Length and height - Comparing height - Starter

In a Year 1 mathematics session, students engage in a series of starter activities designed to warm up their arithmetic and reasoning skills. The 'Fluent in Four' revision segment challenges children with quick-fire subtraction problems, such as "17 – 9", encouraging them to quickly calculate and understand the concept of taking away. This mental arithmetic practice is complemented by a problem-solving task where students must determine "Twenty – half of 18", combining their knowledge of halving and subtraction to find the answer.

The lesson then transitions to a practical comparison activity where students are asked, "Which is the longest?" This encourages observational skills and understanding of length. Another engaging task involves a scenario where a hedgehog has 8 lemons, and students must decide which labelled bag belongs to him, enhancing their ability to associate numbers with quantities. Additionally, the lesson includes a shape recognition exercise where children are prompted to name various shapes they can see, such as circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles. These activities cater to the development of fundamental mathematical skills in young learners, including arithmetic, comparison, and shape identification.