By second grade most students have practiced counting to 100 during first grade, and possibly even during kindergarten. To change things up a little, have students count while they are doing an activity. Have them count while a friend does 100 jumping jacks or 100 toe touches. Have students count 100 pages in a book or 100 words in a shorter book. Giving students the opportunity to practice counting to 100 by doing things helps those who learn best by doing.
Counting to 100 is the perfect time for students to practice skip counting. Skip counting is easier if you have a number chart handy that students can refer to. Start by having students count to 100 by ones. Then have them count to 100 by tens. Use a pointer to touch each number as you count together. Point out that all of these numbers end in zero and are in the last column on the number chart. Next have students count to 100 by fives. Point out that all of these numbers either end in zero or five. After your students count to 100 by tens and fives, have them count by twos.
Counting to 100 is a way to practice counting and exchanging money. Begin by counting out 100 pennies. Explain that this equals one hundred cents or one dollar. Now take five additional pennies and exchange them for a nickel, explaining that five pennies equals one nickel. Take ten pennies and exchange them for one dime. Take 25 pennies and exchange them for one quarter. If you have one available, exchange 50 pennies for a half dollar. For an additional challenge have students figure out how many nickels, dimes or quarters they can exchange for 100 pennies.
In preparation for the 100th day of school, ask students to bring in 100 of any object. Students could bring in 100 small rocks, 100 toothpicks or even 100 cotton balls. Have students count their objects in class and compare what each person brought. Ask students to glue their 100 things to paper in groups of two, five or 10 and compare. Add together what everyone brought and find out how many objects the class provided in total. Seeing 100 of a given object helps students learn to visualize how much 100 is and helps them to understand larger numbers.