Counting Crayons 1 to 20 | Numbers, Colors, and Math Games for Elementary ELLs

 This resource is also included  at the School Unit for Elementary ELL-Starters, at this link: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/School-Unit-for-Elementary-ELL-Starters-1707072

Counting from 1 to 20 is a key early math skill. This resource helps children practice recognizing numerals, counting objects, and connecting numbers with quantities in an engaging way. This resource connects math (counting and numbers), art (crayons and coloring), and language (speaking, listening, and writing numbers), making it a well-rounded tool for elementary classrooms.

By linking crayons to numbers, students also strengthen their vocabulary for both numbers and colors. Use the crayon flashcards to review the colors. Also, review the school words using the flashcards. Ask: What’s this?
Students: It’s a crayon box.
Teacher: Is this a crayon?
Students: Yes, it is.

Students identify numbers from the flashcards displayed and choosing only 8 of them to their bingo grid, reinforcing numeral recognition. When numbers are called out during the game, students must listen carefully, understand, and check their grids—an excellent listening activity for English language learners.

The finger/hand signals make simple counting an activity with movement. Students learn to count forward using the pointing finger upwards, count backward using the finger down card, and hold a number in mind by repeating it using the thumbs up card. This builds a deeper understanding of number order and sequence. Print the cards and glue onto craft sticks for easy play.

Found this game in this book and adapted it to suit the resource: 100 games for teaching English by Agung Prihantoro.

Small cards let students manipulate the materials directly, which keeps them engaged and supports kinesthetic learning.

Line Up with Crayons small cards! Each student gets a small card (number or crayon quantity). The teacher says: “Line up in order!” Students must arrange themselves in a line from 1 to 20. When everyone is in place, the class counts together from the first to the last student.

Challenge the students to it activity but “Backwards!” → Students line up from 20 down to 1. Another challenge is to have the students line up in “Alphabetical order!” → Students line up in alphabetical order of the number words (eight, five, four…).

Place the small cards in alphabetical order.

Fold the words in each small card and have students write the numeral and words. Place them in order.

The worksheets provide a hands-on, quiet-time opportunity for students to practice and demonstrate their understanding.

Find and Match worksheet: have students draw lines to match each number to the correct number word.

Missing Number and number words Fill-In. Students fill in the missing numbers.

How Many? Write the Number word. Ask students to count and write the numeral and/or number word.

Listen and color worksheet. Teacher says the number and color: “Crayon number 5 is blue.”   Students listen carefully and color the crayon in the correct square.  Continue until all 20 crayons are colored. Students write the color word to describe each colored crayon. This activity reinforces number recognition, listening comprehension, colors vocabulary.

This Numbers Board Game is a fun way for students to practice counting, number recognition, and sequencing from 1 to 20. Each player starts at one of the four starting points and takes turns rolling a die to move along their path. The first player to reach the center “FINISH” wins! The colorful design keeps learners engaged while reinforcing math and language skills in an interactive way.

Say It in a Sentence: Each time a student lands on a number, they make a sentence such as: “I see 12 crayons” or “I have 7.”

These matching mats support number recognition, counting, and word association by giving students a physical and visual way to match and manipulate pieces. They’re especially useful to bridge visual and written language, reinforcing both vocabulary and concept understanding.

There is a coloring version of the mats. Each student gets a matching mat with crayons numbered 1 to 20 in random order.  A student spins the color spinner, lands on a number and names it for the group find it on their mat and color it.  Continue spinning and coloring until the mat is complete.

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Found wonderful clipart for the numbers at Creative Fabrica. Here's my affliate link: https://www.creativefabrica.com/product/alphabet-crayon-clipart-and-number/ref/2670802/?sharedfrom=pdp

Halloween Food Vocabulary Activities & Games for Elementary ELLs

 This resource is part of the Food Unit for Elementary English Language Starters.

LINK: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Food-unit-for-Elementary-English-Language-Learners-Starters-11035412

Review food vocabulary in a Halloween context to help elementary English language learners connect familiar words to a seasonal theme.

Putting the food words into Halloween flashcards makes it fun to connect with everyday food terms. Make puzzles out of the flashcards to reinforce vocabulary recognition. Encourage speaking practice as students say the food item they found.: “I have a hamburger.”

Arrange the Halloween food flashcards face-up on a desk or wall — this is the “Halloween Food Stand.” One student is the “shopkeeper,” the other is the “customer.” Print the sign to add make it fun.

The customer student looks at the flashcards and says:

“I want a hot dog, please.”

The shopkeeper student finds the card and says:
“Here you are.”

The customer student replies:
“Thank you.”

Students can make even more short dialogues.

 

Give a small group of students a set of small cards. Each one picks a card and writes a sentence starting with:

o    I like… (e.g., I like ice cream and soda.)

o    I want… (e.g., I want a hot dog.)

Have them share their sentences with the group. Turn it into a group survey: students ask each other “Do you like…?” or “Do you want…?” and record answers.

Character Favorites. Students pick one Halloween character card and one food card. They make a sentence:

“Frankenstein likes pancakes.”

Find two vocabulary worksheets: Crossword Puzzle: Students use picture clues to fill in the words for different Halloween food items. Word-to-Picture Match: Students draw a line from each food word to its matching picture. It will reinforce Spelling. Then, Use the words in a mini spelling contest.

You can send the worksheets home for extra vocabulary practice.

There are grammar practice worksheets as “What do you want and “Do you like?

More grammar worksheets to build Sentence Structure.

Cut-and-fold matching worksheet to review vocabulary. Students name each food item on the worksheet. They cut out each food item and its word, fold them in half, and place them on a table. Cards can be used for matching games, speaking activities, or sorting tasks.

Print the Bingo game to review food vocabulary. It comes with a Teacher’s Mat with all the Halloween food picture cards for calling out items, and Bingo Strips with has 5 different Halloween food items.

Students listen, find the matching food on their strip, and mark it. The first to complete their strip shouts “Bingo!”. It encourages Focus and Attention.

There are games that I have for Kindergarten ELL, such as letter tiles, board game and feed me boxes, which can be adapted to older students. Check the blog post and the link to the resource:

https://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/2024/09/halloween-food-for-kindergarten-ells.html

Come join me on my Facebook fan page. Get ideas, tips, and free resources for teaching English to kindergarten and Elementary learners. Click: https://www.facebook.com/ESLPreschoolTeachers/

 

I used the alphabel clip art to make the sign using Creative Fabrica, here is my affliate link: https://www.creativefabrica.com/product/halloween-alphabet-letters-sublimation-27/ref/2670802/?sharedfrom=pdp

Community Helpers, Jobs and Occupations Games

Link to the complete resource:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Community-Helpers-Jobs-and-Occupations-2549710

Play remains essential in the classroom because it creates an engaging, low-stress environment where students can practice language naturally and meaningfully. Through games, learners build communication skills, reinforce vocabulary, and develop confidence while having fun and staying motivated.

In this post, I’m sharing a 3P model lesson plan. This is the Production part of this approach.

Playing this community helper board game helps students reinforce vocabulary related to community helpers.  When a student lands on a space, they must name the worker (e.g., “This is a firefighter”).

This matching activity card game helps students build vocabulary by connecting words to visuals. It also promotes critical thinking and peer interaction. They can also play Memory Game by turning the cards face down and take turns flipping two to find a match.

This spelling game supports letter recognition, phonics, and vocabulary development by helping students connect letters to meaningful words.  Play Race to Spell: Give students a picture and see who spells the word first.

Bingo helps reinforce vocabulary through listening and word recognition in a fun, low-pressure setting. It also encourages focus, comprehension from all students.  Have the students write the community helper word on each space. Then, call out the job name and students cover the matching picture. Use the flashcards as calling cards.

Visit Holistic English Resources by Rosa Amelia on Teachers Pay Teachers. My  store is filled with engaging, hands-on activities that support language development through fun themes, including prepositions, vocabulary games, and more. Perfect for elementary and kindergarten classrooms, these resources are designed to make English learning accessible and enjoyable for students. Check it out and find something new to inspire your lessons!

Most of the graphics for the covers come from Creative Fabrica. Check my affliate link: 

https://www.creativefabrica.com/product/firefighter-digital-paper-patterns-2/ref/2670802/?sharedby=user-3080428

Beach Unit Games

  This resource is included in Beach Unit for Elementary at this link:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Beach-Unit-for-Elementary-ESL-4075972

Print the beach-themed board game and play with a twist. Each time they land on an item, they "collect" it in an imaginary beach template that has been assigned to each player.
At the end, they list or draw the things in their beach and describe them: “I have a towel and sunglasses.”

Spelling Activities Matter: Learners internalize the correct spelling of new beach-related words (e.g., bucket, mask) by physically constructing them.

Develop early reading and vocabulary skills with this matching card game. Students will match beach-themed word cards (e.g., sandcastle) with corresponding picture cards to build vocabulary recognition, strengthen spelling awareness, and support reading fluency.

Students will review and reinforce their beach vocabulary by writing words on their own Bingo boards and listening carefully during a picture-word calling game using the cards from the previous activity.

The blank Bingo boards provided are for students to write in 8 beach-themed words. Prepare a master list of the words you want to use. As each word is called, students check their boards. If they have the word, they cover it with a token. The first student to cover all 8 words and call out “BINGO!” wins. You can keep playing any other day, they just save the board that is already prepared.

 Matching Words. Lay out the picture cards on one side of the table and the word cards on the other. Students take turns matching the correct word to each image.

Animals on the Beach – Sentence Building Game. Students will use a variety of animal-on-the-beach picture cards to create complete and meaningful sentences using a variety of word cards (nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, and more).

Students will write their sentences on their notebooks and share to the class or a partner. The teacher or peers can help check for grammar and sentence structure.

This resource has more to check, go to this blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/05/beach-unit-printable-book.html 

All my interactive games, worksheets, and creative ideas to make learning English exciting! 📌 Follow my Pinterest boards and save time and bring fun learning into your classroom! https://www.pinterest.com/ei98srl