This Subitizing Activity Is Great in a “Pinch!” 

Looking for a hands-on subitizing activity to give your students practice subitizing small collections up to 10? This resource has got you covered! All you need are some clothespins or dry-erase markers to get your students subitizing. 

This resource includes: 

• Subitizing clip cards 1 – 10
• Teacher instructions
• Student instructions
• Answer key cards

This subitizing activity is a great addition to your centers, and would also work well as an independent activity for fast finishers or as a small group activity.

What Is an Example of Subitizing? 

If your students ever ask why they need to learn to subitize, point them to these examples from daily life: 

• Dice Games:  Through subitizing, players can instantly recognize what number they rolled.
• Card Games:   At a glance, players can subitize how many cards their opponents have left. 
• Shopping:  Shoppers can use subitizing to quickly tell how many items are available or the number of items they have placed in their cart. 
• Cooking: Cooks subitize ingredients in their recipes to be able to prepare food more efficiently. 
• Friends and Family – Subitize to instantly tell if everyone in your group is where they should be.

Instructions:  

1. Print the subitizing cards on cardstock and then cut them apart. Laminate for longevity. 
2. Provide students with a card and either clothespins or a dry-erase marker if you laminated the cards. 
3. Students look at the number in the center and clip or circle every shape with that many symbols. 
4. Students check their answers with the provided answer cards. 

Print, Cut, and Clip

This subitizing activity is available in easy-to-print PDF and Google Slides format. Use the drop-down arrow located on the download button to choose which option works best for your students. 

This resource was created by Lauren Borst, a teacher in Indiana and a Teach Starter collaborator.

Don’t Stop There! 

We have many more subitizing activities to help you teach this important concept. Here are some we think your students will enjoy. 

teaching resource

Subitizing Mazes (Numbers 1 - 10)

Solve our subitizing mazes to have fun practicing subitizing quantities up to 10!

teaching resource

Subitizing to 10 Interactive Task Cards

Practice subitizing to 10 with these varied and engaging interactive task cards.

teaching resource

Subitizing Card Game

Utilize this subitizing card game to reinforce number recognition and subitizing skills with some friendly competition!