Continue this skip-counting pattern: 35, 40, 45, ___. What number comes next?
A46
B55
C50
D40
When skip counting by 5s, you add 5 each time: 35, 40, 45, 50. The next number after 45 is 50. Notice that every number in this pattern ends in either 5 or 0 — that pattern always holds when counting by 5s. Being able to continue the count from any starting point (not just from 5) is what makes skip counting truly useful for things like reading clocks and counting coins.
Question 2 Multiple Choice
On a clock, the minute hand is pointing to the 4. How many minutes past the hour is it?
A4 minutes — because the minute hand is pointing at the 4
B20 minutes — because skip counting by 5s four times gives 5, 10, 15, 20
C15 minutes — because the 3 on the clock means quarter past
D40 minutes — because 4 × 10 = 40
Each number on the clock face represents 5 minutes. To find the minutes, skip count by 5s from 1 up to the number the minute hand points to: 5, 10, 15, 20. The hand at the 4 means 20 minutes past. This is exactly why fluency in skip counting by 5s directly enables clock reading.
Question 3 True / False
Every number in the skip-counting-by-5s sequence ends in either a 5 or a 0.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: True
Because we add 5 repeatedly starting from 5, the ones digit alternates: 5, 0, 5, 0... (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30...). This predictable pattern makes it easy to check whether a number belongs in the sequence — just look at the last digit. No other common skip-counting sequence has this simple a visual pattern.
Question 4 True / False
A student who can correctly recite 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 when asked to skip count by 5s has demonstrated full fluency.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
Reciting from the start is the beginning of fluency, not the whole of it. Full fluency includes starting from any number in the sequence (not just 5), counting backward (30, 25, 20...), and filling in missing values (25, __, 35). These skills are what make skip counting useful for real tasks like reading a clock when the minute hand is already past the 5 or 6.
Question 5 Short Answer
Explain why skip-counting-by-5s fluency — not just memorizing the sequence starting from 5 — matters when reading a clock.
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: On a clock, the minute hand can point to any number, not always the 1. To read '35 minutes,' you need to enter the sequence at 35 (or count up to the 7 quickly) rather than starting over from 5 every time. Fluency means working with any part of the sequence instantly.
When you read 45 minutes past the hour, you need to recognize quickly that the hand at the 9 means 45 — by skip counting 5, 10... up to 9 marks, or by knowing the sequence well enough to recall any entry point. Restarting from 5 each time would make every clock reading a slow, laborious process. Fluency eliminates that friction.