Skip to content
Start My 3 Free Days $0 today · cancel anytime

2nd Grade Counting Activities

30 2nd grade counting activities. Teacher favorites: Finding 10 More 10 Less Activity and Printable Dominoes. How teachers use these

2nd Grade Counting Activities

30 2nd grade counting activities. Teacher favorites: Finding 10 More 10 Less Activity and Printable Dominoes. How teachers use these

Activity
Activity2nd GradeFinding 10 More 10 Less Activity

This finding 10 more 10 less activity helps 1st and 2nd grade children use a hundred chart to find 10 more and 10 less. Practice page and answer key included.

Activity
Activity2nd GradePrintable Dominoes

A printable dominoes activity for preschool to 3rd grade: 28 domino cards, two counting and addition games, a recording sheet and a practice page. Answer key included for quick checking.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeCounting Groups of 10 Activity

Using Counting Groups of 10 Activity, students use the ten frames to count by ten all the way to 120 to build number sense.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeSubtracting 10 Using a Number Line Activity

This subtracting 10 using a number line activity helps 1st and 2nd grade students take away tens by hopping back on a number line. An answer key is included for easy checking.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeI Can Count to 100 Activity

Kids put color-coded number strips and tens cards in order with this I Can Count to 100 activity for kindergarten to 2nd grade. A practice page and answer key are included for quick checking.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeMore Fewer Activity

Using More Fewer Activity, studentscompare sets of more and less and feed your hippo to build their number sense skills.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeNumbers Activity

Using Numbers Activity, students practice counting and number identification with the Old McDonald Clip Cardactivity in order to build their counting fluency.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeOrdinal Numbers Racecar Activity

This ordinal numbers racecar activity is a spin-and-park race game for kindergarten to 3rd grade that practices first through eighth. A practice page and answer key are included.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeDecomposing a Ten Frame Activity

This decomposing a ten frame activity helps kindergarten to 2nd grade students match ten frames to facts that make 10, with a practice page and answer key included.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeCandy Hearts Skip Counting Activity

This candy hearts skip counting activity has 1st to 3rd grade students put heart number cards in order by 2s, 5s and 10s, then practice on a worksheet. Answer key included for easy checking.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeRainy Day Skip Counting Activity

This rainy day skip counting activity has 1st and 2nd grade students put umbrella number cards in order by 2s, 5s and 10s, then practice on a worksheet. Answer key included for quick checking.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeCounting Dice Activity

Using this Counting Dice Activity, students practice counting to 100 by rolling a die to move to the finish line!

Activity
Activity2nd GradeTake Me Out to the Ballgame Inequalities Activity

Using this Take Me Out to the Ballgame Inequalities Activity, students compare two sets of dots by using inequality symbols to build comparison skills.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeSkip Counting With Apples 5 10 100 Activity

Sort and order apple number cards to skip count by 5s, 10s and 100s with this hands-on math game for 1st to 3rd grade, plus a recording sheet and practice page. An answer key is included.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeCount Back Activity

Using Count Back Activity, students count back from one number to another number to solve the subtraction equations.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeNumber Words Ping Pong Activity

In the Number Words Ping Pong Activity, 1st and 2nd grade students read number words to fifty and match them to numerals in a fast card game. Answer key included.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeMissing Number Activity

This missing number activity has K-2nd grade students find the missing number on 24 cookie cards by counting by 1s and 10s on a hundred chart. Answer key included, and it makes counting feel like a treat.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeNumber Words to 20 Activity

This number words to 20 activity has K-2nd graders match 20 mouse word cards to 20 cheese numeral cards, plus a writing practice page. Answer key included for quick checking.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeEarth Day Numbers Activity

Using Earth Day Numbers Activity, studentscount objects up to 20 in a set in order to build their counting fluency.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeGreater Than Less Than Dolphin Activity

This greater than less than dolphin activity has 1st and 2nd grade kids sort two-digit number cards around 50 and practice the comparison signs. Answer key included.

From our teachers' playbook

Counting all the way to 1,000!

What do 2nd graders learn about counting?

Second graders take counting into the hundreds. They count within 1,000 and skip count by 5s, 10s and 100s: 250, 260, 270 and 300, 400, 500. They learn that 10 tens make a hundred, so counting by tens past 100 just keeps the pattern going. They read and write numbers to 1,000 in digits, words and expanded form. Counting by 2s helps them spot even and odd numbers, too. The click comes when kids count by tens from 380 and cross into 400 without missing a beat!

Our favorite ways to teach counting in 2nd grade

Big numbers feel friendly when kids see the patterns inside them.

Group it by tens

Give kids a big pile of beans or cubes and ask them to count by making groups of ten. Then group ten tens into a hundred. Grouping a huge pile shows kids why counting by tens and hundreds is so much faster than counting by ones.

Why it works: the U.S. Department of Education's guide for teaching elementary math recommends moving from hands-on objects to drawings to numbers.

Counting Groups of 10 ActivityTry it withCounting Groups of 10 ActivityActivitiesOpen it →

Jump on the number line

Draw an open number line and start at 340. Ask kids to jump by tens to 400, then by hundreds to 800. Drawing the jumps helps kids see counting patterns and gets them ready for adding and subtracting bigger numbers.

Why it works: children learn more from words and pictures together than from words alone (Mayer, 2009).

Adding and Subtracting with Number Line WorksheetTry it withAdding and Subtracting with Number Line WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Sing the skip counts

Use counting songs as a quick brain break and let kids march or clap on each number. Switch songs every few days so they practice 2s, 5s and 10s. A catchy tune gives kids a pattern they can always come back to.

Why it works: a catchy, repeating tune gives the brain a hook to hang words on, so sung text is remembered better (Wallace, 1994).

Counting Songs (Classic Video Collection)Try it withCounting Songs (Classic Video Collection)VideosOpen it →

Questions parents and teachers ask about 2nd grade counting

How high should a 2nd grader count?

By the end of 2nd grade, kids should count within 1,000 and skip count by 5s, 10s and 100s. They should also read and write numbers to 1,000.

Why is skip counting important in 2nd grade?

Skip counting builds number patterns and place value, and it is the first step toward multiplication. Counting by 10s and 100s also helps kids add bigger numbers in their heads.

My 2nd grader gets stuck counting past 100. What can I do?

Show a hundreds chart from 100 to 200 and point out that it looks just like 1 to 100 with a 1 in front. Practicing the jump from 199 to 200 and 299 to 300 helps a lot.

What is the difference between counting and place value?

Counting is saying numbers in order. Place value is knowing what each digit is worth, like the 3 in 352 meaning 3 hundreds. Counting by tens and hundreds builds place value.