on bright paper and laminate them. The students find the target number on the middle of the card and use clothespins to clip onto the matching number on the card. These clip cards definitely find their way into our work station boxes in our classroom.
3. Color by Number
Who wants more no prep activities? I’ve got you! These print and go color by number pages are a hit. Students use the key to color the picture and reveal a hidden picture. Numbers are broken up into groups of 5 so I have two different pages I can work on for each group of 10 numbers! Using this page, students recognize the number and color to match the code and reveal the mystery picture.
4. Number Daub
I haven’t met a student who does’t LOVE a dauber activity. My students defiantly love any activity they can use a dauber to complete! In this activity, students look for their target number on the page and use a bingo dauber to mark their answer. I also included a space for your students to practice writing the number on the page. Each number has its own page so you can print out a pack of them or work on the numbers your students have been struggling with.
5. Number Sort
I LOVE these number sorts. There are a few different pages so students can sort by 2, 3, 4, or 5 numbers. My favorite part is that these pages are completely EDITABLE! You just add in your target numbers and the page will auto populate with those numbers. I’ll usually prepare a few sorts for the week and slip them in my students math folders for them to complete during center time. It’s a great way for students to generalize their numbers or to work on some numbers they might confuse often.
6. Number Recognition File Folders
Is there a special education teacher who doesn’t love file folders? If so, I haven’t met them. I created 5 themed sets of file folders so we can use these folders in our work stations. First I use them in center time stations so we can ensure students can independently complete the activities. When they’ve mastered this, students are able to independently practice distinguishing numbers and matching them in this activity.
7. Number Punch
I was looking for a good way to incorporate some fine motor practice during our number recognition activities, so I made some number punch cards. Using a hole punch is a great way for students to work on building hand strength. Finding a number to punch just adds to the skills my students are learning in the classroom. Students identify the target number on the center of the card and go around the edges to punch the matching numbers. I often reinforce the number by name it for my students while they work by saying something like “Wow! You found number 19!” and having them practice naming the number back to me.
Are hole punchers too hard for your students? Try using stickers to mark the numbers. Peeling stickers off is a great way to work on pinching and fine motor dexterity.
8. Lily Pad Hop Game
I have a group of students who like to MOVE throughout the school day. That’s how I knew I needed to come up with a gross motor activity for my students to use throughout the day. This lily pad hop game is a hit in our classroom! In order to play, we choose 5-10 target number cards and scatter the lily pads on the floor. Then we grab those number cards and the games caller (usually an adult in our classroom) will tell the students to “Hop to (number).”
Have students who aren’t able to hop around? Try using small frog toys. Students can have the toys hop to the target numbers instead.
9. Bingo
Bingo is such a fun, easy game to play and students love it. I prepared 10 sets of Bingo cards (color coded for your convenience) and calling cards for you to use in your classroom. Like any typical Bingo game, the caller chooses a card and the players cover the number. The first person to get 3 in a row calls out “BINGO!” and is the winner. You can also play blackout and have students cover all of the numbers on their card to be the winner!
10. Number Sensory Bin Activities
I love these sensory bins. There are 4 different sensory bin themes. Just print and laminate (if desired) the number cards and tuck them into a sensory bin. I’ve suggested some sensory bin fillers, but you can definitely use whatever your students like. Once everything is prepped, I hide the numbers in the sensory bins and print off the recording page. When students pull a card out of the sensory bin, they name it and find the matching number on their recording sheet. Then they color it in.
If you’re ready to target number recognition skills in your classroom, give some of these activities a try! They’re engaging, student favorites that my students are asking for all the time.
If you’re interested in grabbing the BIG BUNDLE of these number recognition activities, you can find it here.
