Ordinal Numbers For Kids To Improve Math Skills

Learning about numbers is so much fun. After learning cardinal numbers, we must teach kids about ordinal numbers. To help you do so, we have covered all the information on ordinal numbers in English, including the rules, examples and activities to teach the same to your child. We have also made ordinal number charts from 1-100 that you can print and paste into your child’s room and make learning easy for them. Let’s study ordinal in math.

What Are Ordinal Numbers?

Let’s take a look at the ordinal meaning.

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When we have to tell the rank or position of a person or an object, we use a number to represent it. These numbers are known as ordinal numbers or positioning, or ranking numbers. This order or sequence can be according to the size, importance, weight, height or any chronology.

For example:

• Shweta came first in class.
• Anuj was the third boy standing in a row.
• Mohan stays on the seventh floor of the building.

How Can You Write Ordinal Numbers?

• Generally, ordinal numbers are created by adding a ‘th’ to the end of the number. For example:

• Four – Fourth
• Six – Sixth
• Ten – Tenth

• We need to add “st”, “rd”, or “nd” at the end of a few numbers, and sometimes the start of the word might change too. For example:

• One – First
• Two – Second
• Three – Third
• Five – Fifth
• Eight – Eighth
• Nine – Ninth
• Twelve – Twelfth

• The ‘ten’s after the tenth are written by replacing the ‘y’ with an ‘ieth’ at the end of the word. For example:

• Twenty – Twentieth
• Forty – Fortieth
• Fifty – Fiftieth

Writing Ordinal Numbers In Figure

Writing ordinal numbers in figures is relatively easy. All you need to do is take the last two letters of the ordinal number word and add them at the end of the number value. For example:

• First – 1st
• Second – 2nd
• Third – 3rd

Examples Of Ordinal Numbers

In this section, we have covered some examples of ordinal numbers for children to read and understand.

1. Riya will celebrate her seventh birthday tomorrow.
2. This dog is my second pet.
3. Our school is thirty years old
4. Ranjan is standing in 12th place in the queue.
5. Manisha won the medal of first position in the Olympiad.

Rules While Forming Ordinal Numbers

Here are some rules that you must keep in mind while forming the ordinal numbers:

• Spell out ordinal numbers from ‘first’ to ‘ninth’.
• Use numerals for ordinal numbers from ’10th’ onwards.
• Ordinal numbers written as numerals must have a suffix. Do not write suffixes in superscript.
• Don’t use ordinal numbers to order points in general content.
• Don’t use ordinal numbers for dates. Use numerals without a suffix for dates.
• Make sure to distinguish ordinal numbers from regnal numbers. Regnal numbers are upper-case roman numerals used for the titles of monarchs and popes and in family names.
• Use a hyphen between two-word ordinal numbers.

List Of Ordinal Numbers For Kids

Below we have covered the ordinal numbers chart for children. The charts will make it easy for you to teach your child ordinal numbers.

Ordinal Number List From 1 To 50

Here is the chart of ordinal numbers from 1- 50.

Ordinal Number List From 51 To 100

Here is the chart of ordinal numbers from 51 – 100.

What Is The Difference Between Cardinal, Nominal And Ordinal Numbers?

1. Cardinal Number With Example

These are the numbers that we use for counting. Cardinal numbers help us to know how many elements are there. For example,

• There are seven girls standing in a row.
• The basket contains ten mangoes.
• There are three books on the table.

2. Nominal Number With Example

These are the numbers that are used for identification purposes. Using nominal numbers, it is easy to identify objects in a collection of things. For example,

• Vehicle numbers like DL 05 1220.
• Pin codes of different states
• Player jersey number in a match.

3. Ordinal Number With Example

These are the concept of natural numbers that are used to describe a way to arrange different elements.

• The red car is standing in the fourth position.
• Shaili came second in the art competition.
• Get me the third glass from the left.

How Can You Teach Ordinal Number To Kids?

Below are some fun ordinal numbers activities to teach your child about ordinal numbers.

1. Hopscotch Game

Use the OG hopscotch game to teach your child ordinal numbers. Tell them to hop to the “first”, “second”, and “third” boxes and encourage them to say the same while they hop.

2. Build A Tower

Ask your child to build the tower using building blocks. Tell them to say out loud which two blocks they’ll be joining next to make a tower. For example, they have to say, “Now, I’ll join the second and third blocks together”.

3. Flashcards

Make flashcards, write 1-10 ordinal numbers, and mix them. Give the flashcards to your child and ask them to arrange the cards in ascending order and say each ordinal number loudly. For example, they can say, “This is the first card,” “This is the second card,” and so on.

4. Tell The Position

Keep around five to seven different objects in a line, like a toy, book, handkerchief, cell phone, etc. Give your child the name of one object, and your child has to tell you the position of that object using ordinal numbers. For example, if you will say “book”, your child has to say, “The book is kept second in the line.

5. Write The Number

Say a sentence with the ordinal number to your child. They have to listen carefully and write the number on a piece of paper. For example, if you will say, “I want the seventh chocolate in that row,” they have to write the number “seven” or “7” in their notebook.

6. Teach With Rhyme

You can use the following rhyme to teach your child ordinal numbers:

Ten little bells standing in a row:
The first one said, “Ring me slow.”
The second one said, “Ring me as fast as you can go.”
The third one said, “Ring me nice and loud.”
The fourth one said, “Ring me round and round.”
The fifth one said, “Ring me down low.”
The sixth one said, “Ring me on your elbow.”
The seventh one said, “Ring me behind.”
The eighth one said, “Ring me and look surprised!”
The ninth one said, “Ring me up high.”
The tenth one said, “Ring me and wave goodbye.”

Solved Examples Of Ordinal Numbers

Here are a few ordinal words and number examples.

1. Which English alphabet is 5th from the beginning?

Solution: The alphabet that is 5th from the beginning is E.

2. What is the 2nd letter in the word COMPUTER?

Solution: O is the 2nd letter in the word COMPUTER.

3. Samer, Jasmine, Maya and Anjali are standing in a queue in the given position. Who is in the second position?

Solution: From the given information, we can say that: Sameer is in the first place, Jasmine is in second place, Maya is in third place, and Anjali is in fourth place.

Therefore, Jasmine is standing in the second position. Here, 2nd is an ordinal number because it denotes the position of Jasmine.

Practice Questions To Revise Ordinal Number

Time for your child to solve some ordinal number questions. Let’s begin!

1. Can you find the ordinal number from the numbers given below?

a. 7
b. 12th
c. 16

Answer: b. 12th

2. August is the __ month of the year.

a. Second
b. Sixth
c. Eighth

Answer: c. Eighth

3. The third letter in the word CAREFULLY is __.

a. R
b. E
c. L

Answer: a. R

Remember to revise cardinal numbers before introducing ordinal numbers to kids. The activities mentioned in this article will help your child to understand ordinal numbers in no time. Happy learning!

Also Read:

How to Teach Prime Numbers to Kids
Teaching Even Numbers for Children
Missing Numbers for Preschoolers and Kids