# Day 14 — Find the missing place

**25 minutes · AC9MFN01 (order 10–15), AC9MFN03 (quantify to confirm order); partial practice · educator review pending**

**Success today:** The child orders numeral cards 10–15, identifies a missing numeral, and checks at least one position with objects or a number path rather than guessing from card appearance.

**Prepare per pair:** equal-sized numeral cards 10–15, six place markers, two ten-frames, 15 counters and the 0–20 path in [print-aids.md](print-aids.md). Cover the answer portion of the path for the independent try.

1. **Reconnect, 3 min.** Count a 10-object frame and add one counter to show 11. Ask how many a `12` card would ask for; allow a quick build or point to yesterday's example.
2. **Model, 6 min.** Lay `10, 11, 12, [empty], 14, 15`. Say, “The amount grows by one at every step. After twelve comes thirteen; before fourteen is thirteen.” Insert `13`. Build 12 then add one object to verify 13. Trace cards as whole numerals.
3. **Play: ordered stops, 9 min.** Partners lay mixed 10–15 cards along a pretend train platform. One secretly removes a card; the other locates the empty stop and explains. Swap. Variants: numbered museum shelves or a walking trail of six markers. The child can place cards on a desk, floor or raised path.
4. **Independent try, 4 min.** Give `10, 12, 11, 14, 13, 15` mixed. “Put these in counting order. Which card is between 12 and 14?” Cover the printed path, then let the child use it to check after the response.
5. **Check and close, 3 min.** Remove `11` from `10–15`. “Which is missing? How do you know?” **Key:** full order `10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15`; between 12 and 14 is 13; missing from the second display is 11.

**If the child orders by the printed digits or card size:** Use equal-size cards and attach one growing object collection to each. If sequence words are secure but numerals are not, match two neighbouring cards to 12 and 13 objects, then return to the whole sequence. If 10–15 is too much at once, begin with 10–12 or 12–15 and extend after a secure attempt.

**Access and record:** Use large or tactile whole-number labels and a path with distinct positions. A child can direct placement, point, sign or say the missing number. Record order, missing-number reasoning, whether object/path verification was independent, and the range used.