aidemia--modules-lessonstartideas_type	Give a creative idea how to begin a lesson
Which subject	Mathematics
What age group	Year or Grade 1
What topic	counting activity for students to do to practice skip counting by 2's backwards
Quantity	1
Any other preferences

Skip Counting Adventure: Backwards by 2’s!

Introduction

Greetings, young mathematicians! Today, we're going to embark on a fun and exciting adventure through the world of numbers. Are you ready to skip, hop, and count? Let’s dive into our skip counting activity where we will practice counting backwards by 2’s!

Setting the Scene

Imagine you are in a magical garden filled with colorful flowers. Each flower has a number on it, and your mission is to help a friendly butterfly collect the flowers. But there’s a catch! The butterfly can only collect the flowers by skipping backwards, and it loves to skip by 2’s.

The Activity: Butterfly’s Flower Collection

What You’ll Need:

• A piece of paper with numbers from 20 to 0 written on it, separated by 2s (i.e., 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 0).
• Colouring pencils or markers.
• An optional: butterfly template to decorate.

Step 1: Understanding Skip Counting by 2’s

Before we help the butterfly, let’s remind ourselves how skip counting works! When we count by 2’s, we skip every second number.

• Example: Starting from 20:
  • 20, skip 19, 18, skip 17, 16, and so on.

Let’s practice counting backwards together from 20 to 0 by 2s. Can you say it with me?

20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 0!

Step 2: The Flower Collection Activity

Now, it’s time for the butterfly to collect its flowers!

1. Choose a Number: The butterfly can start at the number 20.
2. Counting Time: As you point to each number, say it out loud while skipping back by 2’s.
3. Colour the Flowers: For each number the butterfly collects, use a different colour to decorate that number on your paper.

Step 3: Share Your Adventure

Once you’ve helped the butterfly collect all its flowers by skipping backwards to 0, raise your hand and share:

• Which numbers you collected.
• What colours you used to decorate them.

Conclusion

Fantastic job, young mathematicians! You’ve successfully helped the butterfly collect its flowers while practicing skip counting backwards by 2’s. Remember, skip counting is a fun way to jump through numbers, and you can use it in different activities in your daily life!

Now, who’s ready for the next adventure in Mathematics? Let’s continue our journey!