Skip Counting by 10
When you skip count by 10, the ones digit stays the same and the tens digit goes up by one: 10, 20, 30 or 4, 14, 24, 34. Counting forward and backward by tens is the key to adding and subtracting tens in your head.
Counting by 10s to 100 and back
Start at 10 and add one ten each time: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100. Ten tens make one hundred. Saying "1 ten, 2 tens, 3 tens …" connects the numbers with place value: 60 is 6 tens.
Counting back by 10s is the same list in reverse, taking away one ten each time: 100, 90, 80, 70 … 20, 10, 0.
Skip counting by 10 from any number
You do not have to start at 10. Start at 3 and count by 10s: 3, 13, 23, 33, 43, 53. Only the tens digit changes; the ones digit 3 stays put. Backward works the same way: 87, 77, 67, 57.
Count by 10s: 26, 36, 46, __, __, __
- The ones digit stays 6.
- The tens digit goes up by 1 each time: 5, 6, 7.
Answer: 56, 66, 76
Count back by 10s: 92, 82, __, __, __
- Each number is 10 less, so the tens digit goes down by 1.
- The ones digit stays 2.
Answer: 72, 62, 52
Count by 10s past 100: 75, 85, 95, __, __
- 95 + 10: 9 tens and 1 more ten make 10 tens, which is 1 hundred.
- So 95 + 10 = 105, and the next number is 115.
Answer: 105, 115
The hundred chart pattern
Every row of a hundred chart holds ten numbers, so the number that is 10 more sits directly below, and the number that is 10 less directly above. Put a finger on 34 and move down: 44, 54, 64. Move up: 24, 14, 4.
Color the column under any number in the top row, for example 7, 17, 27 … 97, and the pattern jumps out: every number in the column ends in the same digit.
Skip counting by 10 makes adding tens easy: 36 + 30 is three jumps of ten, 46, 56, 66. Later the same idea helps with numbers like 230 + 40 and with counting by 100s.
Examples
10, 20, 30, __, __
73, 76, 79, __
Practice problems with answers
Solve these problems on paper or out loud, then check the answer key. The online practice and the printable worksheet give a new set every time.
- 20, 30, 40, 50, ___
- 10, 20, 30, ___, 50
- 50, 40, 30, 20, ___
- 90, 80, 70, 60, ___
- 10, 20, ___, 40, 50
- 10, 20, 30, 40, ___
- 30, 40, 50, 60, ___
- 80, 70, 60, 50, ___
Show answers
- 60
- 40
- 10
- 50
- 30
- 50
- 70
- 40
Common mistakes
- Changing the ones digit: after 47 comes 57, not 50 or 48.
- Mixing up 10 more and 1 more: 10 more than 46 is 56, while 1 more is 47.
- Jumping to a whole ten when counting back: 54, 44, 34, not 54, 50, 40.
- Getting lost after the 90s: 96 + 10 = 106, because 9 tens and 1 more ten make 1 hundred.
Questions parents ask
How do you skip count by 10?
Add 10 each time: 10, 20, 30, 40 … or, from any number, 8, 18, 28, 38. The ones digit stays the same and the tens digit goes up by one.
Can you skip count by 10 from a number that does not end in 0?
Yes. Start at 5 and you get 5, 15, 25, 35, 45. Finding 10 more and 10 less begins in 1st grade; in 2nd grade children count by 10s from any number, also past 100.
How does a hundred chart help with counting by 10s?
Each row holds ten numbers, so counting by 10 means moving straight down one row (or up when counting back). All numbers in one column end in the same digit.
Why is skip counting by 10 important?
It is the base for place value and mental math: 47 + 20 is two jumps of ten, 57 and 67. It also prepares for the 10 times table, because 10, 20, 30 … are the multiples of 10.