When I first taught my oldest about odd and even numbers, there were several activities we used to get the concept across. Over the years, I have used these same free activities and printables to teach odd and even numbers to my other children. Some of the activities resonated more with one child while others made more of an impression. I have found that layering a lesson with different learning activities helps students truly grasp the new knowledge. Teaching odd and even numbers is just a piece of the free activities and printables offered in our elementary math resources. Be sure to check out all of our Kindergarten resources here!
As a Christian Books and Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support. As always, we only recommend items that we truly feel will benefit your homeschooling experience. We appreciate it.
The most effective strategy I use to teach odd and even numbers is what I like to call, “Odd man out.” First, gather some kind of manipulative- crayons, beans, marshmallows, etc. There is no need to go out and buy something. Just use what you have on hand. We use crayons mostly since they are usually near our school table.
To begin, I ask my child to count out 3 crayons (manipulative). Then, I ask my child to put the set of 3 into groups of 2. They quickly see that 3 does not fit into groups of 2. I tell them that the one crayon is lonely. He is the “odd man out.” Next, I explain how 3 is odd because it has an odd man out.
Then, I ask my child to count out 5 of the crayons. Following the same line of questioning, I ask them to put the set of 5 crayons into groups of 2. He finds again that there is one crayon left out. That crayon is the ODD MAN OUT. We continue this repeatedly with 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. During all this time, I have written each of the numbers on a sheet of paper. Lastly, I explain how no matter how big a number is, if it ends in 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9, it will be an odd number. Hence, it will have an ODD MAN OUT! So, the number 1,000,003 is odd because it has an odd man out… poor guy!
It is helpful to act out the “Odd Man Out” activity more than once. The second time around I like to use edible manipulatives and index cards. Since the activity has different manipulatives and you are coming at it from a different angle, your students will be happy to oblige you… especially when they realize they get to eat their manipulatives!
You will give your student 10 large index cards. Write one number on each card 1-10 on the left side of the card. You want to make sure your students have enough room on the card to sort their gummy bear pairs. Lay the cards out in front of your student. Ask them to count out the number on each card in gummy bears. Once they have the right number of gummy bears, instruct them to put the gummy bears into pairs on the card. If there is an odd bear out, meaning that there is one bear with no partner, then that number is odd. We discuss our findings and review what we learned.
This set of 7 counting sheets features the characters to Finding Nemo. The premise of the counting sheets is to introduce the concept of odd numbers. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 are the odd numbers focused on.
Let me explain how I use them. You can certainly use them as counting sheets having your child write the number in the box or you can try the odd man out method. Tell your child to color pairs of two different colors. For example, one pair of two sharks will be green. Another pair will be red and yet another pair blue until there are no more pairs left. When there is one sea animal left alone explain that they are the odd man out. Odd numbers have one left all alone like these sea creatures. And yet another learning opportunity is to then count by twos. Start with the 1 sheet, then the 3 sheet, and so forth. Happy learning!
This set of Odd and Even Worksheets is a great addition to your elementary math worksheets. There are 10 posters and worksheets to help you teach odd and even numbers. I like that the worksheets are simple and provide a quick teaching tool that helps to solidify the concept.
I am all about finding a learning video on YouTube that coincides with what I am teaching and what my students are learning! Sometimes the way a video words something helps it click for a student.
This website uses cookies.