How many fingers?

You can have so much fun with this one.

The (apparently simple!) objective is to work out how many fingers there are in the class altogether but it provides fabulous opportunities for discussion about different ways of counting, and what happens if you try to count in tens beyond 100.

Just gather the children round in a circle and then pose the question: How many fingers do we have here? Then they are off!

Someone will no doubt say 'ten' not realising that the question refers to the whole group. But when you point out that you have 10 and Sarah has 10 and Jamie has 10... then it gets exciting!

Using teacher-led dialogue, you can lead them to counting in 10s, explore what happens when you get to 100, and explore patterns using a table.

If they are really going strong you can investigate toes as well!

Great fun!

Ages 6-10    Printable materials (pdf) - Teacher's notes and pupil record sheets.