Saoirse the Irish hare, the class guide

Maths for 1st Class

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This course builds a strong foundation in first-year primary mathematics. Pupils develop confidence with numbers to 99, master addition and subtraction within 20 using bonds, doubles and strategies such as making ten, and explore place value through bundling and the hundred square. They investigate repeating and growing patterns, 2D and 3D shapes, position and movement, measures, time, money, halves, and early data handling through tallies, pictograms and block graphs. The programme connects concrete experiences, visual models and real-life contexts to foster deep conceptual understanding.
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Everything you need for Maths, all year.

A complete year of Maths, delivered by teacher-led interactive-whiteboard lessons, a printed pupil Activity Book, and a Teacher Resource Book, built to the NCCA Primary Mathematics Curriculum.

Interactive whiteboard lessons
Place value to thousands
Place value to thousands
Adding on the number line
Adding on the number line
Fractions, decimals & percentages
Fractions, decimals & percentages
Angles in a triangle
Angles in a triangle
Lines of symmetry
Lines of symmetry
Exploring 3D shapes
Exploring 3D shapes
Solving equations
Solving equations
Telling the time
Telling the time
Pupil Activity Book Mathematics 123learn Saoirse the Irish hare Look inside
Teacher Resource Book Mathematics 123learn Teacher resource books and materials Look inside

Explore the Course

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Open the year and Stage 2 by making every number to 20 an old friend. Re-anchor counting and numerals to 10, meet the teen numbers as a ten and some more on the ten-frame, then read, write, compare and order every number to 20 on the number line, with the hundred square in the closing review.

Counting to 10, a Careful Re-anchor
Zero to Ten on the Number Line
Eleven and Twelve, a Ten and Some More
Thirteen, Fourteen and Fifteen
Sixteen, Seventeen and Eighteen
Nineteen and Twenty, the Second Frame Fills up
Writing the Teen Numbers, the Ten Writes First
Counting Forwards and Back Within 20
Estimate, Then Count
Comparing Numbers to 20, Which Is More?
Ordering Numbers to 20
Numbers to 20 on the Hundred Square, Module Review

Addition begins as combining sets, then the plus and equals symbols land and pupils write their first number sentences. The block builds the addition-fact toolkit within 20 (bonds to 10, counting on, turnarounds, doubles, near doubles, making ten) and closes with story problems and a facts round-up.

Combining Two Sets, How Many Altogether?
The Plus Sign, the Joining Sign
The Equals Sign, a Balance Not an Answer
Reading and Writing Whole Number Sentences
Bonds of 6 and 7, Parts That Make the Whole
Bonds of 8 and 9
Bonds of 10, Ten's Best Friends
Counting on 1, 2, and Adding 0 Sample
Turnarounds, 2 Plus 9 Is 9 Plus 2
Doubles, Two of the Same
Near Doubles, a Double and One More
Making Ten to Add, Filling the Frame First
Addition Stories, Picking the Right Tool
Our Addition Toolkit, Module Review and Facts Round-up

Subtraction begins as taking away, then the minus symbol and full take-away sentences land, completing the number-sentence story. The block opens subtraction's second meaning (difference), links every take-away back to bonds, binds addition and subtraction in fact families, and closes with story problems and a facts round-up.

Taking Away, How Many Are Left?
The Minus Sign, the Taking-away Sign
Take-away Sentences, the Whole Story
Counting Back 1, 2, and Taking Away 0
Difference, How Many More?
Bonds Undo the Take, Subtraction Hides Inside Every Bond
Fact Families, Four Facts from One Picture
Taking from the Teens, Counting Back Within 20
Back Through Ten, Break the Jump at the Ten
Count up to Take Away, When the Numbers Are Close
Subtraction Stories, Did Some Leave or Are We Comparing?
Our Subtraction Toolkit, Module Review and Facts Round-up

The biggest idea of the year: ten loose units bundle into one ten, and where a digit sits decides its value. Pupils trade units for ten-rods, rebuild the teens, climb the decade numbers, build every number to 99, and use the hundred square as a number map for one more, one less, ten more, ten less. Comparing by tens and estimate-group-count close the block.

Bundling Ten, Ten Little Ones Make One Ten
The Teens Are One Ten and Units
The Decade Numbers, Whole Bundles None Left Over
Building Any Number to 99, Tens and Units Together
Where a Digit Sits, 34 and 43 Are Not the Same
The Hundred Square, Our Number Map
One More, One Less, Ten More, Ten Less
Comparing Numbers to 99, the Tens Decide First
Estimate, Group, Count, Tens Make Big Counts Easy
Tens and Units, Module Review on the Number Map

Pattern thinking turns counting into early algebra. Pupils copy, continue and mend repeating patterns and name the unit of repeat, build growing staircases, then discover skip counting in 2s, 5s and 10s on the hundred square and number line. Missing-number puzzles and a pattern-detective review close the block.

Repeating Patterns, Copy It, Continue It, Say It
The Unit of Repeat, the Chunk That Repeats
Growing Patterns, the Staircase
Counting in 2s, Two at a Time
Jumps of 2 on the Number Line, the Pattern in the Endings
Counting in 10s, a Bundle at a Time
Counting in 5s, a Hand at a Time
Skip Counting Does Real Jobs, 2s, 5s or 10s?
Missing Numbers, the Rule Finds Them
Pattern Detectives, Module Review

Shape opens the geometric eye. The block names and describes flat shapes by sides and corners, builds new shapes from old, picks up the solid shapes and finds the flat faces hiding on them. Position words, routes on a grid, and the first slides, flips and turns close the block.

Flat Shapes All Around Us: Square, Circle, Triangle, Rectangle
Sides and Corners, a Shape Tells Us Its Own Name
Square and Rectangle, the Four-corner Cousins
Triangles of Every Kind
Circles and Semicircles
Making New Shapes from Old, Shapes Hiding Inside Shapes
Solid Shapes, the Cube and the Cuboid
Cylinder and Sphere, the Rolling Shapes
The Flat Faces Hiding on Solids
Stack, Roll or Slide, Building with Solids
Left, Right, Above, Below, Between: Position Words
Follow the Route, Directions on a Grid
Slide, Flip and Turn, Moving Shapes Without Changing Them
Shape Detectives, Module Review

Measuring turns comparing into counting. Pupils compare and order lengths, weights and capacities directly, measure with their own units, and discover why everyone's answer disagrees, before standard units arrive: the metre and centimetre with a real ruler, the kilogram on the balance, and the litre on the label. Estimate-then-measure runs through the whole block, and the ruler joins core kit from here.

Longer, Shorter, the Same, Comparing Lengths Fairly
Measuring with Our Own Units, Cubes End to End
Everyone Got a Different Answer, Why We Need the Metre
The Centimetre, a Small Unit for Small Things
Measuring Carefully, Zero at the Start Read the End
Estimate, Then Measure, Length in Centimetres
Heavier or Lighter, the Balance Tells the Truth
Weighing with Cubes, Giving Weight a Number
The Kilogram, the Shop's Unit of Weight
Estimate, Then Weigh, Ordering by Weight
Full, Empty and Holds More, Comparing Capacity
Measuring with Cupfuls
The Litre, the Carton's Unit
Measuring Round-up, Pick the Tool and the Unit, Module Review

Time begins with the rhythms pupils live: the days of the week, yesterday and tomorrow, the months and seasons, and which jobs take a moment or a long time. Then the clock face arrives with its two hands, o'clock read off the hour hand, and, late in the block, half past. A sort-the-clocks review closes the module.

Days of the Week, the Week Goes Round
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
The Months and the Seasons
How Long Does It Take? Comparing Time
Meet the Clock Face, Two Hands and Twelve Numbers
O'clock, the Hour Hand Points the Way
Reading O'clock Times Through the Day
Matching O'clock Times to Our Day
Half Past, the Hour Hand Slips Halfway
O'clock and Half Past, Module Review

Money puts numbers to work in the class shop. Pupils meet the cent coins from 1c to 50c, learn to sort them by value not size, count on from the biggest coin to total a purse, make the same amount in more than one way, and reach totals to 50c. The euro arrives as a coin worth a hundred cent, and a class-shop review has pupils pay exact prices.

Meet the Cent Coins: 1c, 2c and 5c Sample
The Bigger Cent Coins: 10c, 20c and 50c
Which Coin Is Worth More? Sorting by Value
How Much in the Purse? Counting on
The Same Amount, Made Different Ways
Bigger Totals, to 20c and to 50c
Meet the Euro, the €1 Coin
The Class Shop, Module Review

Fractions begin with fair sharing between two. Pupils cut a whole into two equal parts and name one a half, learn that only equal parts count as halves, and see that two halves rebuild the whole. Halving reaches beyond shapes to a group of objects and to halves spotted around the classroom, and a three-ways review closes the block.

Fair Shares for Two, One Half
Equal Parts Matter, Is It Really a Half?
Two Halves Make One Whole, the Fraction Strip
Half of a Set, Sharing a Group Fairly
Spot the Half, Halves All Around Us
Halves Round-up, Module Review

Data lets the class answer its own questions with evidence. Pupils sort things into groups, keep count with tally marks and the five-bar gate, pose a question and tally the answers, then read the tally to find the most and fewest. The same data is shown three ways, and a data-detectives review ties the strand together.

Sorting Into Groups, Where Data Begins
Keeping Count with Tally Marks
Ask a Question and Tally the Answers
Reading Our Tally Chart: Most, Fewest, How Many
The Pictogram, One Picture for One
Reading a Pictogram, Comparing the Rows
The Block Graph, One Block for Each One
Reading a Block Graph, the Tallest Tells the Most
From Question to Graph, the Whole Data Journey
Data Detectives, Module Review

Open the year and Stage 2 by making every number to 20 an old friend. Re-anchor counting and numerals to 10, meet the teen numbers as a ten and some more on the ten-frame, then read, write, compare and order every number to 20 on the number line, with the hundred square in the closing review.

Counting to 10, a Careful Re-anchor
Zero to Ten on the Number Line
Eleven and Twelve, a Ten and Some More
Thirteen, Fourteen and Fifteen
Sixteen, Seventeen and Eighteen
Nineteen and Twenty, the Second Frame Fills up
Writing the Teen Numbers, the Ten Writes First
Counting Forwards and Back Within 20
Estimate, Then Count
Comparing Numbers to 20, Which Is More?
Ordering Numbers to 20
Numbers to 20 on the Hundred Square, Module Review

Addition begins as combining sets, then the plus and equals symbols land and pupils write their first number sentences. The block builds the addition-fact toolkit within 20 (bonds to 10, counting on, turnarounds, doubles, near doubles, making ten) and closes with story problems and a facts round-up.

Combining Two Sets, How Many Altogether?
The Plus Sign, the Joining Sign
The Equals Sign, a Balance Not an Answer
Reading and Writing Whole Number Sentences
Bonds of 6 and 7, Parts That Make the Whole
Bonds of 8 and 9
Bonds of 10, Ten's Best Friends
Counting on 1, 2, and Adding 0 Sample
Turnarounds, 2 Plus 9 Is 9 Plus 2
Doubles, Two of the Same
Near Doubles, a Double and One More
Making Ten to Add, Filling the Frame First
Addition Stories, Picking the Right Tool
Our Addition Toolkit, Module Review and Facts Round-up

Subtraction begins as taking away, then the minus symbol and full take-away sentences land, completing the number-sentence story. The block opens subtraction's second meaning (difference), links every take-away back to bonds, binds addition and subtraction in fact families, and closes with story problems and a facts round-up.

Taking Away, How Many Are Left?
The Minus Sign, the Taking-away Sign
Take-away Sentences, the Whole Story
Counting Back 1, 2, and Taking Away 0
Difference, How Many More?
Bonds Undo the Take, Subtraction Hides Inside Every Bond
Fact Families, Four Facts from One Picture
Taking from the Teens, Counting Back Within 20
Back Through Ten, Break the Jump at the Ten
Count up to Take Away, When the Numbers Are Close
Subtraction Stories, Did Some Leave or Are We Comparing?
Our Subtraction Toolkit, Module Review and Facts Round-up

The biggest idea of the year: ten loose units bundle into one ten, and where a digit sits decides its value. Pupils trade units for ten-rods, rebuild the teens, climb the decade numbers, build every number to 99, and use the hundred square as a number map for one more, one less, ten more, ten less. Comparing by tens and estimate-group-count close the block.

Bundling Ten, Ten Little Ones Make One Ten
The Teens Are One Ten and Units
The Decade Numbers, Whole Bundles None Left Over
Building Any Number to 99, Tens and Units Together
Where a Digit Sits, 34 and 43 Are Not the Same
The Hundred Square, Our Number Map
One More, One Less, Ten More, Ten Less
Comparing Numbers to 99, the Tens Decide First
Estimate, Group, Count, Tens Make Big Counts Easy
Tens and Units, Module Review on the Number Map

Pattern thinking turns counting into early algebra. Pupils copy, continue and mend repeating patterns and name the unit of repeat, build growing staircases, then discover skip counting in 2s, 5s and 10s on the hundred square and number line. Missing-number puzzles and a pattern-detective review close the block.

Repeating Patterns, Copy It, Continue It, Say It
The Unit of Repeat, the Chunk That Repeats
Growing Patterns, the Staircase
Counting in 2s, Two at a Time
Jumps of 2 on the Number Line, the Pattern in the Endings
Counting in 10s, a Bundle at a Time
Counting in 5s, a Hand at a Time
Skip Counting Does Real Jobs, 2s, 5s or 10s?
Missing Numbers, the Rule Finds Them
Pattern Detectives, Module Review

Shape opens the geometric eye. The block names and describes flat shapes by sides and corners, builds new shapes from old, picks up the solid shapes and finds the flat faces hiding on them. Position words, routes on a grid, and the first slides, flips and turns close the block.

Flat Shapes All Around Us: Square, Circle, Triangle, Rectangle
Sides and Corners, a Shape Tells Us Its Own Name
Square and Rectangle, the Four-corner Cousins
Triangles of Every Kind
Circles and Semicircles
Making New Shapes from Old, Shapes Hiding Inside Shapes
Solid Shapes, the Cube and the Cuboid
Cylinder and Sphere, the Rolling Shapes
The Flat Faces Hiding on Solids
Stack, Roll or Slide, Building with Solids
Left, Right, Above, Below, Between: Position Words
Follow the Route, Directions on a Grid
Slide, Flip and Turn, Moving Shapes Without Changing Them
Shape Detectives, Module Review

Measuring turns comparing into counting. Pupils compare and order lengths, weights and capacities directly, measure with their own units, and discover why everyone's answer disagrees, before standard units arrive: the metre and centimetre with a real ruler, the kilogram on the balance, and the litre on the label. Estimate-then-measure runs through the whole block, and the ruler joins core kit from here.

Longer, Shorter, the Same, Comparing Lengths Fairly
Measuring with Our Own Units, Cubes End to End
Everyone Got a Different Answer, Why We Need the Metre
The Centimetre, a Small Unit for Small Things
Measuring Carefully, Zero at the Start Read the End
Estimate, Then Measure, Length in Centimetres
Heavier or Lighter, the Balance Tells the Truth
Weighing with Cubes, Giving Weight a Number
The Kilogram, the Shop's Unit of Weight
Estimate, Then Weigh, Ordering by Weight
Full, Empty and Holds More, Comparing Capacity
Measuring with Cupfuls
The Litre, the Carton's Unit
Measuring Round-up, Pick the Tool and the Unit, Module Review

Time begins with the rhythms pupils live: the days of the week, yesterday and tomorrow, the months and seasons, and which jobs take a moment or a long time. Then the clock face arrives with its two hands, o'clock read off the hour hand, and, late in the block, half past. A sort-the-clocks review closes the module.

Days of the Week, the Week Goes Round
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
The Months and the Seasons
How Long Does It Take? Comparing Time
Meet the Clock Face, Two Hands and Twelve Numbers
O'clock, the Hour Hand Points the Way
Reading O'clock Times Through the Day
Matching O'clock Times to Our Day
Half Past, the Hour Hand Slips Halfway
O'clock and Half Past, Module Review

Money puts numbers to work in the class shop. Pupils meet the cent coins from 1c to 50c, learn to sort them by value not size, count on from the biggest coin to total a purse, make the same amount in more than one way, and reach totals to 50c. The euro arrives as a coin worth a hundred cent, and a class-shop review has pupils pay exact prices.

Meet the Cent Coins: 1c, 2c and 5c Sample
The Bigger Cent Coins: 10c, 20c and 50c
Which Coin Is Worth More? Sorting by Value
How Much in the Purse? Counting on
The Same Amount, Made Different Ways
Bigger Totals, to 20c and to 50c
Meet the Euro, the €1 Coin
The Class Shop, Module Review

Fractions begin with fair sharing between two. Pupils cut a whole into two equal parts and name one a half, learn that only equal parts count as halves, and see that two halves rebuild the whole. Halving reaches beyond shapes to a group of objects and to halves spotted around the classroom, and a three-ways review closes the block.

Fair Shares for Two, One Half
Equal Parts Matter, Is It Really a Half?
Two Halves Make One Whole, the Fraction Strip
Half of a Set, Sharing a Group Fairly
Spot the Half, Halves All Around Us
Halves Round-up, Module Review

Data lets the class answer its own questions with evidence. Pupils sort things into groups, keep count with tally marks and the five-bar gate, pose a question and tally the answers, then read the tally to find the most and fewest. The same data is shown three ways, and a data-detectives review ties the strand together.

Sorting Into Groups, Where Data Begins
Keeping Count with Tally Marks
Ask a Question and Tally the Answers
Reading Our Tally Chart: Most, Fewest, How Many
The Pictogram, One Picture for One
Reading a Pictogram, Comparing the Rows
The Block Graph, One Block for Each One
Reading a Block Graph, the Tallest Tells the Most
From Question to Graph, the Whole Data Journey
Data Detectives, Module Review

What Students Will Learn

Learning Goals

  1. Develop confidence reading, writing, ordering and comparing numbers to 20 and then to 99 using place value
  2. Master addition and subtraction within 20 using strategies such as counting on, making ten, doubles, near doubles, fact families and counting back
  3. Recognise, describe and work with repeating and growing patterns, skip count in 2s, 5s and 10s, and use these skills in real contexts
  4. Identify 2D and 3D shapes, understand their properties, explore position, direction, turns and movement of shapes
  5. Measure and compare length, weight and capacity using non-standard and standard units, tell time to the hour and half past, recognise coins and solve money problems, find halves of shapes and sets, and collect, organise and interpret data using tallies, pictograms and block graphs

Learning Outcomes

  1. Count, read, write, order and compare numbers to 20 using a number line and hundred square.
  2. Add and subtract within 20 using bonds, counting on, counting back, making ten, near doubles and fact families.
  3. Represent numbers to 99 with tens and units, compare them, and find one more, one less, ten more and ten less.
  4. Recognise and continue repeating and growing patterns, and skip-count in 2s, 5s and 10s forwards and backwards.
  5. Identify 2D shapes by sides and corners, name 3D shapes, and describe position, direction and turns.

What You'll Need

Required Equipment

Equipment used in some of the lessons in this course. Items can be shared among students.

Coin cards
Real coins

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