First, Second, Third! Ordinal Numbers to Tenth

Student Task

• Line up five children at the front. Ask: "Who is first? Who is last?" and teach the ordinal words.
• Read the parade line in activity 2 together and do activities 1 and 2 as a class.
• Children complete activities 3 to 7; answers are in the answer key.

Classroom Use

• Line-up game: give ten children ordinal cards (1st to 10th); they line up in order and say their position.
• Race podium: act out a race; the class says who came first, second and third.
• Simon says positions: "The third child, stand up!" "The fifth child, touch your nose!"

Differentiation

Support: work with first to fifth only and use a real line of children or toys. Challenge: use ordinals to tenth and beyond, and make up position riddles for a partner.

Answer Key & Assessment

Activities 1 to 5 check reading, writing and using ordinal numbers (answer key included). Activity 6 checks the difference between three and third.

Learning Objectives

• Say, read and write ordinal numbers from first to tenth (1st to 10th).
• Use ordinal numbers to describe the position of objects and people in a line.
• Tell the difference between counting numbers (three) and ordinal numbers (third).

Teacher Tips

Point out the special short forms: 1st, 2nd and 3rd are different, and from 4th to 10th we add th. A wall chart with all ten helps children remember.

What's Included

• 7-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
• Key vocabulary list (4 words with meanings and examples)
• Student worksheet (7 activities)
• Editable Word version of the worksheet
• Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)

Additional Files

• Editable Worksheet (DOCX)
• Answer Key (PDF)

Teacher Reviews