Introduction To Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal numbers are used every day in our daily lives. We don’t even realise this. It is therefore essential that students learn these concepts in a way that they can remember them. Ordinal numbers are also referred to as ranking numbers. Ordinal numbers always represent the rank or position. Ordinal numbers are written using ‘st’, ‘nd’, ‘rd’, and ‘th’ as superscripts with the numbers. For example, 1 st tells us that the object at number 1 is actually first in the position.

Ordinal Number Names

Ordinal number names are always written using the suffix st (first), nd (second), third (rd) for numbers ending in 1, 2 and 3. For the rest of the numbers ‘th’ is used as a suffix. For example : fourth, fifth, tenth, eleventh, etc. For example, we express 51 as fifty – first, 52 as fifty – second, and 53 as fifty – third.

Cardinal Numbers

Cardinal numbers are the counting numbers which represent the number of objects or people. Cardinal numbers show quantity. Example : There are eight apples in the basket, Cage contains two beautiful birds.


Let’s begin by discovering some ways to teach to our young learners in a fun and interesting ways :

Posters

Teaching with kid friendly, clear and easy to understand posters from Uncle Math School by Fun2Do Labs :

Download more free printable teaching resources from Uncle Math School by Fun2Do Labs for a better understanding of ordinal numbers.


Stories

Teaching ordinal numbers through stories from Uncle Math School by Fun2Do Labs :

Text of Stories
Activities

Teaching ordinal numbers through hands – on activities :

Arrange and see :

One of the easiest activities for early learners is lining objects up in a row. The best thing about this activity is that you can use anything of which you have an abundance. Example : Lego, blocks, toys, cars etc.

Integrating with other topics :
Teaching days of the week and months of the year using ordinal numbers : Kids gain knowledge of the ordinal numbers as well as the sequence of the days in the week or months of the year.

Worksheets

Help your kids to practise ordinal numbers by interesting and fun worksheets and solutions from Uncle Math School by Fun2Do Labs.

Worksheet 051 : Match The Ordinal Numbers
Solution 051 : Match The Ordinal Numbers
Worksheet 052 : Ordinal Numbers
Solution 052 : Ordinal Numbers
Worksheet 060 : Writing Ordinal Numbers
Solution 060 : Writing Ordinal Numbers