What’s in a name?

Chapter 1

A Note to Teachers about this Teacher Resource Document

This Teacher Resource Document has been designed to support teachers in effectively teaching two-digit numbers to students in an inclusive classroom environment. The document emphasises meaningful understanding and application of number concepts through inclusive teaching strategies, differentiated adaptations, and engaging learner-centered activities that address diverse learning needs.

In addition to detailed classroom guidance, the resource provides a comprehensive range of supporting materials, including videos, ISL-enabled videos, audio resources, learning-teaching materials, learning cards, and visual organisers. Textbook activities have been further enriched and adapted using the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to ensure accessibility and participation for all learners. Teachers may effectively integrate the provided content, strategies, and aids to create an inclusive learning experience and achieve the intended learning outcomes for every student.

Learning Objective

1. Identify situations in daily life where numbers are used for naming and identification.
2. Identify, recognise, and represent 2 digit numbers.
3. Write 2- digit numerals and names correctly.
4. Compare two numbers to identify the greatest and smallest numbers. 

Concepts and Sub-concepts Covered

1. Understanding that numbers aren’t always for counting; they can be used as names for places, objects, and for personal identification.
2. Recognising the order of numbers, understanding that ten units form “One Ten”  and breaking the numbers to its parts: 10 to 99
3. Understanding “zero” as a placeholder and not just representing nothing.
4. Recognising the unique naming pattern and matching the numerals to its written name,
5. Comparing the digits in the tens place first and then comparing the ones place if the tens digits are identical, using mathematical vocabulary like more than, less than, equal to, smallest, greatest.

Prerequisites

• Oral reciting forward up to 99,
• Skip counting in 10s,
• Before, after and in-between numbers,
• More, less and same using concrete objects,
• Writing the dictated number,
• Subitizing,
• Understand that zero represents nothing,
• Visualising numbers on a number line and understanding that the number moving to the right increases its value.

Prerequisites Reinforcement

Pre-teach Vocabulary

quantity, how many, compare, greater than, less than, counting, sequencing, tens, ones, digit, place-value, bundle

Learning Cards: Vocabulary with Picture Card

Pre-teach Critical Concepts

Bundle, digit, tens and ones

Pre-teach Bundle – Have students physically wrap a rubber band around 10 sticks

Tens – A bundle of 10 sticks, a picture/drawing of a rod of 10 blocks, a tall vertical hand gesture

Why do we draw the Tens as long rods and the Ones as small dots? What would happen if we draw them both the same size?

What is the rule for ones becoming a rod?

The sequence to be followed to pre-teach is:

• Working with physical manipulatives
• Drawing rods (tens) and dots (ones)
• Looking at the digits (27) and understanding their values

Goals

Activity 1: Reading, recognising and writing two digit numbers correctly in numerals and words

Content:

Reading and recognizing two digit numbers correctly.
Writing two digit numbers correctly in numerals and words.

Materials:

Students will work in pairs

• Base-10 blocks (rods and units) or Unifix cubes or popsicle sticks bundled into tens or seeds/straws bundled in packs of tens -1 set for each pair
• Place value mats (Tens/Ones columns) – 1 for each pair
• Support Sheet (Divided into 4 sections: Make, Draw, Record, Name) – 2 for each pair
• Pack of cards (tens and face cards removed) -1 for each pair
• (Two small cardboxes) DIY dice for each pair

Session 1: 

Start with an activity. Instruct the students to count aloud by tens. Start by pointing upwards and count by 10s. Say, ‘10, 20, 30, 40,’ then pause and point down and say, ‘30, 20, 10, 0’. Then point up and continue this pattern.

Use a 100-chart to visualize counting by tens. Count by 10s. Say 21, and point upwards, students count 31, 41,…. Then pause and point down and say 83, 73, 63,…

Ask students to grab a handful of seeds or straws and, with a partner, count and group them into piles of 10. Discuss: “How many full piles of 10? How many left over?”.

Session 2:

Instruction and Modeling: Support Sheet 

• Demonstrate 2-digit numbers using different modalities:
  1. Concrete: Place Base-10 rods/units on the floor or seeds in packs of tens and units, or straws in bundles of tens and units.
  2. Pictorial: Draw “sticks” and “dots” on the white board.
  3. Abstract: Write the numeral (e.g., 34) and the word name (thirty-four).
• Modeling: Use the Support Sheet. Select two cards (e.g., 3 and 4) to make “3 tens and 4 ones”. Or throw two dice to make the numbers. Emphasize that the first digit represents the number of tens, and the second represents the ones.

Visual Organiser Cards

Support Sheet

Session 3: In pairs 

• Pairs receive a pack of cards or two DIY dice and a Support Sheet
• One student draws two cards or throws the dice to create a 2-digit number.
• Together, on the Support Sheet, they:
  1. Make the number with blocks, sticks or seeds.
  2. Draw the number (sticks and dots).
  3. Record the tens/ones and
  4. Write the number name.

Teacher moves, offering smaller number ranges (11-19) to groups of children that require support or higher numbers (up to 99) for advanced groups of students.

Session 4: 

Option A: Make 2 digit numbers using a pack of cards or by throwing two dice. Build 2-digit numbers using straws or seeds (bundle 10 for a ten) draw them, write the numeral and its name.

Option B: Create “Place Value Riddles”: “I am a two digit number. My tens digit is equal to 3+1 and my ones digit is equal to 5×1. What am I? Ask the partner to write the numeral and its name.

Video: Reading and Writing Two-digit Numbers

ISL Video: Reading and Writing Two-digit Numbers

Suggested Variation in Rules and Pace (if required):

Teacher moves, offering smaller number ranges (11-19) to a group of children that require support or higher numbers (up to 99) for advanced students.

• The buddy pair: Every pair must include students with complementary strengths (e.g., a student with strong verbal skills paired with a student who excels at tactile sorting).
• Audio-visual reinforcement: Use a rhythm or clap pattern for counting [ e.g.,10 (clap), 20 (clap)]. This helps students with hearing impairment feel the cadence and students with visual impairments track the sequence.

Suggested Scaffolds for Assistance (if required):

• High-contrast objects: Use high-contrast or textured materials (e.g., thick wooden sticks vs. smooth beans) to aid students with visual impairment.
• Tactile 100 chart: Create a tactile version with sandpaper numbers on a grid or puffy paint for multiples of 10.
• Large format dice: Use large foam dice in consistent colours (e.g., Blue for Tens, Red for Ones).
• Quiet materials: Use foam blocks instead of plastic to accommodate sensory challenges.
• Support sheet: Use bold, high-contrast borders around four quadrants and add icons next to words (e.g., hand holding a block for ‘Make’, pencil drawing dots for ‘Draw’, small table for ‘Record’, speech bubble for ‘Number name’) to assist students struggling with reading or processing.

Tip:

• If a student has motor challenges and cannot write the name, accept it if the child points to the correct number name on the provided ‘Number Name Chart’.
• Every day before the lesson, start with the ‘body count.’ Let the class stand or sit in a circle. Each student holds up 10 fingers and counts aloud together.

Safety Measures

• Choking hazards: Store beans or dried pulses in sealed containers to prevent ingestion. Students with oral fixation challenges should use wooden sticks or large foam shapes.
• Ergonomic workspace: Ensure tables are wheelchair-accessible and at the proper height. Use non-slip mats or damp cloths to prevent manipulatives from sliding.

Activity 2: Number Names

Objective: To practice spelling the number names.

Materials required: 

1. Letter tiles made of cardboard, or Scrabble – 1 for each pair
2. D10 dice or DIY Dice using small cube carton packs  – 2 nos for each pair 

Setting for the activity:
Students will work in pairs. It will be a peer learning/teaching  activity

Type of Activity: Group activity

Role of the Teacher: Demonstrator and Observer

Preparation for the Activity: The teacher should have the required number of dice and letter tiles ready.

Procedure:

1. Pairs of students roll two 10-sided dice or DIY dice to create a two-digit number. For example, rolling a 9 and a 0 makes 90. The number on the left die represents the tens place, while the number on the right die represents the ones place. Students then write this number down.
2. Student 1 (or the teacher) provides three or four “clue words”. These words must contain the specific letters needed to spell the target number.

3. Alternatively, Student 1 can select the letter tiles needed to spell the number, add a few “distractor” tiles, and jumble them for Student 2 to unscramble.
4. Student 2 uses the provided clue words or jumbled letter tiles to spell out and write the number name.
5. To complete the round, Student 1 checks the work of Student 2.
6. Student 1 will follow the steps above and write the name of the numerals. Student 2 will check the work of Student 1.

Note: Students who do not need extra help can find the letters they need directly from the letter  tile box to spell their number.

Video: Number Names

ISL Video: Number Names

Suggested Variation in Rules and Pace:

• The ‘scout and builder ‘roles: Pair a student with motor challenges with a neurotypical student. The student with motor challenges can find the letter while the other student can build it.
• Partial spelling: If a student with significant motor challenges is getting fatigued, have them find only the initial letter (the ‘T’ in twenty) while their partner finds the rest. They ‘adjust’ the workload to finish the goal together.
• The number bank: For the 0-19 group, provide a tray with only the needed letters for those words. For the 0-99 group, give the full alphabet. This ‘adjusts’ the environment to their skill level.
• Colour coding: Use one colour of tiles for ‘tens’ (twenty, thirty) and another for ‘ones’ (one, two, three). This helps students with motor planning to see the pattern in two-digit numbers.
• The ‘build and check’ method: Instead of asking students to spell ten numbers in a row, have them do one then a ‘celebration move’ (high five or stretch). This resets the brain for those with motor planning challenges.
• Chunking time: Allocate five minutes for ‘finding letters’ and five for ‘building the word’ to prevent students from feeling overwhelmed by the tiles.
• Personal best, not race: Some students spell ‘ten’ in 10 seconds, while others take three minutes for ‘seventy-eight.’ Use a visual sand timer for each, so they focus on their own pace rather than the class.

Suggested Scaffolds for Assistance and Practice:

Braille and High-Contrast (For Vision Needs)

• Add Braille stickers or puffy paint to the letters.
• Put white tiles on a black mat so they are easy to see.

Different Textures (For Sensory Needs)

• Avoid wood if a student dislikes how it feels or the loud noise it makes.
• Use soft foam letters or heavy plastic letters instead.

Slanted and Magnetic Trays (For Motor Needs)

• Use a slanted board so students don’t have to lean forward.
• Use an iron tray (baking tray) with magnetic letters. Sliding magnets is much easier than picking up wooden blocks.

Word Frames (For Planning Needs)

• Give students a card with empty boxes for the letters (for example, 5 boxes for the word ‘forty’). This helps them see exactly how many letters they need. 

Specific Instructions to the Teacher (if any, add safety instructions wherever essential)

Choking Safety

• Assign small tiles only to students who will not put them in their mouths.
• Use large cardboard tiles for everyone else.

Tile Stability

• Put Velcro on the back of the tiles and on the board.
• This stops tiles from sliding around or falling onto the floor.

Non-Glare Surfaces

• Use matte (non-shiny) cardboard tiles.
• Glossy or laminated tiles reflect light, which can hurt the eyes of students with vision or sensory needs.

Day to Day Relevance – Bills

Content:

Show the following image to the class and ask the question given below it

1. What do you see here?
2. Why is the amount written in numbers as well as in words?

Accept all answers without judgement

Finally tell the students that numbers are written in both numerals and words in some places to avoid tampering or changing the amount by someone else.

Cross-Curricular Connection

EVS – The teacher may use the ppt(with audio track) to present this passage. As the audio is heard, the words should appear or be highlighted. 
India is our country. It has many states and Union territories. There are Twenty-Eight states and Eight Union Territories. The people of India speak different languages. Twenty two languages are officially recognised in our country. The people of India eat different foods, celebrate different festivals and worship in different places. But we are all Indians. We are all brothers and sisters. We love our country. 

Questions: (Ask students to write the answer in their notebooks in numerals)

1. When the above passage was read, did you hear any numbers? 
2. How many states are there in India?  
3. How many Union territories are there in India?
4. How many languages are officially recognised in India?
5. How did these numbers appear in the passage? Did they appear as numbers or as words?

English

Mastering number names directly boosts the students’ reading and writing skills. They:

1. Develop mastery over irregular spelling patterns like silent “gh” in eight or the “w’in two.
2. Understand “compound words” and hyphens.  For any numbers between “twenty -one and ninety-nine” they must use a hyphen.
3. Develop fluency in reading real-world texts.
4. Number names introduce students to “Latin and Greek roots” like Tri (three), Uni (one) and cent(hundred).

Assessment

Worksheet: Practice Worksheet 1

Worksheet: Practice Worksheet 1 (Enlarged)

Audio Worksheet: Practice Worksheet 1

Worksheet: Practice Worksheet 2

Worksheet: Practice Worksheet 2 (Enlarged)

Audio Worksheet: Practice Worksheet 2

Worksheet: Practice Worksheet 3

Worksheet: Practice Worksheet 3 (Enlarged)

Audio Worksheet: Practice Worksheet 3

Worksheet: Assessment Worksheet 1

Worksheet: Assessment Worksheet 1 (Enlarged)

Audio Worksheet: Assessment Worksheet 1

Worksheet: Assessment Worksheet 2

Worksheet: Assessment Worksheet 2 (Enlarged)

Audio Worksheet: Assessment Worksheet 2

Worksheet: Assessment Worksheet 3

Worksheet: Assessment Worksheet 3 (Enlarged)

Audio Worksheet: Assessment Worksheet 3

For inclusive classroom support, the teacher can refer to the below Adaptations and Strategies:

Adaptations and Strategies: Attention and Focus

Adaptations and Strategies: Executive Functions

Adaptations and Strategies: Fine Motor Skills

Adaptations and Strategies: Number Sense

Adaptations and Strategies: Reading Skills

Adaptations and Strategies: Writing Skills

Adaptations and Strategies: Receptive and Expressive Language Skills

Teacher Resource Document