Count and Compare

Riley is helping her teacher clean up the classroom. She needs to count and compare the items she finds so that she can put them away. Can you help her count and compare?

When we compare, we find out how many items are in each group. Then, we look for which number is higher and which number is lower. We can use a greater than or less than symbol to show this. It helps to remember that the symbols always open to the bigger number!

Riley found these scissors. We need to count the number of scissors in each group. Here’s the first group. 1, 2, 3. There are 3 scissors in this group.

Here’s the second group. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. There are 5 scissors in this group. Which number is higher, 3 or 5?

5! That means the symbol needs to open up to 5. We will use a less than symbol to show that 3 is less than 5. Now Riley can put the scissors away!

Riley found more items around the room. Look at these two groups of rulers. Which group has the higher number? We need to count the rulers in each group. The first group has 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. There are 6 rulers in this group. Now we need to count the second group. Can you help Riley count?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5. There are 5 rulers in this group. Which number is higher, 6 or 5?

Yes! 6 is higher. The symbol will open up to 6. We will use a greater than symbol to show that 6 is greater than 5. These rulers are ready to be put away!

Riley found these pencils. How many pencils are in the first group?

4! There are 4 pencils in this group. What about the second group? How many pencils are there?

7! There are 7 pencils in this group. Which number is higher, 4 or 7?

That’s right! 7 is higher. That means the symbol needs to open up to 7. We will use a less than symbol to show that 4 is less than 7. Now Riley can put the pencils away!

Riley is almost done cleaning up the classroom! She found these two groups of notebooks. How many notebooks are in the first group?

9! There are 9 notebooks in this group. What about the second group? How many notebooks are there?

8! There are 8 notebooks in this group. Which number is higher, 9 or 8? Great job! 9 is higher. That means the symbol needs to open up to 9. We will use a greater than symbol to show that 9 is greater than 8. These notebooks are ready to be put away!

You did a great job helping Riley count and compare. Now the classroom is clean!