About Find the Smaller Number
Finding the smaller number is genuinely harder than finding the larger one, and not for mathematical reasons. Children are asked for the bigger number far more often, so the instinct to reach for it is well practised. This game deliberately trains the opposite response, which is why children who breeze through the larger-number game often slow down here.
What this game teaches
- Reading the question carefully rather than reaching for the familiar answer
- Comparing single-digit and then multi-digit numbers
- Comparing place by place from the left
- The vocabulary of smaller, fewer and less
- Building flexibility to answer either form of the comparison question
How to play
- Two numbers appear side by side.
- Tap the smaller one.
- Feedback names the smaller number when the answer is wrong.
- Ten questions complete a level, across thirty levels.
Before you start
Best attempted after the larger-number game. A child who is fluent there will get useful practice here; a child who is not will simply be confused twice over.
For teachers
Errors here are usually attention errors rather than number errors - the child compared correctly and picked the wrong end. Alternating between this game and the larger-number game in one session builds the flexibility that neither builds alone.
For parents
If your child keeps picking the bigger number, they are not misunderstanding numbers - they are answering the question they expected. Ask them to read the instruction aloud before each round for a few turns.
Related games
- Bead Counting — Class 1-2
- Time Recognition Game — Class 2-5
- Cross Addition Puzzle — Class 3-6