Creative Teaching and Learning

Developing Mental Fluency with Numbers – Maths at KS1

In our ongoing series discussing the new national curriculum, our maths expert, Barbara Miller highlights some of the changes to the Key Stage 1 maths curriculum for the Number strands.

Year 1: Number – Number and place value

Objectives:

  • Can read, write and count numbers up to 100 from 0 or 1
  • Can count up to 100 in multiples of 2, 5 and 10
  • Is confident with language of mathematical statements such as equal to, more than, less than, fewer, etc.

In developing their ability to count and order numbers, pupils will count in a wide range of contexts and will also use images like number tracks and the hundred grid. It is important for pupils to be able to touch these images using them on the wall, the floor, the white board and on their tables. Touching the images helps pupils to link their counting to the numerals and the patterns in the number system. So use opportunities to link counting out loud to these images by pointing to each number on the 100 grid or the number track as the class counts.

This year, counting in multiples of 2s, 5s and 10s must be secured. This is an important stage in development of understanding place value and pupils need to be aware of the repeating patterns in the sequences of numbers for these multiples. Focus the pupils on what they notice about the position of the numbers on the 100 grid when counting in 2s, 5s, and 10s. For a large count, pupils need to organise and group the objects. Help pupils to explore effective ways to group a large set of objects. Secure the link between counting the groups of objects with counting in twos, fives and tens.
Increasingly, pupils should move to working mentally with counting and ordering activity, progressing from counting by touching or moving objects to counting silently without touching. Importantly pupils should be able to imagine a number track and hundred grid and say the number that is before or after a given number including those that cross boundaries.
As pupils become more competent and accurate with counting, they need to develop skills in estimating how many, then check by counting the objects. As with counting, estimating can be done in different contexts, for example number of pencils in the pot, number of books on the shelf, number of footsteps across the playground. Some of the counts can have different answers—so the teacher’s footsteps will be less than the pupils’—good to talk about. Estimating can also be a fun, competitive game with opportunities to use the language of comparison.

This is an important stage for the early development of place value. Pupils need a range of experiences to deepen their understanding of the difference between say 12 and 21, for example putting number mats in order, finding missing numbers on a number track, seeing and talking about the patterns and structure of the number system in the 100 grid. Be explicit about the difference in the way we say numbers in the 20s, 30s, etc. and strange way we say the teens.

Year 1: Number – Addition and subtraction

Objectives:

  • Understands statements using +, - and = signs
  • Understands number bonds and subtraction facts within 20
  • Can add and subtract one- and two-digit numbers to 20
  • Can solve one-step missing number problems

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