Mental Oral Starters
Year 1 Autumn Teaching Sequence 3
Activity 1
Objective: To count on and back from any number up to at least 10
Resources: Number track 1 to 20
Level of difficulty: Easy
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Repeat
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We’re going to practise our counting, but today we’re not going to start counting at
one. Point to five on the track.
We’re going to start counting on from five.
What is the next number after five?
So let’s go! Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, stop!
pointing to different numbers on the track and saying the next four or five numbers.
Now we’re going to count back! Point to 5.
What is the number before 5?
Let’s go! Four, three, two, one!
counting back for different numbers.
Activity 2
Objective: To count on and back from any number up to at least 10
Resources: 20 bead bar; 20 bead strings
Level of difficulty: Medium
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Show five beads on the bead bar.
o How many beads? Slide beads across as you count on together…
o six, seven eight, nine.
Repeat starting with different numbers of beads, and counting on as you slide across the next
four or five beads.
o Show me seven beads on your strings. Now let’s count on three more beads.
Chn slide bead across one at a time, saying eight, nine, ten. Repeat starting with different
numbers of beads.
Show ten beads on the bar.
o How many beads?
Slide three beads back, one at a time, saying nine, eight, seven. Repeat starting with different
numbers of beads, and counting back as you slide back the preceding three beads.
o Show me seven beads on your strings.
o Now let’s count back three beads.
Chn slide beads across one at a time, saying six, five, four. Repeat starting with different
numbers of beads.
Activity 3
Objective: To count on and back from any number up to at least 10
Resources: Puppet; number track 1 to 20
Level of difficulty: Medium
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Say that today we’ve got to teach the puppet to do some different counting, not always
starting from 1.
o He thinks he can do this so let’s watch him.
Point to 3 on the track and ask the puppet to count on from 3 without looking at the track!
o The ‘puppet’ says 4, 5, 7, 8. Was he right? No, he made a little mistake, let’s help him.
Children say the numbers and puppet joins in.
o Give him a clap.
© Original teaching sequence copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by
individual users.
Y1 Maths TS3 – Mental Oral Starters - Aut
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Continue with different starting numbers.
o Now let’s teach him to count back from any number.
Start with the puppet making a mistake and then help him with all the children joining in.
Activity 4
Objectives: Order numbers to at least 10
To count on and back from any number up to at least 10
Resources: Either a prepared, laminated 3x2 number grid for each child/mini whiteboards on
which children draw their own grid (the resource could be made with another larger grid on the
reverse so that later in the year a greater range of questions can be asked).
Level of difficulty: Medium/Hard
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o Today, we’re going to play BINGO.
o I want you to write 6 numbers on your grid. Any numbers from 1 to 10.
Demonstrate on the board so that children don’t just write the numbers in order. Use the
number track to help children who may find some of the questions difficult.
Play Bingo using questions such as:
o The number of legs that a dog has.
o This number of fingers – wave two hands.
o One more than this number of fingers – quickly show 5 fingers.
o The number that comes after 7, the number that comes before 10, the number in
between 4 and 6, etc.
o The number that’s one more than 2, the number that’s one less than 10, etc.
o Listen for the missing number: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10.
You may have to say the sequence twice.
o Listen for the missing number: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1.
o Five, and one more.
o I’ve got 6 cakes and I eat one. How many now?
Children ring the answer if they have it on their boards. The first child to ring all six numbers
shouts BINGO!
Activity 5
Objective: To count to and from 10 and to begin to count on from a given number
Resources: Counting stick with ten sections marked on one side and the reverse side blank, number
fans
Level of difficulty: Hard
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Holding the counting stick horizontally in the middle, point to one end and say…
o Today, this end is zero and this end is 10.
o What’s the number that’s half way between 0 and 10?
(Keep pointing to the mid point on the stick.)
Children collectively answer FIVE.
o Lets count in ones, join in with me– one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,
ten, now back, ten, nine, eight, etc.
Repeat, keeping the pace brisk.
Then point to points on the stick randomly. Children answer collectively.
Then point to 3 on the stick.
o Where am I? Move your finger along two marks. So that you are now pointing to five.
o Where am I now? Show me on your number fan.
Count to 5, children say five. Move your finger two or more along the stick.
o Where am I now? Show me on your number fan.
Repeat several times.
Repeat this time count back along the stick.
Point to 3 on the stick.
© Original teaching sequence copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by
individual users.
Y1 Maths TS3 – Mental Oral Starters - Aut
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Where am I? Children answer three.
Will I be if I count on two more? Show me on your number fans.
Activity 6
Objectives: To count on from 10
To begin to understand the place value structure of the teen numbers
Resources: Number cards – 1 to 20; number fans/whiteboards
Level of difficulty: Medium/Hard
 Say that you are going to play a ‘guess my number’ game by doing jumps that have to be
counted.
 Start by asking a child to pick a card from the 1 to 10 set. Don’t let the others see. They have
to jump that number of times. Other children count and then show that number on their fan
(or write it on their whiteboards).
 Then, demonstrate how now, you are going to use the numbers from 10 to 20 and a big jump
forward is 10 and a little jump on the spot is 1. Demonstrate with 11. Agree that it was 11.
Then show 12. When the children have the idea, continue and ask them to show the number
with their number fans (or write it on their whiteboard).
 When the children become familiar with the format, show a number, the children can do the
jumping and the teacher can rest!
Activity 7
Objectives: To count on from 10
To begin to understand the place value structure of the teen numbers
Resources: Basket; rod of ten cubes in one colour, ten single cubes in another colour; number track
Level of difficulty: Hard
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Say that today we’re going to do some more silent counting (as in Teaching Sequence 1,
Activity 4). Demonstrate by showing the children the rod of 10 cubes and then put them in
the basket.
o Ten.
Then quickly put one more cube in the basket and asko How many now?
Add another 2 cubes, children count in their heads, how many now?
If you see some children struggling with this, give help by pointing to the relevant numbers on
the number track.
Repeat a few times.
Start with 15 cubes (one rod of ten and five loose cubes) in the basket. Children watch you
put these in.
o How many? Fifteen.
o Now I’m going to start taking the cubes out. So, 15 cubes in the basket, remove five,
how many now?
Demonstrate that there is just the rod of ten left.
Repeat, starting with 13 cubes and removing 3, etc.
© Original teaching sequence copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by
individual users.
Y1 Maths TS3 – Mental Oral Starters - Aut