Multiplication - Counting in Steps of Fives and Creating Arrays

As part of the Year 1 Maths Curriculum children are expected to be able to "solve one-step problems involving multiplication and division, by calculating the answer using concrete objects, pictorial representations and arrays with the support" of an adult.

When learning about Multiplication we teach the children how to count in steps of twos, fives and tens to be able to explore number patterns and how to represent these facts in various pictorial representations such as arrays. 

Below you can find a selection of activities to help your son/daughter become familiar with counting in fives and resources to help the children's understanding in creating 'arrays' to represent these number patterns. If you need any further clarification please do not hesitate to email me. 

Helpful Interactive Resources

To help you to look at the different counting patterns/sequences you could use either the interactive number line or the hundred square links below. What do you notice about the numbers?

 *Alternatively, you may want to make your own physical versions at home.

Interactive Number Line

https://apps.mathlearningcenter.org/number-line/ - Use the drawing tools (found on the bottom panel) to draw on your jumps.

Interactive Hundred Square

https://apps.mathlearningcenter.org/number-line/ - Using the colour blocks on the left so you can jump on the numbers as you say them.

Remember that you will need to make sure you are jumping the same amount each time. 

Activity 1

Practise counting in fives by following this song. When you feel confident, see if you can count in fives without the song by following your own comfortable rhythm when counting.

After you have done this, your adult can test your learning by asking you to identify the next number in the sequence from a given number. For example your adult could ask you to say the next number or the previous number within the fives number pattern. Remember that you are counting in 5s, so it is not one more or one less from the given number. 

Adult says: What would the next number be after 10? 

Answer: 15

Adult says: What would have been the number before 10? 

Answer: 5

* To help you work out the answers, have a go at using the interactive hundreds square or number line above. 

Activity 2

Have a go at the 'Counting on and back in 5s within 50' lesson from BBC Bitesize. 

Activity 3

When I teach the class about multiplication we talk about the 'X' sign and what it means. For Year 1 pupils they need to understand that the 'X' sign means "lots of" or "groups of". For example 2 X 5 is either " 2 lots of 5" or "2 groups of 5". 

When we want to show "groups of" it would look like this: 

When we want to show "lots of" we would use arrays: 

You can use either approach to show representations of multiplication, however, arrays are more preferable when looking at the various ways we can make the same multiplication number sentence. E.g. 2 X 5 and 5 X 2. 

Have a look at the video and PowerPoint below and then see if you can create your own arrays with objects from around the home or by drawing them on some maths paper. 

* Year one pupils only need to focus on looking at using 2s, 5s and 10s when learning about/working with Multiplication. 

Activity 4

Below you will find a selection of activities that covers the areas of Maths you have looked at in the last two weeks. You can either print off the worksheets or write the answers in your books.

*Please remember to write the date and the title of the sheet you are completing if you are doing the work in your books. 

Within each PDF there are three different levels of activity, so please pick the worksheets you feel are most suitable for your son/daughter. A 1 star worksheet is a good place to start for those who are not overly confident with the concepts we have covered, whereas a 3 star worksheet would be for those who have a good and secure grasp of counting in 2s, 5s and 10s and would therefore like a bit of a challenge. 

*Some guidance may be needed to understand what the questions are asking of your son/daughter. 

If you have any queries or would like to share your Maths Home Learning then please feel free to email me.