What maths should my child be learning in Year 1?

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Whether your child is about to move to Year 1 or is nearing the end, it’s useful to understand the areas of maths they should be learning in Year 1.

There are seven broad topics of maths they will be taught:

  • Number - number and place value

  • Number - addition and subtraction

  • Number - multiplication and division

  • Number - fractions

  • Measurement

  • Geometry – properties of shapes

  • Geometry – position and direction

Let’s look at what each one encompasses and how you can incorporate a little bit of Year 1 maths learning into an average day…

photo of a notebook, pencil and counting cubes used in teaching maths

Number - number and place value


  • counting to and across 100, forwards and backwards, beginning with 0 or 1, or from any given number. Having a 100 square to hand is useful for this, perhaps pinning one up on the wall or fridge. 

  • count, read and write numbers to 100 in numerals; count in multiples of twos, fives and tens. Look for numbers when you’re out and about. Door numbers are an excellent and easy place to start, or road signs with mileage or speeds 

  • given a number, identify one more and one less. If your child has four sweets ask them how many they’d have if you gave them one more or if one got eaten

  • identify and represent numbers using objects and pictorial representations including the number line, and use the language of: equal to, more than, less than (fewer), most, least. The kitchen is a good place to demonstrate this; for example compare the types of fruit you might have in your fruit bowl, eg there are 5 bananas and four apples so there are more bananas than apples. The fruit we have least of is oranges as we only have two. Or check out pencils/pens and compare colours.

  • read and write numbers from 1 to 20 in numerals and words. This is fairly literal so perhaps encourage writing these in a coloured pen, and finding books where numbers are the theme for example 


Number - addition and subtraction


  • read, write and interpret mathematical statements involving addition (+), subtraction (–) and equals (=) signs. As with before, base some simple sums on what’s happening in your day eg if you ate five grapes and then you ate another five, what would that equal and ask your child to write that down as a sum. 

  • represent and use number bonds and related subtraction facts within 20. Check out this CBeebies Numberblocks episode for an entertaining guide. 

  • add and subtract one-digit and two-digit numbers to 20, including zero. Perhaps just try quick fire sums within these parameters eg What’s 16-8? 14+3? 11+11? Etc. Your child might start by writing them down but then perhaps progress to working them out in their head.

  • solve one-step problems that involve addition and subtraction, using concrete objects and pictorial representations, and missing number problems such as 7 =___ – 9. Again, use household items to illustrate a problem. Toys, pegs, (non-sticky!) items of food, pens, etc, can all be used to give a tangible representation of a missing number problem.



Number - multiplication and division

  • solve one-step problems involving multiplication and division, by calculating the answer using concrete objects, pictorial representations and arrays with the support of the teacher. You can see from the addition of ‘with the support of the teacher’ that this is an aspect that your child will be starting to learn in Year 1. There’s still things you can do at home such as dividing things up into equal groups or simple fractions (think a cake, or pizza, for example. This also relates to the next point).


Number - fractions

  • recognise, find and name a half as one of two equal parts of an object, shape or quantity.   

  • recognise, find and name a quarter as one of four equal parts of an object, shape or quantity

As suggested above, both of these can be demonstrated when cutting up food into (fairly!) equal parts such as an apple, a cake, a slice of bread etc.


a photo of a young boy measuring himself against a height chart on a wall

Measurement

  • compare, describe and solve practical problems for:  

    • lengths and heights [for example, long/short, longer/shorter, tall/short, double/half] Talk about each member of your family or household; who’s the tallest? Who’s shorter? etc

    • mass/weight [for example, heavy/light, heavier than, lighter than] Talk about toys or perhaps items of food… put them in order from heaviest to lightest.

    • capacity and volume [for example, full/empty, more than, less than, half, half full, quarter] This is a great one for bath time as you can use the water and a cup or two to demonstrate each of these capacities.

    • time [for example, quicker, slower, earlier, later] Talk about your day, and what you did ‘earlier’ and what you will do ‘later’. Discuss animals to compare ‘quicker’ and ‘slower’. 

  • measure and begin to record the following:  

    • lengths and heights If you have or can get hold of a ruler, play a ‘can you find’ game where your child has to collect a certain number of items that are 10cm or less. 

    • mass/weight Why not bake some simple biscuits using kitchen scales to weigh out the ingredients?

    • capacity and volume If you’ve a measuring jug, your child could work out the capacity of your various mugs or cups, and put them in order from largest to smallest. 

    • time (hours, minutes, seconds) We’d simply encourage you to discuss the time whenever possible. Help your child to understand what time they go to school in the morning, what time they go to bed, etc.  

  • recognise and know the value of different denominations of coins and notes  Gather some coins and set up a shop with tins and packets from your cupboard. Give each item a price and set different challenges such as seeing what can be bought for £1 or what’s the most items they can get for £2 etc.

  • sequence events in chronological order using language [for example, before and after, next, first, today, yesterday, tomorrow, morning, afternoon and evening]  Discuss your week - the one just gone and the one coming up so you can talk about things in the past, as well as those you’ve got coming up. Perhaps write a diary of what you have done or ask your child to add their activities to a calendar/ planner.

  • recognise and use language relating to dates, including days of the week, weeks, months and years Talk about birthdays and significant events for your family. When are all your birthdays? Is that next month? What months come in between? Do you have holidays planned? When is Christmas/Halloween/Bonfire Night? Etc.   

  • tell the time to the hour and half past the hour and draw the hands on a clock face to show these times If you have the budget, a learning clock is handy and you can ask your child to move the hands to match the time you say, but you can also draw your own fairly simply using anything circular as a template. 


Geometry – properties of shapes

  • recognise and name common 2-D and 3-D shapes, including:

    • 2-D shapes [for example, rectangles (including squares), circles and triangles]

    • 3-D shapes [for example, cuboids (including cubes), pyramids and spheres].

Turn shape learning into a scavenger hunt; ask your child to go and find, say, five circles around the house, or two spheres, etc

Geometry – position and direction 

  • describe position, direction and movement, including whole, half, quarter and three quarter turns

Again, if you can get yourself a learning clock (there’s plenty of choice on Amazon in a range of budgets) that will give your child a hands-on way to see how a whole turn, half or quarter works, particularly in the case of time. You could also use any circle divided into quarters with a hand or pointer coming from the middle. 




We hope this both helps you to understand what maths topics your child should be learning in Year 1 at primary school, and give you a little inspiration into how you can incorporate these aspects into your everyday life (some with a little more effort than others!). 

To find out what maths your child will be learning in Year 2 of primary school, head over here.

If you think your child could benefit from some support in learning any aspect of maths, you might like to consider private tuition. Maybe they need to focus on their understanding of a particular area or they’re enjoying a topic and would like to explore it further; whatever their situation there’s a D&B tutor to help your child learn and love maths. Get in touch with Sheila to discuss how we can match your child to the perfect maths tutor for them!

Call us now on 07980 565632 or email sheila@discoverandbe.com