Reception Maths: Reading and writing numbers to 20
Part of the Reception Maths numbers to 20 chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Reading and writing numbers to 20
Jack lives at number 17 on his street. He reads the number and writes it on his drawing.
A numeral is written with digits, like 17. The word is seventeen. Both mean the same number. Look at the whole word when you read it.
| Numeral | Word |
|---|---|
| 11 | eleven |
| 12 | twelve |
| 13 | thirteen |
| 14 | fourteen |
| 15 | fifteen |
| 16 | sixteen |
| 17 | seventeen |
| 18 | eighteen |
| 19 | nineteen |
| 20 | twenty |
Key ideas
- Numbers 11 to 20 end with -teen, except eleven, twelve and twenty.
- A numeral is a number written with digits.
- A number word is its name.
Method. Read the whole number word. Then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read every part, including the second half of a long word.“fourteen”
- Find the word on the list. Each word matches one number.fourteen = 14
- Write the numeral. A numeral uses digits.14
Check. Count 14 things in your head, then check the numeral. ✓
Watch out. Look at the whole word. Thirteen and thirty look alike but are different.
Method. Say the number, then write its name in words.
- Look at the numeral. Find it on the number list.18
- Find its name. Every number has one name.18 = eighteen
- Write the word. Write each letter in order.eighteen
Check. Read the word back. It has the same number of things as 18. ✓
Watch out. Check the spelling. Thirteen, fourteen and fifteen are different words.
Method. Say the number, then write its name in words.
- Look at the numeral. Find it on the number list.12
- Find its name. Every number has one name.12 = twelve
- Write the word. Write each letter in order.twelve
Check. Read the word back. It has the same number of things as 12. ✓
Watch out. Check the spelling. Thirteen, fourteen and fifteen are different words.
Watch out
Watch out: thirteen and thirty look alike. Thirteen is 13 and thirty is 30. Check the ending of the word: -teen or -ty.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Write the numeral big on paper, then the word under it. Practise the words that are hard to spell, such as eleven, twelve, and fourteen. Say each word and count that many things.
Exercise 2B Numerals and words to 20
Non-calculatorMethod. Read the whole number word. Then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read every part, including the second half of a long word.“twelve”
- Find the word on the list. Each word matches one number.twelve = 12
- Write the numeral. A numeral uses digits.12
Check. Count 12 things in your head, then check the numeral. ✓
Watch out. Look at the whole word. Thirteen and thirty look alike but are different.
Method. Read the whole number word. Then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read every part, including the second half of a long word.“sixteen”
- Find the word on the list. Each word matches one number.sixteen = 16
- Write the numeral. A numeral uses digits.16
Check. Count 16 things in your head, then check the numeral. ✓
Watch out. Look at the whole word. Thirteen and thirty look alike but are different.
Method. Read the whole number word. Then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read every part, including the second half of a long word.“fifteen”
- Find the word on the list. Each word matches one number.fifteen = 15
- Write the numeral. A numeral uses digits.15
Check. Count 15 things in your head, then check the numeral. ✓
Watch out. Look at the whole word. Thirteen and thirty look alike but are different.
Method. Say the number, then write its name in words.
- Look at the numeral. Find it on the number list.13
- Find its name. Every number has one name.13 = thirteen
- Write the word. Write each letter in order.thirteen
Check. Read the word back. It has the same number of things as 13. ✓
Watch out. Check the spelling. Thirteen, fourteen and fifteen are different words.
Method. Say the number, then write its name in words.
- Look at the numeral. Find it on the number list.19
- Find its name. Every number has one name.19 = nineteen
- Write the word. Write each letter in order.nineteen
Check. Read the word back. It has the same number of things as 19. ✓
Watch out. Check the spelling. Thirteen, fourteen and fifteen are different words.
Method. Say the number, then write its name in words.
- Look at the numeral. Find it on the number list.20
- Find its name. Every number has one name.20 = twenty
- Write the word. Write each letter in order.twenty
Check. Read the word back. It has the same number of things as 20. ✓
Watch out. Check the spelling. Thirteen, fourteen and fifteen are different words.
Method. Say the number, then write its name in words.
- Look at the numeral. Find it on the number list.11
- Find its name. Every number has one name.11 = eleven
- Write the word. Write each letter in order.eleven
Check. Read the word back. It has the same number of things as 11. ✓
Watch out. Check the spelling. Thirteen, fourteen and fifteen are different words.
Method. Say the number, then write its name in words.
- Look at the numeral. Find it on the number list.14
- Find its name. Every number has one name.14 = fourteen
- Write the word. Write each letter in order.fourteen
Check. Read the word back. It has the same number of things as 14. ✓
Watch out. Check the spelling. Thirteen, fourteen and fifteen are different words.
Method. Say the number, then write its name in words.
- Look at the numeral. Find it on the number list.18
- Find its name. Every number has one name.18 = eighteen
- Write the word. Write each letter in order.eighteen
Check. Read the word back. It has the same number of things as 18. ✓
Watch out. Check the spelling. Thirteen, fourteen and fifteen are different words.
Method. Read the whole number word. Then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read every part, including the second half of a long word.“seventeen”
- Find the word on the list. Each word matches one number.seventeen = 17
- Write the numeral. A numeral uses digits.17
Check. Count 17 things in your head, then check the numeral. ✓
Watch out. Look at the whole word. Thirteen and thirty look alike but are different.
Method. Read the whole number word. Then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read every part, including the second half of a long word.“eleven”
- Find the word on the list. Each word matches one number.eleven = 11
- Write the numeral. A numeral uses digits.11
Check. Count 11 things in your head, then check the numeral. ✓
Watch out. Look at the whole word. Thirteen and thirty look alike but are different.
Method. Read the whole number word. Then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read every part, including the second half of a long word.“twenty”
- Find the word on the list. Each word matches one number.twenty = 20
- Write the numeral. A numeral uses digits.20
Check. Count 20 things in your head, then check the numeral. ✓
Watch out. Look at the whole word. Thirteen and thirty look alike but are different.
Method. Read the whole number word. Then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read every part, including the second half of a long word.“fourteen”
- Find the word on the list. Each word matches one number.fourteen = 14
- Write the numeral. A numeral uses digits.14
Check. Count 14 things in your head, then check the numeral. ✓
Watch out. Look at the whole word. Thirteen and thirty look alike but are different.
Method. Say the number, then write its name in words.
- Look at the numeral. Find it on the number list.17
- Find its name. Every number has one name.17 = seventeen
- Write the word. Write each letter in order.seventeen
Check. Read the word back. It has the same number of things as 17. ✓
Watch out. Check the spelling. Thirteen, fourteen and fifteen are different words.
Method. Look at each part of the word. The word for 15 is spelled with f-i-f-t-e-e-n.
- Say the number. It is five and ten joined together.5 and 10
- Spell the word carefully. It is fifteen. The f is followed by i, f, t.f - i - f - t - e - e - n
- Write the word. fifteen
Check. Count 15 things, then say the word fifteen. ✓
Watch out. Look at the middle of the word: fi-f-teen.
Method. Write each word as a numeral, then compare.
- Write thirteen as a numeral. Thirteen is one ten and three ones.13
- Write thirty as a numeral. Thirty is three tens.30
- Compare the numbers. They are different numbers.13 is not 30
- Write the answer. No. Thirteen is 13, and thirty is 30.
Check. Count on from 13: 14, 15, ... thirty is much further on. ✓
Watch out. The -teen word is smaller than the -ty word.