Greater Than and Less Than - PowerPoint

In Year 2 maths, students are introduced to the concepts of 'greater than' and 'less than', crucial for understanding number and place value. The 'greater than' symbol, denoted by '>', is used to represent when one number is larger than another. Conversely, the 'less than' symbol, '<', indicates when one number is smaller. For example, in the comparison 6 > 3, the symbol shows that 6 is greater than 3, while 3 < 6 indicates that 3 is less than 6. An engaging teaching method to help children remember which symbol to use is to imagine the symbols as a mouth always open towards the larger number, as in the comparisons 8 > 5 and 5 < 8.

Students are encouraged to practice these concepts with worksheets where they compare pairs of numbers using the appropriate symbols. For instance, they would determine whether 16 is greater than or less than 24, and similarly compare 13 to 9, 77 to 63, and so on. The worksheets are designed to reinforce the idea that the 'mouth' of the symbol eats the largest number. This method promotes a visual and memorable approach to comparing numerical values, helping young learners to grasp these foundational mathematical concepts effectively.