For students just beginning to compare numbers, use this simple two-player game. Make a game board using a piece of cardboard or a large shoebox lid. Create two parallel paths with markers or stickers to represent spaces on the path and number the spaces 0 to 20. Players place game pieces at the beginning of each path. Prepare a deck of cards numbered 0 to 20 and shuffle them. Each player draws a card from the deck and moves their game piece to the matching number on the path. Students will be able to see which number is bigger by comparing where their game piece is on the path. The player who goes the furthest on the path had the highest number.
Use a deck of cards numbered 0 to 9 and divide the deck evenly between two students. To begin, players each turn over one card from their pile and the two students compare the numbers to see which is larger. The player with the larger number collects both cards and places them in their pile. As students are ready to compare two-digit numbers, players turn over two cards and place them side by side to create a two-digit number. For example, if a student turns over a 3 and a 6, he will place them next to each other to create the number 36. The players will decide which two-digit number is larger, and the person who played those cards will collect all four cards. Play continues until one player has all of the cards.
To introduce the concept of using the greater-than and less-than signs to compare numbers, teachers can show students how to use place value mats and base 10 blocks, which are blocks that represent hundreds, tens and ones. Prepare place value mats that have large squares for students to place their blocks inside. The mats should have two large squares on the left, labeled "tens" and "ones," and the same squares on the right side of the mat with an empty space in the middle. Call out a two-digit number. Students use base 10 blocks to represent the number on the left side of their mats. Repeat with another two-digit number on the right side of the mat. Students decide which number is larger by looking at their blocks and draw an alligator with its mouth open toward the larger number. Show students how the greater-than and less-than signs look like an alligator's mouth opening toward the number that is greater.
Use a deck of cards labeled with numbers 0 to 9 and mats divided into three columns labeled "hundreds," "tens" and "ones." Place the deck of cards between two players. One player turns over a card and decides in which column he would like to place that number on his mat. Once the card has been placed on the mat, a player cannot move it. The next player also chooses a card to place in one of the columns on his mat. The first player draws another card and places it in one of the empty columns on his mat. The game continues with players drawing cards and placing them onto their mats, each trying to create the greater number.