What’s in a Name?
Counting with marks, comparing the lengths of names, number names, and sorting things into groups.
- Keeping count with marks (tally marks)
- Counting letters to compare names: longest and shortest
- Writing number names, like 43 = forty-three
- Sorting objects into groups in different ways
🐐 Let’s Begin: Counting Goats Without Numbers
Long ago, a shepherd boy named Gopu took his goats to the hill every morning. He didn’t know numbers! So he kept a small pebble in his bag for every goat that went out.
In the evening, he threw away one pebble for each goat that came back. If a pebble was left in the bag, a goat was missing! 🐐
✏️ Part 1: Counting with Marks
We can draw one line for each thing we count. To count faster, we make groups of 5: draw 4 lines and then cross them with the 5th line: |||| = 5.
|||| |||| |||| || → 5 + 5 + 5 + 2 = 17
🔤 Part 2: Longest and Shortest Names
To compare names, count the letters. The name with more letters is longer.
| Name | Letters |
|---|---|
| CAT | 3 |
| PARROT | 6 |
| BUTTERFLY | 9 |
BUTTERFLY has the longest name, and CAT has the shortest.
🔢 Part 3: Number Names
Every number has a name: 25 = twenty-five, 60 = sixty, 99 = ninety-nine. Some number names are long, like seventy-seven (12 letters), and some are short, like ten (3 letters).
🧺 Part 4: Sorting into Groups
We can sort the same things in different ways:
- Fruits: sweet (mango, banana) or sour (lemon, tamarind)
- Animals: live on land or live in water
- Things at home: need electricity or don’t need electricity
Every object must go into one group or the other.
✏️ Practice Time
Try these on your own first, then check your answer below each question.
📘 NCERT Textbook Activity Help
Hints and answers for the activities in the textbook, page by page. Try each one yourself before looking at the answer!
Pages 1–2 · Deba and Deep’s cowsMarks on the wall
The wall has 9 groups of 5 marks and 2 more marks: 45 + 2 = 47 cows.
They were worried because 2 marks were left, which meant 2 cows were missing. 45 cows had reached home.
Hemant: make 36 marks for the cows (7 groups of 5 + 1) and 23 marks for the sheep (4 groups of 5 + 3).
Longest and shortest names
Mahesh and Kartik both have 6 letters, so their names are equally long!
Q3 depends on your friends’ names.
Letters in number names
Other numbers with 8 letters: 13, 14, 18, 19, 41, 42, 46, 51, 52, 61, 62, 66 (e.g. thirteen, fortyone, sixtysix).
Longest names and puzzles
Q2: First puzzle: ninety (6 letters) + a 5-letter word near 100 → 98 (ninety-eight), or 97 or 93. Second puzzle: 70 (seventy, only 7 letters).
Picture cards and household objects
Need electricity: TV, clock, lamp, fan (some clocks use a battery) · Don’t need electricity: chair, bed, pillow, blanket.
Other ways to group: things we sit or sleep on, and things we use to see or hear. Hairstyles: count your classmates yourself.
👨👩👧 Tips for Parents
- Count the letters in family members’ names. Whose is longest?
- Keep score in games using tally marks.
- Sort laundry or kitchen things into groups together.