The Digit Hunt

How many digits are in our number system?  The answer is now known to all Kindergarten, first, and second grade students at CES due to Karen Toth's innovative Digit Scavenger Hunt.  Karen created a Scavenger Hunt that is composed of a series of rhymes to help students identify and find digits all across the school.The purpose of this Scavenger Hunt is for students to identify the ten digits in our number system and understand the difference between a digit and a number. It begins like this:

"Let's go on a scavenger hunt around school,

We're looking for DIGITS, now isn't that cool?

You'll learn a new clue as you finish each rhyme,

I wish you good luck; now have a good time!

Your favorite color could be yellow or blue,

Go to the Art room to find the digit __________."

Students use the clues to identify all ten digits in the number system.  At each location, there is a small packet taped to the wall with digits inside.  Each class gets to take a digit with them as they continue on the scavenger hunt.  

I was fortunate to participate in the "Digit Hunt" with Emily Boyle's first grade class.  Mrs. Boyle would read the clue to her students and then have them make predictions as to which digit each clue represented.  Then the class would search for the digit in the designated location.  However, the learning did not stop once the digit was found!  Mrs. Boyle would then make different numbers with the digits and ask her students to name each number. 

Emily Boyle making a number for her class to identify.

The students in Mrs. Boyle's class were so excited to name all different numbers as they added more digits to their collection!  In addition to these activities, Karen Toth suggested that teachers could use these digits in their classrooms to:

• Identify even and odd digits and sort them accordingly
• Build different numbers 
• Order digits and numbers

Thanks to Karen Toth for creating this exciting opportunity for our primary teachers to integrate key math learning into their classrooms!

Karen Toth and Emily Boyle with clues to "The Digit Hunt."