Mathematics · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Counting to 100: Forward and Backward

Students learn place value best when they experience numbers as quantities rather than symbols. Active learning lets children bundle, count, and talk about numbers in ways that make 10 a meaningful unit, which is essential for counting to 100. Moving beyond rote counting builds both number sense and confidence.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9M1N01

• 20–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 20 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Great Bundle Race

Give small groups a large bucket of loose items like buttons or sticks. Students must work together to find the fastest way to count them by making groups of ten and then counting the 'leftovers' as ones.

Explain how knowing the pattern of 1 to 10 helps us count to 100.

Facilitation Tip

During The Great Bundle Race, circulate and listen for pairs counting their bundles aloud so you can spot who is still counting by ones.

What to look for

Give each student a hundreds chart. Ask them to circle all the numbers they say when counting backward from 50 to 30. Then, ask them to draw a star next to the number 77.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 30 min · Pairs

Role Play: The Place Value Shop

One student acts as the 'Tens Banker' and another as the 'Ones Clerk'. Students must 'buy' numbers by trading ten single units for one ten-rod, simulating the regrouping process in a social setting.

Differentiate the process of counting backwards versus forwards.

Facilitation Tip

In The Place Value Shop role play, stand nearby to model how to exchange ten 1c coins for a 10c coin so students see the practical shift from ones to tens.

What to look for

Ask students to stand and count forward by ones to 20. Then, ask them to sit and count backward by ones from 20 to 1. Observe student participation and accuracy.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 25 min · Whole Class

Gallery Walk: Number Representations

Groups create different visual models of the same number (e.g., 24) using blocks, drawings, and tally marks. Students walk around the room to compare how 'two tens and four ones' looks in different formats.

Analyze the significance of zero in our counting system.

Facilitation Tip

For the Gallery Walk, provide a checklist with place value features so students know exactly what to look for when examining each poster.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How does knowing how to count to 10 help you count all the way to 100?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to share their strategies and observations about number patterns.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with physical bundling so students see ten as a single unit, not just a digit. Avoid rushing to abstract symbols; give plenty of time for students to verbalize their counting. Research shows this concrete-to-representational-to-abstract path strengthens place value understanding and reduces digit-seeing errors later.

By the end of these activities, students should show they can count forward to 100 and backward from any number up to 100 while explaining how many tens and ones are in each number. They should use place value language naturally during tasks and peer discussions.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During The Great Bundle Race, watch for students who treat digits as independent labels, counting the ‘2’ in 25 as two single items rather than two groups of ten.

  Have students physically separate the bundles and singles, then count aloud with a partner: one bundle equals ten, so two bundles equal twenty. Ask the partner to verify by recounting the bundles while the first partner counts the ones.

• During The Place Value Shop role play, watch for students who write 205 for twenty-five because they record what they hear as separate parts.

  Use place value mats with labeled columns and overlapping ‘expanded’ cards that slide together to show how 20 and 5 combine into 25. Students place the cards on the mat and trace the numeral to see the correct two-digit formation.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Role Play
• Gallery Walk