Year 1: Reading and writing numbers 11 to 20
Part of the Year 1 numbers to 20 chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Reading and writing numbers 11 to 20
The numbers from eleven to twenty have names too. Learn them one at a time.
Eleven and twelve have names of their own. The numbers from thirteen to nineteen end in teen, which means “ten and some more”. Twenty comes after nineteen.
| Numeral | Word |
|---|---|
| 11 | eleven |
| 12 | twelve |
| 13 | thirteen |
| 14 | fourteen |
| 15 | fifteen |
| 16 | sixteen |
| 17 | seventeen |
| 18 | eighteen |
| 19 | nineteen |
| 20 | twenty |
Key ideas
- Eleven and twelve have their own names.
- The names from thirteen to nineteen end in teen.
- Twenty comes after nineteen.
- Read the whole word, then find its numeral.
Key words. A numeral is a number written with digits, like 14. A number word is its name, like fourteen.
Method. Say the number out loud, then write its name in words.
- Say the number. Listen to how it sounds.14
- Find its name on the number list. Every number has one name.14 = fourteen
- Write the word, one letter at a time. The word has 8 letters.fourteen
Check. Count out 14 things and say “fourteen” at the end. ✓
Watch out. Teen numbers end in teen. Check every letter of fourteen.
Method. Read the number word, then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read the whole word, not just the first letters.“seventeen”
- Find the word on the number list. Each word matches exactly one number.seventeen = 17
- Write the numeral. A numeral is the number written with digits.17
Check. Count 17 things. The last number you say is 17. ✓
Watch out. Teen numbers end in teen. Check every letter of seventeen.
Key words. A numeral is a number written with digits, like 14. A number word is its name, like fourteen.
Method. Say the number out loud, then write its name in words.
- Say the number. Listen to how it sounds.12
- Find its name on the number list. Every number has one name.12 = twelve
- Write the word, one letter at a time. The word has 6 letters.twelve
Check. Count out 12 things and say “twelve” at the end. ✓
Watch out. twelve does not end in teen. Learn it as its own name.
Watch out
Watch out: thirteen and thirty look alike. Thirteen ends in teen, so it is 13. Check the ending of the word before you write the numeral.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Say the number slowly and clap each part: thir-teen, four-teen, six-teen. Write the numeral and the word side by side, then check they match.
Exercise 4B Numerals and number words
Non-calculatorKey words. A numeral is a number written with digits, like 14. A number word is its name, like fourteen.
Method. Say the number out loud, then write its name in words.
- Say the number. Listen to how it sounds.11
- Find its name on the number list. Every number has one name.11 = eleven
- Write the word, one letter at a time. The word has 6 letters.eleven
Check. Count out 11 things and say “eleven” at the end. ✓
Watch out. eleven does not end in teen. Learn it as its own name.
Key words. A numeral is a number written with digits, like 14. A number word is its name, like fourteen.
Method. Say the number out loud, then write its name in words.
- Say the number. Listen to how it sounds.13
- Find its name on the number list. Every number has one name.13 = thirteen
- Write the word, one letter at a time. The word has 8 letters.thirteen
Check. Count out 13 things and say “thirteen” at the end. ✓
Watch out. Teen numbers end in teen. Check every letter of thirteen.
Key words. A numeral is a number written with digits, like 14. A number word is its name, like fourteen.
Method. Say the number out loud, then write its name in words.
- Say the number. Listen to how it sounds.15
- Find its name on the number list. Every number has one name.15 = fifteen
- Write the word, one letter at a time. The word has 7 letters.fifteen
Check. Count out 15 things and say “fifteen” at the end. ✓
Watch out. Teen numbers end in teen. Check every letter of fifteen.
Key words. A numeral is a number written with digits, like 14. A number word is its name, like fourteen.
Method. Say the number out loud, then write its name in words.
- Say the number. Listen to how it sounds.18
- Find its name on the number list. Every number has one name.18 = eighteen
- Write the word, one letter at a time. The word has 8 letters.eighteen
Check. Count out 18 things and say “eighteen” at the end. ✓
Watch out. Teen numbers end in teen. Check every letter of eighteen.
Method. Read the number word, then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read the whole word, not just the first letters.“twelve”
- Find the word on the number list. Each word matches exactly one number.twelve = 12
- Write the numeral. A numeral is the number written with digits.12
Check. Count 12 things. The last number you say is 12. ✓
Watch out. twelve does not end in teen. Learn it as its own name.
Method. Read the number word, then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read the whole word, not just the first letters.“sixteen”
- Find the word on the number list. Each word matches exactly one number.sixteen = 16
- Write the numeral. A numeral is the number written with digits.16
Check. Count 16 things. The last number you say is 16. ✓
Watch out. Teen numbers end in teen. Check every letter of sixteen.
Method. Read the number word, then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read the whole word, not just the first letters.“nineteen”
- Find the word on the number list. Each word matches exactly one number.nineteen = 19
- Write the numeral. A numeral is the number written with digits.19
Check. Count 19 things. The last number you say is 19. ✓
Watch out. Teen numbers end in teen. Check every letter of nineteen.
Method. Read the number word, then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read the whole word, not just the first letters.“fourteen”
- Find the word on the number list. Each word matches exactly one number.fourteen = 14
- Write the numeral. A numeral is the number written with digits.14
Check. Count 14 things. The last number you say is 14. ✓
Watch out. Teen numbers end in teen. Check every letter of fourteen.
Key words. A numeral is a number written with digits, like 14. A number word is its name, like fourteen.
Method. Say the number out loud, then write its name in words.
- Say the number. Listen to how it sounds.20
- Find its name on the number list. Every number has one name.20 = twenty
- Write the word, one letter at a time. The word has 6 letters.twenty
Check. Count out 20 things and say “twenty” at the end. ✓
Watch out. Twenty ends in ty, not teen. Check every letter.
Key words. A numeral is a number written with digits, like 14. A number word is its name, like fourteen.
Method. Say the number out loud, then write its name in words.
- Say the number. Listen to how it sounds.17
- Find its name on the number list. Every number has one name.17 = seventeen
- Write the word, one letter at a time. The word has 9 letters.seventeen
Check. Count out 17 things and say “seventeen” at the end. ✓
Watch out. Teen numbers end in teen. Check every letter of seventeen.
Method. Read the number word, then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read the whole word, not just the first letters.“fifteen”
- Find the word on the number list. Each word matches exactly one number.fifteen = 15
- Write the numeral. A numeral is the number written with digits.15
Check. Count 15 things. The last number you say is 15. ✓
Watch out. Teen numbers end in teen. Check every letter of fifteen.
Method. Start at 11. Count on one number at a time until you reach 15.
- Start at 11. That is the first number you say.11
- Count on one at a time to 15. Each number is one more than the number before it.11, 12, 13, 14, 15
- Write the numbers. Include the first number and the last number.11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Check. Count back from 15 to 11 to check. ✓
Watch out. Do not skip a number when you go past ten. After nine comes ten, then eleven.
Method. Read the number word, then find it on the number list.
- Read the word. Read the whole word, not just the first letters.“twelve”
- Find the word on the number list. Each word matches exactly one number.twelve = 12
- Write the numeral. A numeral is the number written with digits.12
Check. Count 12 things. The last number you say is 12. ✓
Watch out. twelve does not end in teen. Learn it as its own name.
Method. Read each word slowly, one letter at a time. Find the spelling that matches the number.
- Look at “sicteen”. Say the word slowly: six-teen. It has an x sound in the middle.sicteen is not right
- Find the right letters. Six is spelled s-i-x. Then add teen.s-i-x + t-e-e-n
- Write the word correctly. Put the letters together.sixteen
Check. Sixteen is 16. Count 16 things and say “sixteen”. ✓
Watch out. Six has an x in the middle. Do not write it as c or s.
Method. Find the number word that matches each numeral, then compare them.
- Look at thirteen. Thirteen is the number word for a number.thirteen = 13
- Look at 13. 13 is a numeral with the digits 1 and 3.13 = thirteen
- Look at eleven. Eleven is a different number from thirteen.eleven = 11, not 13
- Write the answer. Thirteen and 13 are the same number.thirteen and 13
Check. Thirteen and 13 are both the number 13. Eleven is 11. ✓
Watch out. A numeral and a number word can name the same number.
Method. Put the two numbers next to their numerals, then compare them.
- Look at twelve. Twelve is the number after eleven.twelve = 12
- Look at twenty. Twenty is the number after nineteen.twenty = 20
- Compare them. Both words start with tw, but the numbers are different.12 is not 20
Check. Count on from 12: 13, 14 ... 20. Twenty is further on. ✓
Watch out. Two words can start the same and still be different numbers.
Method. Think about what the word means. Eighteen means eight and ten more.
- Look at the word. Eighteen is made from eight and teen, which means ten more.eighteen = 8 and 10 more
- Add ten and eight. Ten and eight make eighteen.10 + 8 = 18
- Write the numeral. The numeral is written with digits.18
Check. Count on from ten: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. ✓
Watch out. Eighteen is not 81. The eight comes after the ten.