Which Has More

Two boxes of things. Tap the box with more, or sometimes with fewer.

Which Has More puts two groups side by side and asks a child to compare them. No numbers are written anywhere. It is all done by looking and counting.

What your child is learning

Comparing quantities comes before sums. To know that five is more than three, a child needs a feel for the size of numbers, not just their names. This game builds that sense.

It also teaches two important words. "More" is usually understood early. "Fewer" is much harder, and many children hear it as "more" at first. Because the question changes, your child has to listen, or read, before answering.

How to help

When the difference is big, such as two against eight, let your child answer at a glance. Being able to see that one group is clearly larger is exactly the skill wanted.

When the groups are close, such as six and seven, count both. Say the two totals aloud and ask which number is bigger.

Read the question each time and stress the key word: "Which has fewer?" If your child taps the bigger group, do not correct straight away. Ask, "Does that one have fewer, or more?"

Use the words in daily life. "You have more peas than I do. Who has fewer?"

A note on the pictures

Both boxes always show the same object, so that your child compares how many there are and is not distracted by which picture they like best.

Wrong taps simply fade, and there is no clock. Among HTML5 games for the youngest learners, that gentleness matters.

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