Numbers in words, in one grid
Learning to spell numbers is a key early step, and this word search makes it fun. You'll be finding the basics — ONE, TWO and THREE — counting all the way up through TEN, TWELVE and TWENTY, and the bigger ideas like a DOZEN, a HUNDRED and a MILLION.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the count changes every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a bigger total once the diagonals and backwards words appear on Hard.
From zero to a million
The grid counts right up the number line. There are the single digits — ZERO, ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT and NINE — the teens and tens, TEN, ELEVEN, TWELVE, TWENTY and THIRTY, and the big round numbers, a HUNDRED and a MILLION. Plus the handy words that go with them: a DOZEN (which means twelve), and what we actually do with them — COUNT and NUMBER.
Why number words are worth learning
Numbers come in two forms — the digit '7' and the word SEVEN — and being able to read and write both is a real milestone, because the word version turns up everywhere: on a cheque, in a story, spelling out your age or a date. Most English number words also follow patterns once you spot them: THIRTEEN is 'three-ten', SIXTY is 'six-tens', and once a child learns ONE to TWELVE the rest start to click into place.
Some number words hide neat ideas. A DOZEN has meant twelve for centuries because twelve splits up so easily — into halves, thirds and quarters — which is why eggs and buns are still sold in dozens. ZERO, meanwhile, is one of the most important inventions in all of maths: a symbol for 'nothing' that makes it possible to write big numbers like a HUNDRED or a MILLION at all. Hunting these words out of the grid links early maths and literacy in one go, which is exactly what makes it such a useful early-years activity.
Great for an early-maths topic
Spelling number words links early maths and literacy — Easy mode keeps it gentle for the youngest counters. Play online, print a PDF pack, or use Make Your Own to build a grid from the numbers your class is learning.