Grade 1 Numeracy Term 2 Week 11: Mid-Year Formal Assessment Task

Your Week Ahead

This is it, the end of Term 2 and the big one for Grade 1 Numeracy. Week 11 is your mid-year formal assessment week, which means you are wrapping up all the work your learners have done since January and giving them the opportunity to show what they know. The assessment covers every content area in the annual teaching plan for the first half of the year: Measurement, Patterns, Numbers Operations and Relationships, Space and Shape, and Data Handling.

It is worth taking a moment to appreciate how much ground your Grade 1 learners have covered. They have moved from counting objects and recognising shapes to working with number bonds, simple patterns, comparing lengths and capacities, sorting objects into groups, and reading basic pictographs. That is a full programme, and this week is their chance to demonstrate that growth in a structured, formal way.

Coming into this week, learners should have had revision opportunities in Week 10. If you noticed any gaps during that revision, use the first day or two of this week as light consolidation before the formal tasks begin. Keep the classroom calm and the instructions simple. At Grade 1 level, anxiety about assessment is real, so a warm, familiar routine makes a big difference.

What Teachers Are Searching For

• What does the annual teaching plan say about mid-year assessment for Grade 1? The CAPS annual teaching plan places the mid-year formal assessment task in Term 2, Week 11. It is a formal task, which means it must be recorded. It should assess all five content areas covered in Terms 1 and 2: Numbers Operations and Relationships, Patterns, Space and Shape, Measurement, and Data Handling. Your assessment tasks need to align to the ATP content descriptors, not just general numeracy skills.
• Can I use DBE workbooks as part of my assessment preparation? Absolutely. The DBE workbooks are a fantastic resource for revision activities leading into formal assessment week. Pages covering number lines, shape sorting, and simple data handling graphs are particularly useful for Grade 1. Use them as guided practice rather than standalone tasks, and go through the answers together so learners understand their mistakes before the formal assessment begins.
• How do I assess Data Handling at Grade 1 level? Many teachers search for guidance on this because Data Handling can feel abstract for young learners. At Grade 1, Data Handling focuses on sorting and grouping objects, answering questions about simple pictographs, and comparing quantities using words like more, less, and the same. If you have been searching for data handling Grade R resources, note that Grade 1 builds directly on that foundation by adding simple tallies and one-to-one pictographs with a scale of one.

This Week’s Lesson Plan

Because the lesson plan days are open this week to allow for school-specific scheduling of formal tasks, here is a practical structure you can adapt to your own timetable and assessment format.

Day 1: Light revision and settling activity covering Numbers Operations and Relationships. Use familiar number bond and counting activities to warm learners up for the week ahead without introducing anything new.

Day 2: Formal assessment task, Part 1. Focus on Numbers Operations and Relationships and Patterns. Keep instructions oral as well as written, and give learners enough time to work through each question without rushing.

Day 3: Formal assessment task, Part 2. Focus on Space and Shape and Measurement. Use concrete examples and pictures where possible to support learners who struggle with written instructions.

Day 4: Formal assessment task, Part 3. Focus on Data Handling. Provide a simple pictograph or sorting activity and ask learners to answer questions about what they see. This is a good opportunity to observe and record practical skills alongside written responses.

Day 5: Feedback and celebration. Go through selected questions together as a class, affirm effort and growth, and begin a brief conversation about what learners are looking forward to in Term 3. End the term on a positive note.

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)