Hourglass Number 60 Tracing for a Confident Six-Tens Milestone

Share the 60 check with a partner

Let learners count 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 as they slide the strips into place. Have a partner write the numeral after the last strip.

Ask the group at the hourglass station to mark the 60 and the 0 in separate areas. The child with the numeral card can point to each area while reading 60. A partner checks the group count before giving any hint about the handwriting.

Use this question during the role change. Can Jo show where 61 would come after 60 when the printed strip ends? Give the checker time to show an answer with the objects. The recorder can point to 60, or write the result if the check changed the amount.

Read the large 60 before using a pencil

Hold a hourglass label beside the largest 60 on the page. Ask the learner to touch 6 and then 0, while a partner reads the whole amount aloud. Let a child who is still learning the number name echo sixty after you.

Turn the small 60 card over and ask where 60 can still be found. Have the learner start on the left of the big pair. An adult can slide a plain paper tab along the underside to mark the reading direction without covering either shape.

Number 60 Tracing with a clear hand movement

While writing 60, close the lower loop of 6 and draw a separate complete oval for 0. Use the margin of a separate sheet for a large hand movement. Afterward, choose one of the smaller 60 pairs and keep the unused hand on the paper so the sheet stays steady.

Look at the finished 60 beside the next dotted copy. Pick one visible clue, such as the space after 6 or the height of 0. Ask the child which clue would make a second 60 easier to read. Let them try it once and point to the change.

There are five 60 models in each numeral row. A brief practice might use just one pair on the upper line. Fold a plain strip over the 60 rows below if seeing all the dots makes it difficult to find a starting place.

Work out what the reader needs for 60

Try one prompt from the 60 table. A learner who names sixty confidently may need more time only on the written 6 or 0.

Locate 60 on the 51–60 strip

Begin the spoken run at 51. Point to one cell per word until the finger reaches 60 at position 10. Ask whether the child found the box by reading its value, following the numbers in order, or remembering where the shade appeared.

Read 59 one cell earlier than 60. Bring a 61 card for the first step past the 60 strip's end. Use the hourglass display to act out a change of one. Invite a child to check the neighboring labels while a partner moves a single item into or out of the counted group.

Draw the number 60 on a slip of paper. Ask a partner to place it directly above the corresponding box, then cover only that box. The listener names 60 after reading one or two uncovered cells from the same short run.

Six observations for the 60 lesson

Account for the hourglass count

Break 60 into 60 and 0 and use the groups to explain each digit.

Control both movements in 60

Follow one 60 without rushing from the 6 into the 0.

Connect the written name to 60

Track SIXTY while saying it. Point back to the digit pair after reading.

Describe a change from 60

Use the two nearby values to check what happens after adding or removing one.

Check a rearranged hourglass set

Recognize the same 60 when the countable pieces move to another position.

Choose a mark to revisit

Compare a new 60 with the model and describe one part to try again.

Try the hourglass count at home

Fold six lengths of paper into ten sections each and mark all the cells. Keep a loose area empty before matching the display to 60.

Have a family partner count the hourglass display aloud. Let the child check the 60 already grouped, then account for the remaining 0 on a plain sheet. For a second check, turn one ten label over to show what its packet contains.

Make a small 60 label together and put it near the original display. An adult can turn away during the count and return to read the finished sign. Ask the child what information the reader needs to make sense of that sign.

Five games to try with the hourglass count

1. Make a hourglass inventory card. Sketch the packets for 60 and add 0 dots. Let a new reader identify 60 from the sketch.
2. Spot the covered value. Put a slip on the printed 60. Have a partner read the strip to that point, then uncover 60 to check.
3. Deliver an extra piece. Add one to the hourglass display and replace 60 with 61. Ask which digit changed this time.
4. Pair a word and a figure. Place SIXTY near a hand-drawn picture of the hourglass supplies. Give the learner a choice of numeral cards to match.
5. Repack the hourglass pieces. Give the group a different-looking arrangement of 60. Ask a second checker to describe how the new arrangement can be counted.

Choose a small goal for the next 60 visit

Offer the 60 sheet around ages 5–8 to children who are starting to read pairs of digits. The hourglass game can be done by pointing and speaking when the pencil work feels long. A child who is ready to write can set the amount next to a blank label and copy just one pair.

Give each 60 visit a purpose the child can say aloud. Today it might be finding 60 near its neighbor. A later lesson can return to a difficult stroke or the final part of SIXTY. The unused lines are there for another visit.

Ask the child to choose a 60 they would keep on the hourglass display. Let them tell what makes it readable, whether the spacing after 6 or the height of 0. Start the next session from the child's own observation.

Other ways to prepare for the 60 lesson

Return to smaller figures with the introductory 1–10 tracing set before 60. To plan a different turn for the hourglass group, choose a mixed set of single-digit models or bring in the even-number dice activity and talk about what a numeral reports in that activity.

The hourglass setting can borrow a turn-taking idea from family play at NAEYC. A PBS KIDS for Parents activity may also give SIXTY a new use as a sign.

Open and print the 60 PDF

Use the free download to get the original 60 PDF. The member option for SIXTY provides a clean sheet without the website watermark or ads. Sign into an eligible plan to use it.

In the print dialog, use US Letter portrait for 60. Make a single test copy to see the pale SIXTY guides and the complete frame. Switch to standard quality if the dotted numeral is too faint.

The $8 collection includes 60 as page 60. Open it from the package card when you want to continue from the hourglass activity to other numbered sheets through 100.