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Circle of Skip Counting!

Arts Integrated Launch for Grade 2 Skip Counting with Differentiated Options for Grades K-1

Tags: Skip Counting Launch Movement-Based Low-Stakes

Circle of Skip Counting!

Pairs with Reveal Math Lessons 2nd Grade: Unit 3

Students practice skip counting while passing a clap around a circle to a steady beat. The group skip-counts by 2s, 5s, or 10s, saying one number with each clap. As students become more comfortable, increase the tempo to build fluency, listening, and automaticity. This activity is designed for Grade 2, but is easily scaffolded for earlier grade levels.

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MARYLAND STATE STANDARDS

MD Math Standards:

  • 2.NOS.A.2 – Count forward and backward within 1000 starting with any number. a. Skip-count forward and backwards by 2s, 5s, 10s, and 100s.

Through repetition of skip counting patterns both forward and backwards, students will build automaticity with the patterns. The extension activity of starting with a different number (eg, start at six and count by 10s) will enable students to think fluently about number relationships and patterns as well. Passing the skip counting number from student to student engages the student in listening for other responses in order to be prepared for the next skip count number they need.

MD Arts Standards:

  • MU.AS4.I:P-2:3 – Demonstrate artistic qualities in performing musical ideas.
  • DA.AS9.E:P-2:3 – Recognize and describe guided aesthetic principles, such as repetition, unity, variety, and sequence in dance performances.

Changing in tempo gradually from slow to fast engages students in thinking quickly to identify the patterns by increasing the difficulty gradually. Adding in a repeated movement reinforces the connection between the numbers and the increase in value (each handclap stands for the same skip count, ie +2 or +10)

OUTSIDE OF MD?

Common Core State Standards:

  • 2.NBT.A.2 – Count within 1000; skip-count by 5s, 10s, and 100s.
National Arts Standards:

  • MU Pr4.3.2a – Demonstrate understanding of expressive qualities (such as dynamics and tempo) and how creators use them to convey expressive intent.
  • DA.Re.8.a.2. Use context cues from movement to identify meaning and intent in a dance using simple dance terminology.  

ARTS INTERATED LEARNING OBJECTIVE

I can skip count by 2s, 5s, 10s, and 100s using rhythm and movement.

MATH DOMAIN

  • Number and Operations in Base Ten → Skip counting → Counting forwards and backwards by 2s, 5s, and 10s within 1000

COHERENCE

  • Before: Students have skip counted within 120 by 10s and 20 by 2s.
  • After: Students will decompose and compose numbers within 10,000 and begin multiplication using patterns including skip counting and arrays.

MATH & ART SKILLS

  • Math: Skip counting forwards and backwards within 1,000 by a given number.
  • Art: Keeping to a steady tempo in both speech and movement with gradually increasing speed (after each round).

MATERIALS

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FACILITATION STEPS

    Before the activity: queue up the mp3 you will use to set the tempo.

    • Skip Counting Beat bpm110 (fast)
    • Skip Counting Beat bpm90 (medium)
    • Skip Counting Beat bpm70 (slow)

    The Activity:

    • Gather students in a standing circle.
    • Demonstrate passing a clap from person to person around the circle safely.
    • Next, tell students that we will be clapping to a beat. Use the included mp3 tracks to practice passing the clap to a consistent beat.
      • Explain that when the beat speeds up, this is a faster tempo. When it slows down, this is a slower tempo.
    • Let students know that they are going to use this movement to help skip count by 2s,5s, 10s.
    • Begin the first round with the slowest tempo and skip counting by 2: Go around the circle, clapping and saying the skip count until you reach a chosen number to stop at (or someone makes a mistake!). Do the same with 5s, 10s, etc.
    • As students become more comfortable with the game, increase the tempo and experiment with the different included tracks to build listening and automaticity. Remember, this game has two goals: to say the next number in the pattern AND to do it on the beat.

    ASSESSMENT & REFLECTION

    Discuss the following:

    • Were students able to skip count around the circle?
    • What made the counting difficult? (The tempo? Backwards counting? Starting on a different number?)
    • Did the clapping and tempo help them to skip count?

    DIFFERENTIATION

    This engaging activity requires little to no preparation. It can be modified for students in kindergarten and first by slowing down the tempo, only skip counting up, skip counting by grade level counts, and by starting at the first skip count rather than other numbers.

    • EXTENSION IDEAS: skip count backwards from a given number, skip count up from a different starting number (by tens, but starting at six, for example)
    • SCAFFOLD: if students are having trouble passing the skip count, have them practice it to the tempo chorally, and then try going from person to person again

    Return to Topic

    Materials Google Folder

    BRAIN TARGETED TEACHING IN THE CLASSROOM

    By playing this simple game several times and with different starting points, students will be able to remember the skip counts easily and fluently. Adding in a repeated motion embodies the idea that skip counting is a repeated pattern of sequential increase or decrease in numeric value.

    Using Movement to Strengthen Understanding – Embodied Cognition

    We don’t just think with our brains — we think with our whole bodies. Learning is strengthened when the body is involved.

    Examples include: tableau, acting out a story, role play, using gestures to explain ideas, building models, show a character’s emotion with their face and body, physically representing concepts (e.g., walking a number line)

    Why it works: First, it increases attention—movement naturally draws students in and keeps them engaged. Second, action supports deeper, longer-lasting memory. When students do something, they’re more likely to remember it. And finally, it helps make abstract ideas more concrete. Concepts that might feel confusing or distant suddenly become something students can see, feel, and experience.

    Artful Repetition for Long Term Memory – Engaging Repetition:

    Repeated rehearsal is the process of revisiting information, or repeating it, to strengthen memory.

    Arts integration naturally supports repeated, varied rehearsal by engaging students in creative, meaningful ways. Each artistic iteration reinforces learning while maintaining engagement.

    Ex: Students create a song about the states of matter (solids, liquids, & gas) using lyrical substitution, then demonstrate the molecular structure of each state through tableau. The song can be used at the start of every class period throughout the unit for more repeated rehearsal (science)

    The Emotional Climate:

    Students will need to feel safe making mistakes/being late in their skip counting, particularly as the tempo of the game increases.

    The Physical Space:

    Students will need an open space to sit or stand in a circle, and will need to review expectations for safely practicing the clap.

    Learn More:

    Learn more about Brain Targeted Teaching via Dr. Mariale Hardiman’s site.

    ROOT BRANCH MEDIA GROUP – BRING ROOT BRANCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!

    All video content made in partnership with Baltimore’s Root Branch Media Group.

    MURRAY PIPER – BRING MURRAY TO YOUR SCHOOL!

    Murray S. Piper, noted Performer, Instructor, Clinician, and Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University Peabody Preparatory Institute. Piper is the founder and director of Passionate Drumming & Music Lessons, which was driven from his early passion for drums. Piper received his B.S. music degree with a concentration in instrumentalists from Morgan State University. Piper has been teaching drums/percussion since 2004. In December 2021, Piper was invited to perform for the President and Vice President of the United States of America Holiday Celebration. Piper serves as an active DrumSet committee member for the international Percussive Art Society.

    SARAH AGUDA

    Sarah Aguda has been a teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools for 27 years. She has been teaching using Arts Integration as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and curriculum writer for the last 15 years. Sarah believes that consistent, rich Arts Integrated teaching has a lifelong impact on students. Her favorite things about teaching are that she is known as the teacher who “brings the fun” in the classroom, and watching her students create and collaborate in her classes.

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