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Year 1

Show one more and one less than a number using representations

I can use representations to show that the number before a given number is one less and the number after a given number is one more.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 1

Show one more and one less than a number using representations

I can use representations to show that the number before a given number is one less and the number after a given number is one more.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The number before a given number is one less than it.
  2. The number after a given number is one more than it.
  3. A staircase of blocks can be used to highlight one more and one less.

Keywords

  • One more - The number after a given number is one more than it.

  • One less - The number before a given number is one less than it.

  • Before - A number that is before another comes earlier in our count.

  • After - A number that is after another comes later in our count.

Common misconception

Children may confuse one more and one less, particularly when finding missing numbers.

Use the stem sentence ___ is one more / one less than ___ because it comes after / before it in our count.


To help you plan your year 1 maths lesson on: Show one more and one less than a number using representations, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Ask children to describe each column from the staircase to make links to previous work partitioning 1 to 5 eg. 2 is one more than 1. In this lesson, you start to make links to the bar model which will be introduced later in the unit.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the next number in the count when counting forwards from 2? 2, 3, _
2
3
Correct answer: 4
Q2.
What is the next number when counting back from 5? 5, 4, _
Correct answer: 3
4
5
Q3.
What is one more than 4?
An image in a quiz
3
4
Correct answer: 5
Q4.
What is one less than 4?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: 3
4
5
Q5.
What is the whole?
An image in a quiz
1
3
Correct answer: 4
Q6.
What is the whole?
An image in a quiz
1
4
Correct answer: 5

6 Questions

Q1.
Which part-part-whole model is showing Laura’s cubes correctly partitioned?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q2.
Which part-part-whole model is showing Andeep’s cubes correctly partitioned?
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q3.
One more than 3 is 4, so one less than 4 is _
2
Correct answer: 3
4
Q4.
One less than 5 is 4, so one more than 4 is _
3
4
Correct answer: 5
Q5.
Laura thinks the missing number will be the same for both of these. Is she correct?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: Yes
No
Q6.
Andeep thinks the missing number will be the same for both of these. Is he correct?
An image in a quiz
Yes
Correct answer: No