Grade 1 Numeracy Term 2 Week 1: Number, Operations and Relationships – Counting and Comparing to 20

Your Week Ahead

Welcome back after the Easter break! Term 2 Week 1 is a gentler re-entry into the year for your Grade 1 learners, and the CAPS curriculum uses this week wisely. It is your diagnostic assessment week, which means you are not introducing brand new content. Instead, you are finding out where every learner is right now, after the holiday break, and refreshing the core counting and number skills they built in Term 1.

The focus sits firmly on Number, Operations and Relationships. Your learners will be counting forwards and backwards in 1s from any number between 1 and 20, skip counting in multiples of 10s, 5s and 2s, ordering sets of numbers, comparing numbers up to 5 by deciding which is more or less, and counting physical objects reliably up to 20. These are not isolated skills. They are the foundation that every addition, subtraction, and place value concept in Grade 1 and beyond is built on, so it is worth taking the time this week to see exactly who has consolidated them and who still needs support.

Coming into this week, learners should have had exposure to all of these concepts in Term 1. Many will arrive back at school a little rusty after the holidays, which is completely normal. Keep your activities hands-on, keep the energy warm and playful, and use your diagnostic observations to guide your planning for the weeks ahead rather than as a judgement on where learners should be.

This Week’s Lesson Plan

The lesson plan for this week weaves diagnostic assessment into everyday numeracy activities so that you are gathering information without it feeling like a formal test for your Grade 1s. Each day targets a specific skill cluster from the ATP content, giving you a clear picture of each learner by Friday.

Day 1: Diagnostic focus on counting forwards and backwards in 1s from any number between 1 and 20, using number lines, number grids, and whole-class counting activities to observe fluency and identify gaps.

Day 2: Diagnostic focus on skip counting in multiples of 10s, 5s and 2s from any given multiple between 0 and 20, using rhythmic counting, physical movement, and concrete materials such as counters grouped in 2s, 5s and 10s.

Day 3: Diagnostic focus on ordering a given set of numbers, with learners arranging number cards from smallest to largest and largest to smallest, and explaining their thinking in their own words.

Day 4: Diagnostic focus on comparing numbers up to 5, using concrete objects and picture cards so learners can show which group has more and which has less, and begin using the language of comparison confidently.

Day 5: Diagnostic focus on reliably counting objects to 20, using a range of loose manipulatives and everyday classroom objects, observing one-to-one correspondence, stable order, and cardinality in each learner.

Download Your Lesson Plan

Download the full 5-day lesson plan as a Word document. Includes detailed activities, differentiation notes, and assessment guidance.

Download Lesson Plan (Word)