MA 1.08Counting Backward from 10

1. 1

   Lay out the Number Rods as a stair. Count up the stair together, touching each rod: 'one, two… ten'.

2. 2

   Start at rod 10. Touch it and say 'ten'. Move to rod 9: 'nine'. Continue down the stair to rod 1.

3. 3

   Point past rod 1 to the empty mat: 'zero'.

4. 4

   Have the child count down the stair, touching each rod.

5. 5

   Lay the numeral cards in a row from 10 to 0; the child reads them from 10.

6. 6

   Say a counting-down rhyme together, the child holding up ten fingers and folding one down at each number.

7. 7

   The child counts down from 10 without the rods, then checks by walking a hand down the stair.

What catches the child’s eye

• The stair getting shorter at each step down
• Fingers folding down one at a time
• Saying zero at the empty space past the shortest rod

Extensions, easiest to hardest

1. Count back from any number below 10 (start at 7).
2. Count down with the Colored Bead Stair, laying the bars from 9 to 1.
3. Count back from 20 once the Teen Boards are known.