Balloons Number 87 Tracing: a Bright Triple-Twenty-Nine Count
Continue from the balloons lesson on sheet 87 with all 100 worksheets in one $8 PDF.
Sheet 87 shows the large reference, six practice lines and the ten-cell strip in context.
Full-page preview of EIGHTY-SEVEN from the clean collection, with 5 numeral models per row and the original page frame.
Three crews each expect twenty-nine balloon tickets for a fair. Isa counts the tickets before sorting them by crew. A friend makes a trial layout with ninety spaces and wonders why three places will remain open. The balloons reader can use Number 87 Tracing to check three forms of the answer: 87, the name EIGHTY-SEVEN, and its position in the lower sequence. Point through the strip first, then give the pencil only to the person recording the count. Have the balloons recorder tell a partner what the completed sign says.
From the balloons story to a label of 87
Three groups of twenty-nine give eighty-seven. Three thirties would give ninety, so take away one from each group of thirty. Count the actual tickets as eight tens and seven more to see both representations.
Put 8 complete tens in a tray and set 7 singles alongside. Arrange two digit cards above the tray. Ask the helper to point to 8 when talking about full groups, and to 7 when talking about pieces left outside them.
Keep a draft sign face down until a second person has counted the balloons arrangement. Then turn it over and hear both ways of explaining 87. One explanation can follow the order in which the materials arrived; the other can start with their final grouped form.
Look for 87 between 81 and 90
Say the first value, 81, as the finger touches the first cell. Keep each number word on its own square until reaching position 7. Stop above 87 rather than after it, and tell a partner how to find that position when the shading is hidden.
Step left to the printed 86. The printed 88 is one space right of 87. Connect each change to moving just one object. Let the learner speak the result before touching the next card. When the strip runs out, a separate card can keep the count going without writing on the worksheet.
To test sequence separately from writing, cover the 87 square with paper and leave the nearest printed value visible. Invite the child to name the missing cell from that clue. Bring back the uncovered strip to check rather than asking the child to copy the answer.
Give each fair crew one vacant place
Set out three sheets with thirty small ticket spaces each. Ask three helpers to cover all but one space on their own sheet. Before checking occupied spaces, count only the vacant ones and place one empty-space token in a central dish for each. A child can reason from 90 places to the number that actually received tickets.
Offer the learner three labels: 29, 87 and 90. Ask which belongs at one crew’s desk, which goes on the ticket inventory and which tells how many places there could be. If the child chooses by guessing, show the empty tokens again. Let them describe how three empty places can affect the inventory without shrinking the layout.
Help the balloons recorder after the first try
| What you notice with 87 | A small cue | Follow up at the balloons table |
|---|---|---|
| An incomplete balloons sign | Read the 87 sign while touching the count that each written position describes. | Give the materials to a partner who can rebuild the full count of 87. |
| A crowded copy of 87 | Put a fingertip between the first model and 7 to point out the breathing room. | Make one new copy on scratch paper and compare its spacing with the dotted guide. |
| The label stops before EIGHTY-SEVEN | Use the large printed name to rehearse the missing part as one chunk. | Match the complete word to the 87 card without pointing to the objects. |
| The shaded 87 gives away the answer | Mask only the shaded cell and show a neighboring figure. | Tell which direction to move from the visible value to reach 87. |
Take only one cue from this table for each visit to the 87 worksheet. A child who explains the amount accurately may still find a stroke difficult. Give that child a different way to report the count, such as finding the right card, before offering the pencil again.
What the large 87 shows the recorder
Study the outline of 87 before following any dots. Draw a wide copy in the air and let a partner point to the first mark. Turn the sketch into a balloons label only once the recorder can read it aloud without looking at the small writing guides.
Cover the outline with a strip of paper, leaving the written name visible. Say eighty-seven, then slide the strip away and check what that label looks like as a numeral. Ask whether the two boxes can be read in either order and still report the same count.
Number 87 Tracing with one change at a time
For this practice, keep the end of the lower loop of 8 separate from the top line of 7. Put a plain piece of paper over the rows below the chosen model so the next movements stay in view. Let the learner take one breath between studying the guide and drawing the new 87.
Compare the result with the model instead of counting how many marks were completed. Check the opening shape near 8, the distance to the next part and how much room the remaining digits use. Say what helped the balloons label read clearly when held upright.
The sheet offers 5 copies per numeral row across four rows. Use a different row for each return if that helps the learner see progress. A child can leave several examples untouched and use one later to try a different grip or paper angle.
Two ways to run the balloons lesson
Family version. Draw three rows of thirty spaces and cover all but one per row. Have the learner name the filled total and mark the three empty positions separately.
Classroom version. Give each crew a packet labeled 29. A helper compares the total to a ninety-space plan, while a recorder labels the number of filled places.
Before switching roles, ask: What amount would the three crews have if each received one extra ticket? A child who can move the pieces but cannot yet explain the answer can show the action first. Give the next person a chance to describe what moved and what stayed fixed.
Let a partner read the EIGHTY-SEVEN sign
At the start of the reading turn, finish reading the last N in SEVEN before repeating EIGHTY-SEVEN. The worksheet has two word rows in capital letters. Use one for following the printed name at speaking speed, and use the other for a slower pencil turn if the learner is ready.
Put a separate sign marked 87 next to a card with EIGHTY-SEVEN. One person can quietly choose the card they are going to read. The listener holds up its match and explains why both can stand beside the same balloons display. Swap the cards before giving the next turn.
An independent check for the next 87 visit
Set out the balloons materials in a different arrangement but keep the total unchanged. Hand the child a correct 87 sign and another marked 86. Ask for a check that would convince a partner who did not watch the rearranging.
Switch from a written answer to a spoken one partway through. The learner can explain how the digits in 87 are ordered, then read eighty-seven back to the listener. If the words come easily but the count does not, return to the materials before filling more lines.
Keep the small success visible: set aside one readable numeral, one sensible explanation or one accurate sequence step. At the next visit, start by asking how the learner found it. Have the child pick a fresh model only after describing what they want to see in their own 87.
Plan the fair’s three spare tickets
Ask a child to draw three desks, each with a single unclaimed place. There are three more tickets coming, but the runner delivers two to one crew by mistake. Let the child reason about where the extra ticket should be carried and which desk is still waiting. Have the class record one inventory for all tickets already delivered and one for occupied places. Point out why they can differ while the supplies sit in the wrong positions. On the printable, the original 87 refers to the starting arrangement. Ask the learner to name the event that makes it time to retire that sign.
Choose a second activity after the balloons count
Try short practice with single digits for a shorter turn with earlier values, an even-number game with dice for a change of pace, or the dice activity for values up to six as a different challenge. Ask which activity would help the 87 recorder most, and name one thing to watch while doing it.
The NAEYC family play articles offer ideas for taking turns. PBS KIDS Learn & Grow has early math activities for a day when the balloons learner would rather count, move or talk.
Print the 87 sheet for another visit
Download the original free PDF for 87, or sign in with an eligible membership to get the version without site branding. For either copy choose US Letter in portrait. Check that the outer rule and the bottom number strip both fit before making copies for a group.
Test the printed EIGHTY-SEVEN rows on one sheet. If the guide dots are too light to follow, use the printer’s normal setting. The existing $8 collection contains this worksheet on page 87, and its page list continues in numerical order from 1 through 100.
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