Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 1

Lesson Video

This page supports the lesson note with a companion video and a short classroom-ready summary.

For class groups and homework, share this lesson page so learners also get the summary, objectives, and full lesson context.

Performance objectives

• Solve story problems with adding and subtracting.
• Use the plus, minus, and equals signs.
• Join groups of objects together.
• Take objects away from a group.
• See how adding and subtracting are a family.

Lesson summary

This week, we continue our exciting journey with numbers by focusing on addition and subtraction up to

1

0. These skills are the building blocks of all mathematics. For a Grade 1 learner in South Africa, this is not just about numbers on a page; it is about everyday life. It's about figuring out how many more sweets you need to share with your friends, calculating how much money you have left after buying a 'vetkoek' at the tuck shop, or counting how many players are on your soccer team versus the other team. Mastering these concepts builds confidence and helps learners make sense of the world around them in a logical way.

Lesson notes

This section explains the core ideas we will be learning. We will use things we can touch and see, like our fingers, bottle tops, or drawings, to understand these big ideas. What is Addition? (+) Addition is about joining or putting things together. When we add, the number gets bigger.

Key words: altogether, add, more, plus, the sum of, join.

The symbol: We use the plus sign (+) to show we are adding.

Example 1: Using Objects Problem: Zola has 4 red crayons. Her friend gives her 2 blue crayons. How many crayons does Zola have altogether?

Thinking Process: Start with what Zola has: Get 4 bottle tops (or draw 4 circles).

Let's count them: one, two, three, four. 🔴 🔴 🔴 🔴 Join the new amount: Her friend gives her 2 more. Get 2 more bottle tops (or draw 2 more circles). 🔵 🔵 Count them all together: Push all the bottle tops into one group and count them. 🔴 🔴 🔴 🔴 🔵 🔵 One, two, three, four, five, six. There are 6 crayons altogether.

Write the number sentence: We show this using numbers and symbols. 4 + 2 = 6 What is Subtraction? (-) Subtraction is about taking away or finding the difference between two groups. When we subtract, the number usually gets smaller.

Key words: take away, less, minus, how many are left?, the difference.

The symbol: We use the minus sign (-) to show we are taking away.

Example 2: Taking Away Problem: There are 7 birds sitting on a telephone wire. 3 birds fly away. How many birds are left?

Thinking Process: Start with the total: Draw 7 birds (or use 7 counters). 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 Take away the amount that left: 3 birds flew away. We cross out 3 of the birds. ~~🐦~~ ~~🐦~~ ~~🐦~~ 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 Count how many are left: Count the birds that are not crossed out. One, two, three, four. There are 4 birds left.

Write the number sentence: We show this using numbers and symbols. 7 - 3 = 4 The Equals Sign (=)

The symbol: The equals sign (=) is very important. It means “is the same as”. In 4 + 2 = 6, it means that '4 + 2' on one side is the very same amount as '6' on the other side. They are balanced. Addition and Subtraction are a Family! (Inverse Operations) Addition and subtraction are opposites that work together, like a family. This can help us solve puzzles!

Example 3: Number Families Let's look at the numbers 5, 3, and

8. We know that if we join 5 things and 3 things, we get 8 things altogether. 5 + 3 = 8 We also know that if we join 3 things and 5 things, we still get 8 things. 3 + 5 = 8 Now, what if we start with all 8 things and take away 3? 8 - 3 = 5 (We are left with the 5 we started with!) What if we start with all 8 things and take away 5? 8 - 5 = 3 (We are left with the 3!) These four number sentences (5+3=8, 3+5=8, 8-3=5, 8-5=3) make a number family. Knowing this helps you check your answers and solve missing number problems. Guided Practice (With Solutions) Let's try some together. We will draw pictures to help us.

Question 1: Mandla has 6 sweets. He eats 4 of them. How many sweets are left?

Draw it: 🍬 🍬 🍬 🍬 🍬 🍬 Number Sentence: 6 - 4 = __ Solution 1: We start with 6 sweets. Our drawing shows 6 sweets. He eats 4, so we need to 'take away'

4. We can cross them out. ~~🍬~~ ~~🍬~~ ~~🍬~~ ~~🍬~~ 🍬 🍬 We count how many are not crossed out. There are 2 sweets left.

The complete number sentence is: 6 - 4 =

2. Mandla has 2 sweets left.

Question 2: There are 5 children playing soccer. 5 more children join the game. How many children are playing altogether?

Draw it: ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽ + ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽ Number Sentence: 5 + 5 = __ Solution 2: We start with 5 children. Our drawing shows 5 children (represented by soccer balls). We need to 'join' 5 more children. Our drawing shows another group of

5. We count them all together: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,

1

0. The complete number sentence is: 5 + 5 =

1

0. There are 10 children playing altogether.

Question 3: Sipho needs 9 pencils. He already has

7. How many more pencils does he need?

Thinking: This is a subtraction problem, but it feels like addition!

We can think of it in two ways: Way 1 (Subtraction): What is the difference between 9 and 7? 9 - 7 = __ Way 2 (Addition): What do I add to 7 to get to 9? 7 + __ = 9 Solution 3: Let's use the addition method. Start at 7 and count up to

9. Hold up 7 fingers.

Now count on: 'eight' (put up one more finger), 'nine' (put up another finger). How many more fingers did you put up? You put up 2 fingers. We can check this with subtraction. Draw 9 pencils and cross out 7. ✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️ ~~✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️~~ (Oops, let's do it the other way) ✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️ Cross out 7: ~~✏️~~ ~~✏️~~ ~~✏️~~ ~~✏️~~ ~~✏️~~ ~~✏️~~ ~~✏️~~ ✏️ ✏️ There are 2 left. The answer is

2. Sipho needs 2 more pencils. Independent Practice (Questions Only) Now it is your turn to be the maths detective! Use drawings or bottle tops to help you find the answers. 3 + 4 = __ 8 - 5 = __ There are 9 taxi's at the rank. 2 drive away. How many are left? (Write the number sentence: __ - __ = __) You have 2 rand. Your gogo gives you 5 rand. How much money do you have now?