Find the Page Number

1. 1

   A book’s table of contents and page numbers can become a hands-on number activity.

2. 2

   Choose a story collection with a contents page. Let your child pick a story and find its page number: “This story starts on page 8.”

3. 3

   Give your child the job of turning to that page. Explain, “The numbers get larger as we turn forward and smaller as we turn back.”

4. 4

   If page 8 is hard to find from page 10, ask, “Does 8 come before or after 10?” You can write the two numbers side by side as another clue.

5. 5

   Choose more stories and repeat, letting the page order make the number sequence visible.

What to notice

• Turns pages back and forth to compare page numbers Counting and Cardinality
• Recognizes some words in the table of contents Print and Alphabet Knowledge

Tips

• Your child does not need to read the words in the table of contents yet. Show them how the numbers beside each title help you find a story in the book.

Developmental benefits

• Cognitive: Using the table of contents to find a page, then comparing page numbers, helps your child practice number order and see that numbers can mark position.