Skip Counting Worksheets

Free printable skip counting worksheets as PDFs. Count by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s with number lines and fill-in rows. No sign-up.

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Skip counting is where multiplication starts, long before the word is used. Counting 5, 10, 15, 20 builds the same number sequence a child will later meet as the five times table, and doing it forwards and backwards makes the pattern something they own rather than something they recite. These sheets go beyond the usual twos, fives and tens into threes, fours and sixes, and include counting on from a number other than zero — which is much harder and much more useful.

Fill-in-the-gap rows counting by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s and 10s, marked number lines with missing labels, and counting-backwards sheets. Some pages start the count from a number other than zero, and others use pictures grouped in equal sets so the link to multiplication is visible. One worksheet per US Letter page, black and white.

Skip Counting 01 — printable Counting math worksheet Skip Counting 01Download PDF ↓ Skip Counting 02 — printable Counting math worksheet Skip Counting 02Download PDF ↓ Skip Counting 03 — printable Counting math worksheet Skip Counting 03Download PDF ↓ Skip Counting 04 — printable Counting math worksheet Skip Counting 04Download PDF ↓ Skip Counting 05 — printable Counting math worksheet Skip Counting 05Download PDF ↓ Skip Counting 06 — printable Counting math worksheet Skip Counting 06Download PDF ↓ Skip Counting 07 — printable Counting math worksheet Skip Counting 07Download PDF ↓ Skip Counting 08 — printable Counting math worksheet Skip Counting 08Download PDF ↓ Skip Counting 09 — printable Counting math worksheet Skip Counting 09Download PDF ↓ Skip Counting 10 — printable Counting math worksheet Skip Counting 10Download PDF ↓

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Frequently asked questions

What is skip counting?
Counting forwards or backwards in steps larger than one — 3, 6, 9, 12 rather than 1, 2, 3, 4. It builds the number sequences that become the times tables, and it also underpins counting money, telling time and reading scales on a ruler or graph.
Which numbers should a child skip count in first?
Tens, then fives, then twos, as an editorial guide, because those three have the most visible patterns. Threes and fours usually come later, and they are worth doing precisely because there is no last-digit pattern to lean on.
Why practice counting backwards?
Because it is the foundation of division and of subtraction strategies, and because a child who can only count forwards has memorized a sequence rather than understood a step. Backwards counting is noticeably harder and exposes that difference immediately.
How does skip counting connect to the times tables?
Directly — the numbers you land on when counting in fours are exactly the answers in the four times table. The difference is that skip counting always starts from the beginning, while a times table has to be recalled out of order, which is the step these sheets prepare for.