🎯 What Are Ordinal Numbers?

Ordinal numbers tell us the position or order of things in a line!

Think of it like this:

  • Counting numbers (1, 2, 3…) tell us HOW MANY things there are
  • Ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd…) tell us WHICH ONE or WHERE something is in order

📝 The First 20 Ordinal Numbers

Number Ordinal How to Write It
1 First 1st
2 Second 2nd
3 Third 3rd
4 Fourth 4th
5 Fifth 5th
6 Sixth 6th
7 Seventh 7th
8 Eighth 8th
9 Ninth 9th
10 Tenth 10th
11 Eleventh 11th
12 Twelfth 12th
13 Thirteenth 13th
14 Fourteenth 14th
15 Fifteenth 15th
16 Sixteenth 16th
17 Seventeenth 17th
18 Eighteenth 18th
19 Nineteenth 19th
20 Twentieth 20th

🤔 Why Do We Use Ordinal Numbers?

We use ordinal numbers every single day! Here’s when:

🏃 Sports & Races

  • “I came first in the running race!”
  • “My friend was third to finish”

📅 Dates & Birthdays

  • “My birthday is on the 5th of June”
  • “Today is the 12th of December”

🏢 Buildings & Floors

  • “I live on the 7th floor”
  • “The toy store is on the 2nd floor”

📚 School & Learning

  • “Please read the 4th paragraph”
  • “Turn to the 10th page in your book”

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family & Age

  • “I’m the second child in my family”
  • “She’s in 1st grade”

🎨 Method 1: The Racing Animals Method 🏁

Imagine these cute animals are running a race!

🏁 FINISH LINE
==========================================

🐰 (1st - First)    🥇 Gold Medal!
🐢 (2nd - Second)   🥈 Silver Medal!
🐱 (3rd - Third)    🥉 Bronze Medal!
🐶 (4th - Fourth)   🎖️
🐭 (5th - Fifth)    🎖️
🦊 (6th - Sixth)    🎖️
🐼 (7th - Seventh)  🎖️

🌟 Try This Activity!

Draw 5 of your favorite animals in a line. Label them:

  • Who is 1st?
  • Who is 3rd?
  • Who is 5th?

🍕 Method 2: The Pizza Party Method 🎉

There are 10 children waiting in line for pizza!

PIZZA COUNTER
====================
     🍕🍕🍕

👧 Emma    - 1st (First) - Gets pizza first!
👦 Ali     - 2nd (Second)
👧 Sara    - 3rd (Third)
👦 Tom     - 4th (Fourth)
👧 Maya    - 5th (Fifth)
👦 Leo     - 6th (Sixth)
👧 Zoe     - 7th (Seventh)
👦 Jack    - 8th (Eighth)
👧 Lily    - 9th (Ninth)
👦 Max     - 10th (Tenth) - Last one!

Question Time! 🤔

  • Who will get pizza second? (Ali!)
  • Who is fifth in line? (Maya!)
  • If you were 8th, who would be in front of you? (7 people!)

🏠 Method 3: The Apartment Building Method 🌆

This building has 15 floors! Where does everyone live?

         🏢 HAPPY HOMES BUILDING 🏢
    
    ══════════════════════════════
    │ 15th Floor │ 🌟 Rooftop Garden
    ══════════════════════════════
    │ 14th Floor │ 🎨 Art Studio
    ══════════════════════════════
    │ 13th Floor │ 🏋️ Gym
    ══════════════════════════════
    │ 12th Floor │ 👨‍👩‍👧 The Patel Family
    ══════════════════════════════
    │ 11th Floor │ 👩‍🏫 Ms. Johnson (Teacher)
    ══════════════════════════════
    │ 10th Floor │ 👨‍🍳 Mr. Chen (Chef)
    ══════════════════════════════
    │  9th Floor │ 🎵 Music School
    ══════════════════════════════
    │  8th Floor │ 🐕 Pet Grooming
    ══════════════════════════════
    │  7th Floor │ 👧 Your Friend Lives Here!
    ══════════════════════════════
    │  6th Floor │ 📚 Library
    ══════════════════════════════
    │  5th Floor │ 🎮 Game Room
    ══════════════════════════════
    │  4th Floor │ 🌺 Garden Center
    ══════════════════════════════
    │  3rd Floor │ 🏪 Mini Mart
    ══════════════════════════════
    │  2nd Floor │ ✉️ Post Office
    ══════════════════════════════
    │  1st Floor │ 🎪 Lobby (Entrance)
    ══════════════════════════════
           │  Ground Floor  │
    ══════════════════════════════

Questions! 🧠

  • What’s on the 5th floor? (Game Room!)
  • Which floor is the library on? (6th!)
  • If you visit your friend on the 7th floor, how many floors do you pass from the ground? (7 floors!)

🎯 Method 4: The Calendar Method 📅

Let’s look at a month! Each day has an ordinal number:

        🌈 DECEMBER 🌈
    
    Sun   Mon   Tue   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat
    ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
    1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th
          🎄    🎁    ⛄    🔔    🎅    ⭐
    
    8th   9th   10th  11th  12th  13th  14th
    🎪    🎨    🏀    📚    🌟    🎵    🎮
    
    15th  16th  17th  18th  19th  20th  21st
    🎂    🎊    🎉    🎈    🎁    ⛄    🎄

Fun Facts! 🎉

  • December 1st is the first day of December
  • December 10th is the tenth day
  • December 20th is the twentieth day
  • Your birthday might be on the 15th (fifteenth)!

💡 Super Helpful Tips & Tricks! 🌟

✨ Trick 1: The “th” Rule

Most ordinal numbers end in “th”!

  • 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th
  • 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th
  • 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th

🎯 Trick 2: Remember the Special Three!

Only THREE ordinal numbers are different:

  • 1st – First (ends in “st”)
  • 2nd – Second (ends in “nd”)
  • 3rd – Third (ends in “rd”)

Memory Tip: Think of a podium! 🏆

  • 🥇 1st = “st” for “star”
  • 🥈 2nd = “nd” for “neat”
  • 🥉 3rd = “rd” for “rad”

🔢 Trick 3: Reading Ordinal Numbers

When you see: 7th

  • First read the number: “seven”
  • Then add the ending sound: “seventh”

📖 Trick 4: Writing Ordinal Numbers

  1. Write the number (5)
  2. Add the ending (th)
  3. Final result: 5th ✓

🎨 Trick 5: Position Words

Ordinal numbers help us describe positions:

  • First = at the beginning
  • Last = at the end
  • Middle = somewhere in between

Example: “The red book is the 3rd book on the shelf”

🎮 Practice Activities

Activity 1: Line Up Your Toys! 🧸

  1. Take 10 of your toys
  2. Put them in a line
  3. Label each one: 1st, 2nd, 3rd… 10th
  4. Move them around and label again!

Activity 2: Snack Line! 🍪

If you had these snacks in order, label them:

  • 🍎 Apple = ?
  • 🍌 Banana = ?
  • 🍊 Orange = ?
  • 🍇 Grapes = ?
  • 🍓 Strawberry = ?

Activity 3: Story Time! 📖

Write a short story using ordinal numbers: “On the 1st day of school, I met a new friend. On the 2nd day, we played together…”

Activity 4: Birthday Month! 🎂

Find out the birthdays of 5 friends. Put them in order from 1st to 31st!

🌟 Quick Quiz! Test Yourself! 🌟

  1. What comes after 1st? ______
  2. Write “ninth” as a number: ______
  3. If you’re 5th in line, how many people are in front of you? ______
  4. What’s the ordinal number for 12? ______
  5. Which is correct: “3th” or “3rd”? ______

Answers:

  1. 2nd (second)
  2. 9th
  3. 4 people
  4. 12th (twelfth)
  5. 3rd ✓

🎉 Remember!

🌈 Ordinal numbers tell us the POSITION or ORDER of things

🌈 We use them for races, dates, floors, and more!

🌈 Most end in “th”, except 1st, 2nd, and 3rd

🌈 They help us organize our world!

🏆 You’re Amazing at Ordinal Numbers! 🏆

Keep practicing and you’ll be an ordinal numbers expert in no time! Remember, ordinal numbers are everywhere around you—in books, buildings, races, and calendars. Keep your eyes open and you’ll see them every day!

Great job learning! You’re a STAR! ⭐

Image Courtesy

 

Worksheet on Ordinal Numbers (0-20)