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Tens and ones – Year 1 maths lesson

Lesson 4 of 18 in the Year 1 maths course

UK version. UK school years, UK spelling and pounds (£). · US Math Department

A complete 45-minute lesson for Year 1 (ages 5–6) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is marked straight away, with a worked explanation.

Time
45 minutes + 15 min homework
Year
Year 1 (ages 5–6)
You need
Paper, a pencil and this page
Marked
Instantly, with explanations

For parents: how to use this lesson

You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, one tidy step at a time. Every answer is marked straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to mark anything.

  1. Read what your child will learn and the big ideas together.
  2. Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
  3. Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
  4. Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “Is 41 the same as 4 tens and 1 one? Can you make it another way?”
  5. Later that day or the next day: the homework (15 minutes), then a practice test.

Watch out for

  • Saying the 3 in 36 is worth 3. Ask "3 what?" – 3 tens, which is 30.
  • Writing thirty-six as 306. Build it with tens and ones, then write one digit for each column.

Tip for home: Count out 10p coins and 1p coins to make amounts together.

What your child will learn

We are learning to say what each digit is worth in a two-digit or three-digit number.

Success looks like

  • I can say how many tens and ones are in a number.
  • I can say what each digit is worth.
  • I can split a number into tens and ones.

Key words

tens
groups of ten
ones
single units
digit
one of the symbols 0 to 9
partition
split a number into parts

What to have ready

  • Paper and a pencil
  • This page on a computer, tablet or phone
  • For the hands-on part: Make numbers with bundles of ten straws (or sticks of ten cubes) and single straws. Say how many tens and how many ones. Bundles of ten pencils held with an elastic band work too.

The big ideas (for the adult)

A two-digit number is made of tens and ones. In 36 there are 3 tens (30) and 6 ones.

Ten ones can be swapped for one ten. Ten tens make one hundred.

You can split a number in different ways: 36 is 30 + 6, or 20 + 16.

The lesson, step by step

45 minutes in 5 parts
PartTimeHow it is checked
Starter: quick recall5 minMarked by Classfern
Teaching input10 minNot assessed, self-checked
Worked examples and guided practice9 minNot assessed, marked by Classfern
Independent practice15 minMarked by Classfern
Plenary and exit ticket6 minMarked by Classfern, self-checked

Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are marked by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.

The lesson

It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.

Homework and practice at home

15 minutes: 8 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all marked instantly.

More practice

All Year 1 maths lessons and tests · Maths Department

More Year 1 maths lessons

Curriculum

National Curriculum for England, Year 1: “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”

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.