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Pre A1 Starters colours and numbers: practice for kids

A1-A2Pre A1 Starters40 questionsUpdated

Colours and numbers do more work in Pre A1 Starters than any other word group, because the exam asks children to colour things in and to count what they can see. This page practises the colour words, the numbers to twenty and the question How many, all in short, friendly sentences.

What this task tests

  • Instant recognition of the core colour words in writing.
  • Numbers one to twenty, said, read and matched to a quantity.
  • Following a two-part instruction: colour the big cat blue.
  • The question How many and a one-word number answer.
  • Word order: a red bus, never a bus red.
  • Plural agreement after a number: three green apples.
  • Simple sums said aloud: two and three make five.
  • Age and quantity sentences: I am seven, I have got four.
  • Telling apart the pairs that sound alike, such as thirteen and thirty.

How to do it

  1. Step 1:

    Colour, do not label

    Give the child a picture and read out instructions. Colouring is the exam task, so practise the exam task rather than filling in a colour worksheet.

  2. Step 2:

    Count real objects

    Count the pencils on the table, the buttons on a coat, the steps to the door. Numbers stick when they are attached to things the child can touch.

  3. Step 3:

    Separate the confusable pairs

    Thirteen and thirty sound alike and will be a problem later, so teach thirteen to nineteen as a family and stress the ending.

  4. Step 4:

    Put the colour before the noun

    Drill the phrase, not the word: a green apple, two green apples. This heads off the commonest word-order error in the speaking test.

  5. Step 5:

    Keep a colour of the day

    One colour, all day, everywhere. Five days gives you five secure colours and no worksheet at all.

  6. Step 6:

    Mix two instructions

    Once single instructions are easy, join them: colour the small dog brown. Exam instructions usually carry two pieces of information.

  7. Step 7:

    Count backwards

    Ten to one is harder than one to ten and it shows you whether the numbers are really known or just recited.

  8. Step 8:

    Use dice and cards

    A dice game gives you fifty number repetitions in five minutes, and nobody notices they are practising.

  9. Step 9:

    Ask How many constantly

    About anything: windows, chairs, fingers, birds. The question form matters as much as the answer.

  10. Step 10:

    Write the numbers as words

    Children meet five as often as 5 in a reading paper. Both forms need copying practice.

Mistakes that cost marks

  • Not thisa ball red

    Thisa red ball

    In English the colour comes before the noun. Drill it as a phrase from day one.

  • Not thisI have five year.

    ThisI am five years old.

    Age uses be in English, and years takes an s. Teach the whole sentence as one chunk.

  • Not thisHow many is?

    ThisHow many are there?

    Give children the full question early; they will meet it in every listening task.

  • Not thistirteen

    Thisthirteen

    The th sound is late to develop. Do not over-correct in the speaking test, but do practise it playfully.

  • Not thisthree apple

    Thisthree apples

    After a number the noun is plural. Count aloud with objects until it becomes automatic.

  • Not thisIt is colour blue.

    ThisIt is blue.

    The word colour is not needed in the answer. Model the short, natural version.

  • Not thisfiveteen

    Thisfifteen

    Five changes to fif. Teach fifteen and fifty as a pair and say them slowly.

Language this task keeps reusing

red
The colour of a tomato.
blue
The colour of the sky on a sunny day.
green
The colour of grass.
yellow
The colour of a lemon.
orange
A colour and a fruit, with the same word.
purple
A mix of red and blue.
grey
The colour of clouds on a rainy day.
brown
The colour of chocolate and of tree trunks.
pink
A light red colour.
black
The darkest colour of all.
white
The colour of snow and of paper.
How many
The question you ask when you want a number.
twelve
The number after eleven.
fifteen
Ten and five together.
twenty
Two tens; the biggest number at this level.
count
To say the numbers one after another to find how many.

Practice: colours and numbers

40 original questions. The first 10 are open to everyone. Answers are checked in your browser and never sent to us, so you can share this page with a class as it is.

1Complete the sentence.

Grass is .
What colour is a lemon?

3Complete the sentence.

The number after nine is .
Right or wrong?
  • The sky is blue on a sunny day.
  • Snow is black.
  • Grass is green.
3 to go

5Complete the sentence.

I have two hands and fingers.
Which number is the biggest?

7Complete the sentence.

Red and yellow make .

8What is your favourite colour and why?

How many legs has a cat got?

10Complete the sentence.

The number before twenty is .

Keep going

30 more questions on this page

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Note

Pick Two Activity is an independent tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, the British Council, IDP, ETS, Duolingo or any other exam board. Exam names are trademarks of their owners and are used here only to describe the exam you are preparing for. Every question on this page is original practice written by us: we do not provide, copy or reproduce official exam papers.

Frequently asked questions

Do children have to spell colour words at Starters?

They copy them rather than spell them from memory, but a child who can copy red accurately will read it accurately too, so copying practice pays twice.

How high should numbers go?

Twenty is plenty at this level. Make sure one to ten are completely automatic before pushing on to the teens.

My child knows the colours in speech but freezes when reading them. What helps?

Colour word cards written in black ink, matched to coloured squares. If the word red is always printed in red, the child reads the colour, not the letters.

Does the child need to colour neatly in the exam?

No. What matters is that the right thing is the right colour and that the examiner can tell which colour was used. Speed and neatness are not the point.

Which colours are worth teaching first?

Red, blue, green, yellow and black cover most pictures. Add orange, brown, pink, purple, grey and white once the first five are secure.

How do I practise numbers without worksheets?

Dice, card games, counting stairs, laying the table and scoring a game all give you dozens of repetitions with no paper at all.