Step 1 of 5
Fewer cookies
2 cookies versus 5 cookies. 2 is smaller, because there are fewer cookies.
Step 2 of 5
A tiny pile
1 star versus 4 stars. 1 is the smaller number.
Step 3 of 5
Close ones
3 apples versus 4 apples. They look almost the same. Count carefully: 3 is smaller.
Step 4 of 5
Balloons again
5 balloons versus 2 balloons. The smaller pile is 2.
Step 5 of 5
Bigger or smaller
First find which pile has more. That number is bigger. The other number is smaller!