Home›Lesson Plans›Mathematics›Counting & Cardinality · Kindergarten

Counting to 20: More Big Numbers!

Kindergartners count all the way to 20 — touching each object once as they count — building strong counting skills and getting ready for adding and subtracting.

KindergartenCounting30 minutes1 class periodPlay-BasedExplicit teaching4 StandardsCommon Core
Start the Lesson
Assign or share this lesson

Copy link works with Canvas, Schoology, Moodle and any other LMS — paste it in as a resource or assignment.

Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Count out loud to 20.
  • ✓Touch one object per number.
  • ✓Know the teen numbers.
  • ✓Count a group of up to 20.
Essential Question

We can count to 10 — but the numbers keep going! What comes after 10? Let’s count all the way to 20!

0
Lesson Phases
0
Vocabulary Terms
0
Standards Aligned
0
Interactive Task
Tap & Count · Interactive

Tap and Count to 20!

Project this and let children tap each apple to count it — all the way from 1 to 20. One tap, one count!

🍎 Tap each apple and count to 20!Try it
0
Tap the apples one at a time!
The Lesson · Play-Based Learning (Gather · Explore · Play · Reflect)

30 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Gather — Past Ten

5 min

We can count to 10 — what comes next?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Count to 10 together.
  • Ask what comes after.
  • Set the goal: count to 20.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Count to 10.
  • Wonder what’s next.
  • Get ready.
2

Explore — Tap and Count

10 min

Children explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send children to Tap and Count.
  • Touch each apple.
  • Count past 10 to 20.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Tap each apple.
  • Count aloud.
  • Reach 20!
3

Play — Counting Games

12 min

Play together.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Count claps and hops to 20.
  • Count teen numbers.
  • Count a group of objects.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Count claps.
  • Count teens.
  • Count objects.
4

Create — Make 20

8 min

Children create.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Glue objects in a line to 20.
  • Count them.
  • Circle groups of ten.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Glue to 20.
  • Count them.
  • Circle tens.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Share the count.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Count to 20 one more time.
  • Say the teen numbers.
  • Celebrate counting to 20!

🎒 Student Actions

  • Count to 20.
  • Say the teens.
  • Cheer!
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (Kindergarten).

CCSS
K.CC.1

Count to 100 by ones (counting to 20 as a first step).

CCSS
K.CC.4a

Say number names in order, pairing each with one object.

CCSS
K.CC.5

Count to answer “how many?” up to 20 objects.

CCSS
K.CC.3

Represent numbers with a written numeral.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Count in the home language too.
  • Model touching each object.
  • Use a number line to 20.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Count to 15 first.
  • Guide the child’s hand.
  • Count slowly together.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Count to 30 or more.
  • Count backward from 20.
  • Group into tens and ones.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / tablet
  • 🍎Counters
  • 🧸Objects to count
  • 🔢A number line to 20
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

countsay numbers in ordernumbertells how manytenthe number 10teen number11 to 19twentythe number 20how manythe amount in a groupmorea greater amountafterthe next number
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Can you count to 20?
1, 2, 3… all the way to 20! (Cheer for any counting effort.)
QUESTION 2
What number comes after 15?
16.
QUESTION 3
Count these objects. How many?
The child touches each object and says the total (up to 20).

Growing at home? Count to 20!

Encourage families to count to 20 all day — stairs, toys, crackers — touching each one. A printable counting-to-20 mat is in the Early Learning library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Counting to 20Flip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
0

Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Counting to 20Quiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Counting to 20Print
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: after, count, how many, more, number, teen number, ten, twenty
  1. 11 to 19
  2. a greater amount
  3. the number 20
  4. say numbers in order
  5. the next number
  6. the amount in a group
  7. the number 10
  8. tells how many

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Can you count to 20?
  2. What number comes after 15?
  3. Count these objects. How many?
Answer key — Part A: 1) teen number · 2) more · 3) twenty · 4) count · 5) after · 6) how many · 7) ten · 8) number
Part B: 1) 1, 2, 3… all the way to 20! (Cheer for any counting effort.) 2) 16. 3) The child touches each object and says the total (up to 20).