Number & Operations in Base Ten
Reading & Writing Numbers to 120
Representing a count of objects with a written numeral.
Prerequisites
- Counting Sequence to 120
From Counting to Writing Numbers
Counting out loud tells how many objects are in a group, but writing that count down uses numerals — the number symbols like 47 or 120. This lesson connects a group of objects, its spoken count, and its written numeral.
Worked Example — Writing a Numeral for a Count
Worked Example — Reading a Numeral Aloud
Tip
Common Mistakes
Writing a number's digits in the order they're spoken rather than in place-value order, such as writing 'seventeen' as 71 instead of 17.
Say the number slowly and think about tens and ones separately. Seventeen is 1 ten and 7 ones, so it's written 17, with the tens digit first.
Reading a number like 106 as 'one hundred sixty' instead of 'one hundred six,' skipping over the missing tens.
A 0 in the tens place means there are no extra tens — read the number as the hundreds amount plus just the ones amount: 106 is one hundred six.
Key Takeaways
- A numeral is the written symbol for a spoken count.
- In a two-digit numeral, the first digit shows tens and the second shows ones.
- A 0 in a place means there is nothing extra in that place.
Summary
Reading and writing numerals connects a count of objects to its symbol. The next topic looks more closely at what those digits actually represent — the value of a ten compared to the value of a one.
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