Grade 1: Comparing Numbers

Warm up with a quick recall on the board. Compare place-value columns from the left, biggest place first. Use the alligator/greater-than symbol pointing at the larger number.

Comparing numbers means deciding which is greater, which is less, or whether they are equal, and writing it with the symbols >, < and =. It rests on place value: to compare multi-digit numbers you look at the biggest place first. Model the method clearly, thinking aloud:

• Start with quantities, not digits: which pile of counters is more? Match them up to see.
• Teach the symbols with the 'crocodile eats the bigger number' image, but move quickly to reading them properly ('greater than', 'less than').
• For multi-digit numbers, compare place by place from the left: hundreds first, then tens, then ones.
• Line numbers up by place value so the columns match before comparing.
• Extend to ordering a set of numbers smallest to largest, and to a number line.

Do the first few questions of the practice worksheet together, one child explaining each step. Check for understanding before releasing the class to work alone.

Students complete the worksheet independently. Hand out the three difficulty levels below so every child works at the right stretch.

Circulate and look for these, they are the usual sticking points:

• Thinking a longer number of digits always means bigger without checking (true for whole numbers, but the reasoning matters for decimals later).
• Comparing from the right-hand digit instead of the largest place.
• Mixing up which way the > and < symbols point.
• Judging by how many digits look 'busy' rather than place value, and reversing the < and > symbols.

Pull the class back together. Ask one child to explain comparing numbers in their own words, pose a single check question everyone answers on a mini whiteboard, and name what you will build on next lesson.

Use the independent worksheet as the evidence. A child who can complete it accurately and explain one answer has met the objective; anyone who cannot needs the easier level and a short reteach next session.