Pirate Treasure Greater Than Less Than Activity

Some math concepts are more difficult for kids to grasp than others. That’s why it’s so important to provide them with fun hands-on ways to practice! This free pirate treasure greater than less than activity is perfect for kindergarten and first grade math centers, homeschool, or after school practice. It will help students become fluent in comparing numbers up to 100 and using the greater than and less than symbols.

Getting Ready

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Setting up for this activity was very simple. I printed out the pirate treasure activity (available for free below) and cut out the gold doubloons cards along the gray lines. To make this activity last from year to year it would be easy to laminate it and then cut out the cards.

I placed the manipulative mat in the middle of my kiddos and then made two stacks of gold doubloons cards. We placed the symbols cards in the middle.

Each child received a copy of the recording sheet and a pencil. We were ready!

Greater Than Less Than Pirate Treasure

Enthusiastically, I told the kids the story of how the pirate gang found a treasure chest full of gold doubloons. They needed our help sorting out the gold coins! The kids couldn’t wait to get started.

The kids took turns drawing a gold doubloons card and placing it on the mat. When we had two numbers we talked about which number was greater than the other.

I showed them how the greater than and less than symbols work by explaining how the big side points to the bigger number and the pointed side points to the smaller number. It was a concept that they caught onto quickly. Having a fun backstory with a pirate-themed activity encouraged the kids to practice over and over again! It turned into a fun game.

Once we had a complete number sentence we read it out loud together. We said together, “32 is less than 78.” After practicing a few times I had the kids write down the number sentences on their recording sheets.

They had a great time sorting out the gold doubloons and practicing with the greater than less than symbols!

Grab Your Copy

If your kids are as excited as mine were about helping out the pirate gang, be sure to click the blue button below to download your own copy!

Be sure to scroll down further for more than 20 additional pirate-themed learning activities to complete a whole unit!

More Pirate-Themed Learning Activities