Skip Counting Ideas That Support Different Learning Styles

Skip counting is an important mathematical skill that we want students to be competent and confident in.

There are so many ways to cater for students when it comes to skip counting (plus the chanting can get awfully dull after a while… anyone with us?)

We have put together our favourite skip counting ideas to help you differentiate and cater to the learners in your classroom.

Psst: If you like this style of post. You might also enjoy this read on Multiplication inspiration that supports different learning styles.

Play detective games with class displays
Create visual number lines such as counting along a clothesline
Provide scaffolds to skip count forwards and backwards
Get out the blocks and counters and students create skip counting patterns

Find some ready to print skip counting posters here.

Partner or ping-pong counting
Make and count with counting wheels
Use scaffolds to count aloud forwards and backwards
Play enlarged games on a whiteboard or classroom wall and play as a class (check the idea out on reels)

Create number patterns to count – think, hopscotch!
Play skip counting board games
Count using objects such as pegs
Skip count using ping pong balls (don’t be afraid to ask students to be counting from many different starting points either) See how we created this lesson on TikTok

Write in fun + visual ways such as chalk, coloured markers, water paint on concrete/pavers
Allow time to read and recite number patterns
Use a hundreds chart to notice patterns
Create anchor charts or visual aides for students to refer to (such as the photo below)

Those are just some creative ideas for engaging students with skip counting activities. If you are looking for more help, check out our blog post: 12 fun skip counting lesson ideas (we even touch on more ways you can differentiate for your learners).

If you love these ideas but are time-poor, don’t worry, we have you covered. Click the images below for our print-and-go Skip Counting resources created to make teacher life easier!

Resource for counting by 2, 5, 10

Resource for counting by 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9