Skip Counting by Fives – Elementary Math

Purpose

To skip count by fives

Overview

Ask children to skip count by fives either in unison or as you point to each child. You may want to use a number line at first, pointing at numbers while counting. You may have children count objects, such as their fingers, by fives. If children still need support, count by ones, saying four numbers quietly or even silently, and then emphasizing the fifth number as you write the multiples of five on the board.

About the sequence

Part 1 has children saying four numbers quietly or even silently, and then emphasizing the fifth number as you write the multiples of five on the board. Part 2 moves to skip-counting by fives in unison or as you point to each child. The extension continues skip-counting by fives, but starting at a different multiple of 5 (any number than 0).

Part 1

Let’s practice counting by saying four numbers quietly and then saying the fifth number louder, such as, “1, 2, 3, 4 (whispering)… 5 (loud!)…” This will help us learn to skip-count by fives.

Number sequence:

1, 2, 3, 4 (whispering)… 5 (loud!)…6, 7, 8, 9 (whispering)…10 (loud!)…”

While children are enjoying their building of mastery, feel free to repeat. When children are eager for more, try Part 2.

Part 2

Let’s skip-count by fives. If it helps us, we can use our five fingers to help us.

Number sequence:

5, 10, 15, 20…

As always, when children seem excited for a new challenge, move on.

Extension

Now, we’ll skip-count by fives, but this time we will count on from a different multiple of 5, such as 10 or 15.

Number sequence:

5, 10, 15, 20, 25…
15, 20, 25, 30…
20, 25, 30, 35…
45, 50, 55, 60…