Divide a class into two or more teams around large whiteboards. These boards should each bear a grid of numbers from 0 to 25, written in five columns, each row containing five numbers. The mystery numbers are the missing ones represented by a blank space, one for each row. Each team must discover and write in the correct numbers for these spaces. The first team to finish reads their board aloud to the teacher. If their answers are correct, the group wins the challenge. As students' number writing and reading skills increase, the teacher can set a time limit, use more blank space in each board or give students one board each to increase the difficulty of the task.
Ask your students to trace numbers written on two sets of large cards. One set has numerical digits, the other, spelled-out versions of the numbers from 0 to 10. When each child has traced two sets of cards, they will have 20 tracings in front of them. Set a timer for two minutes and tell students to pair up the numbers with their names -- for example, "0" with "zero," "2" with "two" and so on. Record the scores of each child and compare results to assess improvements in student skills for reading and writing numbers.
Deal a pack of cards numbered 1 to 100 to the class. Tell students to read quietly to themselves the number value on their cards. Each child takes a turn to ask the class for a higher or lower card that fits into a sequence of numbers with the ones he already holds. The student dealt the card with the number 1 on it begins by telling the class, “I have the No. 1 card; I need the 2.” The student with the 2 has to surrender it, but only if he has read his card correctly; if incorrect, he loses it to the one with the card he seeks. As the remaining numbers become higher and more difficult to read, students run out of cards and drop out, leaving the winner holding all 100 cards.
Teach students to read and write numbers with a lively racing game. The teacher writes a numeral between 0 and 100 on the board. Students from two or more teams send a member to the board to write the name of the number next to the numeral. The first team to write the correct name on the board gains a point. Adapt this game for each level of first-graders you teach by beginning with the numbers 1 to 10 and gradually adding more numbers until the entire class can easily write and read numbers up to 100.