Skip counting

In this lesson, we will learn:

• What is skip counting?
• How can you understand the pattern of skip counting?
• How do you skip count by powers of 10?

• With normal counting, we count forwards (count up) by 1 each time
• Ex. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, …
• Skip counting is when you count by more than one each time!
• Ex. counting up by 2s: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, …


• You can use a pattern sentence to describe skip counting.
• It tells what number you start on, and how much you count up each time.
• Ex. for 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, … we “start at zero and add 2 each time”.
• Ex. if you “start at 12 and add 3 each time”, it would be: 12, 15, 18, 21, …


• You can find the “skip counter” (how much you are counting up by each time) by:
• Looking at any two consecutive numbers in the list (one after the other)
• If you subtract them, then you will find the skip counter:
• Ex. 12, 18, 24, 30, … the skip counter is 6 because
• (18 – 12 = 6) and (24 – 18 = 6) and also, (30 – 24 = 6)


• Skip counting by powers of 10 (i.e. 10, 100, 1000) is simple!
• You only need to change the power of 10’s place value; increase by 1 each time.
• Ex. starting at 682 and add 10 each time: 682, 692, 702, 712, 722, …