teaching numbers

[Efrat Burstein]

hi everybody!

i'm starting teaching numbers in English for the first grade. i thought of teaching the class the song of 5 little monkeys. do you have any more suggestions for a song and an activity?/
thanks all.

[mara_ce]

I hope this helps.

LEARN ENGLISH SINGING: NUMBERS

[petershell]

Hi!
You could tape numbers to the floor and explain that they are stepping stones across a river with something dangerous in it like an alligator. The students must identify the number before they can jump onto it. (If they can't identify the number I help, no penalties!!)
You could also get some number flashcards and put them on a table. Get two students to come up and when you say a number they must grab it. When they know the numbers better other students can call out the numbers for the players to grab.
Some great songs I've used are 1 Little 2 Little 3 Little Indians and Hickory Dickory Dock.
Hope this is useful.
Have Fun!

[konungursvia]

I always do the same thing with kids: Display the numbers above the blackboard. Teach the numbers in order, up to 5 or 10.

Then have them stand and play Simon Says, in which they repeat only if you're pointing at and saying the correct number, after saying "Simon Says," of course.

If you say the wrong number, or don't say it, they must remain siilent.

If you do say it, and say the number you're pointing at, they must repeat the number immediately in a normal speaking voice.

When they make an error, they're out, and sit down. You can play several rounds.

[Teaching English Games]

Fizz Buzz is a good classic game, for practising the numbers once the children have some knowledge of them. This game works on reinforcing the numbers and gaining fluency in using them. You would not want to use it as a starting game to introduce the numbers.

Do a demo of the game with a small group of 8 to 10 students and then divide the class up to play in groups. The only noise you should hear are numbers, Fizz or Buzz, any other words uttered and that group has a penalty or is suspended from playing for 30 seconds. To add motivation you could run a competition to see which group reaches the highest number in a given time.

The kids are in a circle but if the game can just as easily be played at desks. The first child says 1, the second says 2, the third 3, the fourth 4 and the fifth child says FIZZ. The sixth says 6, the seventh says 7, the eight says 8, the ninth says 9 and so on until you reach fifteen, which is FIZZ again, because any number with a 5 in it is FIZZ.

Once the children have got that well oiled, perhaps counting up to fifty five, you add in BUZZ, which is said on any other number, such as a three.

That is the simple version. With older primary students FIZZ is not just the number five but also any number that can be divided by five. So ten would also be FIZZ. Ditto with BUZZ - this can be a three, and any number that is divided by three. So three, thirteen, and twenty three would all be BUZZ, because they have a three in them, and six, nine and twelve are also BUZZ because they can be divided by three. However 35 would be BUZZ FIZZ because it has a three and a five. It starts to get complicated!!

However watch out because if your game is too complicated it stalls, and the idea here is to have the numbers going round fluidly, with some element of challenge requiring concentration.

Therefore I would play with the first version of FIZZ being a four and BUZZ being a seven - for example.

Then on a different day play the version where FIZZ is a three and BUZZ is a five and the game is to say FIZZ on any number that can be divided by three and BUZZ on any number that can be divided by five. Use two, three or five here rather than seven or nine quite simply because it's much easier to do division by 2, 3 or 5 than it is by 6, 7 or 9.

Loads more games in my book 161 English Language Games for Children, with plenty of variants and applications. For example FIZZ BUZZ can also be used to practise vocab.

Guessing games are good with numbers - such as guessing how many sweets there are in a jar, books on a book case and so on, and giving a time limit to guess. The winner gets to count up to twenty without taking a breath! Or how about having the whole class have to hold its breath while a pupil counts to fifty...(thinking about it just now, quite a good way to get a few moments of quiet!)

Have fun
Shelley
ESL games and activities for teaching English to children