Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To

Game
First Grade, Second Grade Math

by Angela Fiorille October 5, 2015

Help your students make sense of the greater than, less than and equal to in this interactive lesson! Your
students will have opportunities to compare either two-digit or three-digit numbers.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to compare two-digit numbers, using the symbols for greater than, less than, and equal to.

Materials and preparation Key terms

MATERIALS compare
greater than
Class set of the Greater Than, Less Than, Equal less than
To worksheet equal to
Index cards (10 per pair of students) symbols
Plastic baggies (one per pair of students)
Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To Game: Two-
Digit Numbers worksheet (one per student or
pair of students)
Pencils
Interactive whiteboard or projector
Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To Game:
Three-Digit Numbers (for Enrichment)
Less Than or Greater Than: 50 to 99 game
(optional)

PREPARATION

Using the index cards, create a set of numeral

cards (0-9) for each set of students. Each card
should just have the numeral on it.
Place each set in a plastic baggie.

Attachments

Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To (PDF)

Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To Game: Two-Digit Numbers (PDF)

Introduction (10 minutes)

To begin the lesson, tell the class that they will be practicing comparing numbers.
Ask for a student volunteer to define the word compare. After some discussion, remind your class that
compare means to see if one number is the same as, smaller than, or bigger than another number.
Write the terms greater than, less than, and equal to on the whiteboard.
Prompt your class to tell you what each of these terms mean. After some students share what they
believe each means, write the definition for each on the board. Remind the class that greater than

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 means bigger, less than means smaller, equal to means the same.
Explain that as a class, everyone will review the symbols used to compare numbers.
Define symbols as things that are used to stand for or represent something. In this case, symbols are
used to compare numbers by size.
EL

Beginning

Gesture with your arms wide as you say in a loud voice, "greater than", arms close together as you say in
a whisper voice, "less than," and hold arms parallel to form an equal sign as you say, "equal to."
Instruct students to define the vocabulary in their home language (L1).

Intermediate

Build understanding of symbols by asking students to name different symbols, such as a dollar sign or a
smiley face. List suggested symbols and their meanings on the board.
Create an anchor chart of previously studied math symbols, such as the plus and minus sign. Include the
symbol, name, and meaning. Add the greater than, less than, and equal to symbols to the chart for
reference.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (20 minutes)

Display the symbols for greater than (>), less than (<), and equal to (=) on the board, using markers, an
interactive whiteboard, or a projector.
Ask student to raise their hands if they have ever seen any of these symbols.
Explain that there are strategies for remembering which symbol stands for greater than, and which
symbol stands for less than. One common way is by pretending that each symbol is an alligator mouth.
Draw alligator teeth on each symbol. Explain that the alligator mouth always "eats" the bigger number.
Draw an example of a number comparison on the board, such as: 4 < 8.
Using the interactive whiteboard (if accessible), play the game Less Than or Greater Than: 1 to 20 with
the students.
To work with higher numbers, show three examples on the board, one for each symbol, using numbers
below 100. Examples can be something like: 43 __ 34; 55 __ 66; 77 __ 77.
Talk through each example, drawing the correct symbol as you explain why it is the correct answer.
Include the alligator "teeth" on each symbol to reinforce the idea of the alligator "eating" the larger
number.
Read each example as a sentence. For example: 43 is greater than 34; 55 is less than 66; 77 is equal to
77.
If needed, go through a few more examples on the board with your students. Alternatively, you can use
the game Less Than or Greater Than: 50 to 99.
EL

Beginning

Build the numbers with base-ten blocks so that students understand the quantities associated with the
numbers.
Remind students that as we count on, the numbers get bigger. Ask them to find 43 and 34 on the number
line. Point out that 43 is further from one on the number line than 34 is.

Intermediate

Ask students to explain to a partner how they know that 43 is greater than 34. Teach students that 43
has four tens (40) and three ones, which is more than 34 which has three tens (30) and four ones. Show
students the two quantities with base-ten blocks or tens-frames.

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Guided Practice (10 minutes)

Show the Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To Game: Two-Digit Numbers worksheet. If it's possible to
display it using an interactive whiteboard or projector, that would be ideal.
Model how to play the game by selecting a student volunteer to play with you.
Grab a set of numeral cards, and randomly select 2 cards.
Explain to your class that the goal is to try to make the larger number, so they will need to decide the
order in which to record the 2 numbers they draw. For example, if you draw a 4 and 3, you will want to
make the number 43 instead of 34.
Record your number on the Game worksheet. Have your student volunteer choose two numeral cards.
Elicit support from the class to help the volunteer decide which number to put in the tens column, and
which number to put in the ones column. Have the volunteer record the number they end up with on the
Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To Game: Two-Digit Numbers worksheet.
Explain that the next step is to figure out which symbol goes in the column between the two numbers.
Ask a different student to tell you which symbol to put between the two numbers, and why. If the student
answers correctly, have him model recording it on the Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To Game: Two-
Digit Numbersworksheet.
Tell them that the final step for each round is to decide which players number is bigger and record who is
the winner. Model this with your student volunteers.
Depending on your students' understanding of the concept, you can model one more round before
assigning partners to play.
EL

Beginning

Create a chart that lists the steps to play the game with visuals.
Partner students who speak the same L1 together, and have them compare numbers in L1. Or partner
ELs with supportive peers with more developed English-language skills.

Intermediate

Display the sentence frames:

____ is greater than ____.
____ is less than ____.
____ is equal to ____.
Model completing the sentence frames with examples as you teach students the game.

Independent working time (20 minutes)

Tell students that they will now play in pairs, as Player 1 and Player 2.
Pair up the students. Give each pair a Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To Game: Two-Digit Numbers
worksheet and a set of numeral cards.
As students play, walk around and help as needed.
Pairs who finish early can work on Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To worksheet, either together or
independently.
EL

Beginning

Provide students with two-digit number cards to compare rather than having them compose two-digit
numbers from single digits.
Count chorally with the class to 100 to review the number names in English.

Intermediate

As students play, encourage them to verbalize which number is greater and which number is less to their
partner using the sentence frame.

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Related books and/or media

Find interactive books for each child’s level.

Differentiation

Enrichment:

For students who are ready to work with numbers above 100, you could have them play Greater Than,
Less Than, Equal To Game: Three-Digit Numbers instead, or in addition to the Greater Than, Less Than,
Equal To Game: Two-Digit Numbers.

Support:

For students who need more support, you may want to pull them together and play as a group with them.
Encourage them to "act out" the number comparison, by creating an "alligator mouth" with their hands.

Technology Integration

Use an interactive whiteboard when playing the interactive games.

When showing students how to play the game, it would work best to display the game board on an
interactive whiteboard, document camera, or projector, so that you can show students how to record as
they play.

Assessment (10 minutes)

For a formative assessment, the game itself can serve as an intial assessment of student understanding
related to te lesson objective.
For a summative assessment, either at the end of the lesson, or as homework, have students complete
Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To? #1 worksheet.
EL

Beginning

Display an anchor chart with the greater than, less than, equal to symbols, and examples of number
sentences using each symbol for reference during the assessment.

Intermediate

Ask students to explain their thinking as they complete the assessment. If students are not answering
correctly, check to see whether they are able to identify which number is greater. Then, reteach the
symbols.

Review and closing (5 minutes)

At the end of the lesson, pull together students to review what each symbol means.
Write 2-3 problems on the board and ask the students to help you figure out which symbol goes in
between. Ask for student volunteers to read each problem in a sentence. For example, the sentence for
45 < 65, would read: 45 is less than 65.
To close, play your class the video Alligator Greater Than, Less Than Song.
EL

Beginning

Tell students that just like reading words, number sentences are read from left to right. Point below the
number sentence as you read it aloud. Have students repeat the number sentence after you.

Intermediate

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Allow students to share the number sentence with a partner before choosing a volunteer to share with
the whole class.

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 0~100
> Greater Than or Equal To
Less Than =
Write in the symbol that makes the problem true.
, or > < =
1. 2. 3.
35 52 40 74 45 30

4. 5. 6.
84 77 38 64 51 39

7. 8. 9.
43 43 79 28 99 89

10. 11. 12.

23 22 66 77 6 16

13. 14. 15.

98 89 18 18 30 49

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Name Date

Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To Game:

Two-Digit Numbers
Directions: For each round, each player chooses 2 number cards and tries to make the
biggest number possible. Remember what you know about place value! Hint: The bigger
number should go in the tens place.
• Each player will record their number and compare it to their partner’s number.
Then, decide which symbol ( < , > , = ) to write in the middle.
• The winner is the player with the bigger number.
• Move on to the next round.

Round Player 1 Symbol Player 2 Winner

< > =
Example 53 < 74 Cuz-Cuz

1
2
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