Tens and Ones

Count the tall tens first, then the loose ones. Then write the number.

Name

Count the bars in tens: ten, twenty, thirty, forty, then on: forty-one…

tens

ones

so the number is

tens

ones

so the number is

tens

ones

so the number is

▢

Break the Number Up

Read the number. Write how many tens and how many ones it is made of.

Name

Stuck? Draw the bars for that one.

is

tens and

ones

is

tens and

ones

is

tens and

ones

is

tens and

ones

is

tens and

ones

is

tens and

ones

is

tens and

ones

is

tens and

ones

Your Morning, Step by Step

Your Own Day · Writing · Page 1 of 6

Name Date

DIRECTIONS: Two mornings, the same forty minutes. Read both.

1Read both mornings

→

2Page 2: write yours

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3Page 4: test it

Most people write this:

I get up. I get dressed. I have breakfast. I go to school.

The same morning, looked at properly. 20 steps:

The alarm goes and I turn it off without opening my eyes.
I lie there for a bit.
I push the covers off with my feet.
I sit on the edge of the bed.
I find my slippers with my feet, and only one of them is there.
I look under the bed for the other one.
I go to the bathroom.
I wash my face with cold water because it wakes me up.
I clean my teeth for two minutes.
I go back to my room.
I take off my pajamas and put them under my pillow.
I put on my socks first because the floor is cold.
I put on my school sweater.
I move the cat off my school bag.
I check the bag has my reading book in it.
I go downstairs, missing the third step because it creaks.
I get a bowl out of the cupboard on the left.
I pour the cereal in before the milk.
I eat it standing up because I am late.
I put my shoes on by the door.

The small bits make it yours: the missing sock, the creaky step, the cat.

Now Yours

Your Own Day · Writing · Page 2 of 6

DIRECTIONS: Write your morning as a numbered list, alarm to front door. At least 15 steps.

Stuck? Break a big step open: "get dressed" is about six.

Only things you do. Put in three too boring to mention.

Now Yours

Your Own Day · Writing · Page 3 of 6

DIRECTIONS: Keep going, to the front door.

The Test

Your Own Day · Writing · Page 4 of 6

DIRECTIONS: Give your list to somebody. They do exactly what it says, nothing more.

If you left out…	what the person following it does
get a bowl out	they pour the cereal onto the table
take your pajamas off	they put the school sweater on over the pajamas
turn the tap on	they hold their hands under a dry tap
open the front door	they walk into it
say which shoes	they put on the rain boots

Where did they get stuck first? Write the step number.
What was missing? Write the step that should have been there.
Did they do anything that was technically what you wrote but not what you meant? Write what happened.
Now go back to page 2 and fix it. Write down how many steps you had to add.

Turning It Into Writing

Your Own Day · Writing · Page 5 of 6

DIRECTIONS: Join your list up. Use at least four different words from below.

Word	When to use it
first	the one that has to be at the front
then	the ordinary one. Do not use it eleven times
after that	when "then" is getting tired
while	two things at once — the toast is in, so you find your shoes
before	lets you put a step out of order in the sentence: I find my bag before I eat
as soon as	when one thing sets off the next
in the end	the last one

"Then" eleven times is correct, and boring. Keep the boring steps, though: nobody else could write them.

Your Morning, Written Out

Your Own Day · Writing · Page 6 of 6

DIRECTIONS: Write it in sentences. Four different joining words; keep every boring step.

☼

Can You See In the Dark?

Find out for yourself with a box and a small thing to hide in it.

Name

Eyes cannot make light, only catch it. No light in the box, nothing to see.

Try this, then write what happened

Put a small toy in a shoebox and put the lid on.
Make a tiny hole in the lid and look through it. Can you see the toy?
Now lift the lid a crack so a bit of light gets in. Look again.
Now take the lid right off.

With the lid on, what could you see?

With the lid open a crack, what could you see?

So what does your eye need before it can see anything?

Say the rule: light has to get to my eye.

☀

Which Ones Make Light?

Tick one box for each. Some of these only look bright.

Name

The moon makes no light. It is a gray rock. Sunlight bounces off it, like a mirror.

the sun