· 2 min read · Ages 3–7 · Pre-K–Grade 1
Blackline number and alphabet posters you print instead of buying
The store-bought 7 had seven ladybugs and no ten frame. The children counted ladybugs.
The glossy number posters from the teacher store cost thirty dollars and showed the number 7 with seven cartoon ladybugs. The ladybugs were the problem. Children counted the ladybugs and never looked at the ten frame, because there was no ten frame.
What the sheet looks like
The classroom posters generator prints plain black-and-white posters, one per sheet or two or four cards to a sheet. The number set runs 0–10, 0–20 or 0–30 and shows each number with its word, ten frames, a domino or dice face and tally marks. The alphabet set gives each letter in Aa, uppercase or lowercase with a picture word. There is also a one-page letter formation chart with numbered start dots, 2D and 3D shape posters that list sides, corners, faces, edges and vertices, and days of the week and months cards.
Turn formation on and each poster gets a dotted copy of the number or letter with a numbered start dot, so the wall shows how to write it, not just what it looks like.
Why it works
- Four representations of 7 on one page (word, ten frame, dice, tallies) is exactly what subitizing practice asks for. The child meets the same quantity in different clothes.
- Blackline posters can be colored by the class. A wall the children made gets looked at more than one bought in a tube.
- Quarter-page cards turn the same set into a word wall, a pocket chart set or flashcards without a second tool.
Who it suits
Pre-K through grade 1, which is who has number walls. The 0–30 set and the 3D shapes with faces and edges stretch to first grade. Picture words are a mix, and clicking new picture words swaps them until none clash with your phonics program. For the children working at the ten frames themselves, the ten frames worksheet puts the poster in their hands.
Print on cardstock if you want them to survive until June.